We
are honored to announce a new display at Kurth Memorial
Library. Mr. Robert Ruby of Lufkin has generously
agreed to allow us to display his model of the Sailing
Ship Elissa. This model, beautifully displayed inside a
glass and wood case, is located near our Circulation
Desk.
Elissa is a three-masted, iron-hulled
sailing ship built in 1877 in Aberdeen, Scotland by
Alexander Hall & Company. She carries nineteen sails
covering over one-quarter of an acre in surface area.
Tall ships are classified by the configuration of their
sailing rig. In Elissa’s case, she is a 'barque' because
she carries square and fore-and-aft sails on her fore
and mainmasts, but only fore-and-aft sails on her
mizzenmast.
From her stern to the tip of her jibboom she measures
205 feet. Her height is 99 feet, 9 inches at the main
mast and she displaces about 620 tons at her current
ballast.
This floating
National Historic Landmark has been designated one of
America's Treasures by the National Trust for Historic
Preservation.
Anyone interested in
learning more about the Elissa can see the Texas A&M
Press book Sailing
Ship Elissa by Patricia Bellis Bixel (if our
copy is not available, patrons may stop by the Reference
Desk to be put on the waiting list), or visit the
Galveston Historical Foundation’s website (http://www.galvestonhistory.org/1877_Tall_Ship_ELISSA.asp).
We encourage
everyone to come in and see this beautiful scratch-built
model while it is on loan to the library.
Read more about the model.