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For your consideration is a nice stereoview titled "Hermit of Quidnet, Nantucket" (see below for more info on this interesting character). This is a great image of the hermit sitting in front of his home (with an open doorway) posing for the photographer. This has a great 3D effect. The image was photographed and published by C. H. Shute & Son, Edgartown, Mass. (#320).There is a small white spot in the center of the right image and random numbers written on the verso. You will also find corner wear (lower left corner is soft) and overall soiling.
Please view the enlargeable scans carefully and contact me with any questions.
From Google AI:
The most widely documented figure is Frederick F. Parker, a legendary 19th-century recluse who lived in isolation on Nantucket Island.
- The Backstory: Parker originally owned a profitable 1/16th share in a successful whaling ship called the Franklin. He reinvested his earnings into another ship venture (some accounts say the Cynthia) that ultimately wrecked.
- The Heartbreak: Following his financial ruin, his fiancée (often identified as Mollie Coffin) left him to run away with a successful ship captain headed for the East Indies.
- The Recluse Life: Destitute and brokenhearted, Parker retreated to a small, isolated fisherman's shack in the remote village of Quidnet.
- His Persona: Despite being a hermit, he was highly cultured and viewed by visiting tourists and journalists as an "old philosopher". He had a notoriously playful side and famously nailed a penny to his floor just to watch visitors attempt to pick it up.
- Passing: Parker died on December 18, 1880, at the age of 80. He was found passed away in his chair with a closed Bible on his knee and his massive white beard rippling toward the floor.
Over the coming months we will be thinning out our collection focused on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and the South Shore. We plan to offer many books, maps, photographs and other ephemera of various towns on the Cape and Islands along with the coastal area south of Boston. We will be listing many stereoviews of Provincetown. Oak Bluffs, Cottage City, Edgartown, Nantasket, Scituate, Cohasset Plymouth, Siasconset etc., Photographers offered will include Nickerson, Freeman, Shute, Adams, Warren, Tirrell, etc.. Subjects to include Hotels, Lighthouses, Wesleyan Grove, Camp Meeting, the Cape Cod Canal, Scenics, etc.. Please check our sales regularly and if you are seeking a particular item for your collection contact us and we will let you know if we will be selling one.
