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South Street Seaport Museum
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South Street Seaport Museum

Where New York Begins.

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Navigational Instruments and Shipwright Tools

Navigational Instruments and Shipwright Tools

Generations of artisans, carpenters, workers, riggers, and sailmakers used the South Street waterfront district as a place to craft, market, and export their wares. The South Street Seaport Museum’s collection includes navigational instruments used by sailors to monitor their environment and their vessels, along with thousands of historic and antique tools used for shipyard and port work by workers and riggers.

Highlights include the Ira S. Bushey Collection, representing one of the many 20th century shipyards of New York Harbor; and the blacksmith tools of Simon Douglas (1843-1950), the formerly enslaved craftsman who escaped North during the American Civil War.


Table Top Scales, n.d.
Pattern for tail shaft nut, n.d.
Telescope, 19th century
Sextant with a case, 19th century
Calipers, n.d.
Transitional Smooth Plane, n.d.
Caulking Iron, n.d.

Acquisition Policies

To learn more about how we acquire and accession objects into our collection click the button below

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South Street Seaport Museum

12 Fulton Street
NY, NY 10038
(212) 748-8600
Open: Sat-Sun 11-5

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