What with the nation's 250th birthday, it's been quite the month of baseball and apple pie. All the great American icons have been trotted out and gushed over, and why not? It's not every day — nor every nation — that can boast of a similar milestone.
Among our most notable touchstones is the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, commissioned in 1751 and rung at the initial reading of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. There are plenty of everyday bells too: alarm bells, doorbells and sleigh bells to name but a few. Even ships at sea have their own bells, and those are rife with tradition. Today, let's cock an ear.
In fact, ship's bells have around for at least twice as long as the US of A. The earliest known example was recovered from a shipwreck
off the coast of Oman and positively dated to 1498. They're typically made via sand cast into which a molten solution of copper and tin is poured. The heated material fills in the negative space and is allowed to cool, often for several days. Once the mold is broken and the bell removed, it goes on a large lathe where craftsmen smooth out the rough spots and make sure its resonance is as desired. Some will actually have the ship's name and launching date as part of the mold so that the bell will ever be associated with a particular vessel.
Not surprisingly for such a tradition-bound way of life, bells play a number of roles once aboard ship. Beginning in the era of sail, and even through today, watches were traditionally stood in four-hour shifts. To time the watch, a 30-minute hourglass would be turned eight times and a bell rung for each turn of the glass. The first turn required one strike of the bell, a second turn called for two strikes, etc. At eight strikes of the bell, it was time for the watch to be changed. So-called ship's bell clocks made by Chelsea and others still employ this sequence of strikes.
Apart from this, ship's bells were also used to announce the arrival of officers and visitors, commemorate sailors lost at sea and "ring in the new year" with two eight-bell sequences — one to mark the end of the old year and a second to usher in a new one. Nonetheless, their most important function was to serve as a warning signal in times of fog or restricted visibility. The international rules of the road relative to maritime shipping require that all vessels more than 66 feet long carry at least one bell made to certain specifications. Many naval vessels often carry two or three. Boats under 66 feet but longer than 40 feet must have aboard either a bell or some kind of noisemaking device (like a horn or whistle) that serves the same purpose.
Although maritime antiques have declined in popularity of late, ship's bells have always enjoyed a ready market. While most of those sold today come from ship-breaking yards in India and elsewhere, others are still being found. Shipwreck salvage companies often look for a vessel's bell before anything else as a sure means of identification. Indeed, some have become celebrities. In 1987, one of the Titanic's several bells was recovered in 1987 in more than 12,000 feet of water and now tours the country as part of a traveling exhibition. Once you hear a ship's bell ring, the smell of salty air can't be far behind.
Mike Rivkin is the former proprietor of Antique Galleries of Palm Springs. His new venture will open later this fall. Contact him at scmcorp@sbcglobal.net.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: When a ship's bell becomes a treasure on land
