[Published in the Weekly Packet]

In a generous gesture of maritime legacy preservation, award-winning photographer Benjamin Mendlowitz has contributed his entire slide collection, comprising a staggering 155,000 images spanning 1979 to 2005, to the Friend Memorial Public Library’s Maritime Research Center.

Mendlowitz is widely celebrated for his iconic Calendar of Wooden Boats which has been a labor of love that has captivated enthusiasts for 42 years. Recognizing the historical significance of his earlier work, which predates his transition from film to digital photography, Mendlowitz decided to entrust the comprehensive collection to the library. This decision has been welcomed with enthusiasm by the library’s board of trustees, according to a press release.

The meticulously cataloged, labeled, and prioritized slide collection, stored in fire-resistant file cabinets and archival sleeves of 20 slides each, offers a vivid glimpse into the wooden boat renaissance from its inception. The six fire-resistant, four-drawer file cabinets housing the slides are also part of Mendlowitz’s donation. This collection will fit seamlessly into the planned library expansion, the board notes.

Upon arrival, the collection will undergo additional identification and sorting by the library’s staff and volunteers who will selectively scan and catalog the images. This process aims to provide library patrons and the wider community with on-screen access to a curated selection of the most compelling images. The entirety of the collection will be available for viewing upon request.

Mendlowitz plans to donate his later digital images from 2005 onward in subsequent stages. This will result in a nearly half-century chronicle of exceptional and outstanding maritime photography. Mendlowitz’s photography captures the inspiring essence of exquisite wooden yachts, commercial vessels, and smaller boats of incomparable variation.

Ben Mendlowitz’s slide collection, together with Jon Wilson’s maritime library, which has also been donated to the library, form a uniquely comprehensive resource that serves the needs of traditional and modern boat builders, designers, owners, students, writers, researchers, and all who are inspired by maritime heritage.

“These images wouldn’t exist without the support and guidance I received early on from WoodenBoat Magazine and Maynard Bray,” said Mendlowitz. “As fellow Brooklinites, we love our town, our library, these wonderful boats, their designers and builders. The work we have all done to document this over the decades should stay home in Brooklin at the Friend Memorial Public Library, so I am an eager supporter of this worthy project.”

These two generous donations are a significant addition to the library’s cultural heritage and they reinforce its commitment to fostering a deep knowledge and appreciation of the maritime traditions of Brooklin—often lovingly called “The Wooden Boat-Building Capital of the World”—and beyond.

The Maritime Research Center was begun in 1970 by Jon Wilson, local founder of WoodenBoat. The maritime research collection has grown to become one of the largest private collections of materials related to wooden boat and yacht history, building, and design. In addition to historic books (some rare and irreplaceable), the collection also includes periodicals and reference works dating back to the 1880’s, along with technical information, correspondence, biographies, and more. It is fully cataloged using a modified Library of Congress system.

When Wilson agreed to the Friend Memorial Public Library’s request to donate his maritime research collection to the library and thus keep it in Brooklin, library trustees at once began to incorporate it into their already developing plans for expansion.

This invaluable resource, now referred to as the Maritime Research Center, will play a crucial role in supporting all aspects of the boatbuilding industry that continues to create jobs and opportunities in Brooklin. It also will extend the library’s reach to serve students and visiting boat owners, authors, researchers, and enthusiasts from around the world.