Is It A Find

Hi Dan, My husband used to clean out estates and about 50 years ago he found this journal in an attic of a house. It is dated 1897 and appears to have come from a sailor. What I find interesting about it is a chanty written on a few pages along with some numbers with measurements. Is it of any value? I would love to know more about it. Sincerely, P.T Hello P.T, Your journal was owned by a sailor and was written in 1899. It likely contains coordinates of where he sailed and distance points. The chanty or traditional English song transcribed is called "'Tis of a Gallant Southerner (Fo'castle song)." There are no entries of his occupation at sea, but I would assume he was a merchant. The journal would be more valuable if it contained any other writings or reflections. As it stands, it basically contains a transcribed song and distances between points on the map, making it somewhat difficult to find a collector for such an item. I would say that in a retail setting the journal would realize less than $30. Some nautical items can command a great deal of interest and money. I did a write up on a letter from 1820, from a whaling ship off the coast of South America. It was written by the sailor to his mother in Cape Cod. It cost 35 cents for it to be delivered, which was an enormous amount of money at the time. I was amazed, given the era, that a letter could be sent from the middle Atlantic Ocean or a foreign port and have it safely arrive at a home on the Cape. The letter contained details about his life at sea, places he had visited and information about whale oil prices. Subsequently that letter was sold for over $300. Thank you for sharing your find with us; I look forward to any other information you can find about your journal.