Frederick William Wallace

Frederick William Wallace (11 December 1886-15 July 1958) was a journalist, photographer, historian and novelist. He was the author of "Wooden Ships and Iron Men" a now-classic 1924 book about the last days of the Age of Sail in Maritime Canada. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, he initially worked as a clerk but turned to the sea as a journalist of the fishing industry which later led to historical work. He died in Montreal.

About forty years later than he preferred to, he said, he published "Wooden Ships and Iron Men" as a testament to the spirit of the age. He followed this book with "In the Wake of the Windships" and "Record of Canadian Shipping". These three historical works became standard references to the deepwater sailing era in Canada. Wallace also wrote the novels "Blue Water" and "Captain Salvation" and several other works. "Blue Water" was made into a film in Canada, directed by David Hartford but it was never released. [ Joel H. Zemel, [http://www.svpproductions.com/ernestshipman2.html Ernest Shipman, "Ten Percent Ernie"] ] "Captain Salvation" was purchased the Hearst Corporation and released as a film in 1927, directed by John S. Robertson. [American film Institute: Silent Films, [http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=1&Movie=3209 "Captain Salvation"] ] [Classic Film Guide, [http://www.classicfilmguide.com/index.php?s=pageA&item=111 "Captain Salvation"] ] Both films were from the silent era.

He edited the monthly journal "Canadian Fisherman" for forty years. The journal, which ran from 1917 to 1970, remains an important source of information for researchers today. [Memorial University, [http://www.mun.ca/mha/publications.php "Births, Deaths & Marriages in Newfoundland Newspapers, 1810 - 1890"] ]

He also wrote "Bound for the Rio Grande", an operetta based on English shanties, performed at the 1929 CPR Festival in Vancouver. ["Canadian Encyclopedia of Music" entry, [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1SEC834515 "CPR Festivals - 1929"] ]

His epic poem about his time aboard the "Effie M. Morrissey," "The Log of the Record Run," was widely read and adopted by east coast fishermen with such authentic results that it was mistaken as a very old traditional song by folklorist Helen Creighton. [F. W. Wallace, [http://www.ernestina.org/history/RovingFisherman.html "Roving Fisherman"] ] [James P. Delgado, 1990 [http://www.ernestina.org/publications/nhlstudy.pdf "Ernestina" National Historic Landmark Study"] p. 5]

An accomplished photographer, in 2006, he was the subject of a book by Nova Scotia writer M. Brook Taylor entitled "A Camera on the Banks", which documents seven voyages to the Newfoundland Grand Banks where he toiled alongside other fishermen at the same time documenting their condition in photographs and words. In conjunction with the launch of Taylor's book, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic opened an exhibit on June 6, 2006 entitled "A Camera on the Banks: The Work of Frederick William Wallace," which displayed part of the museum's extensive collection of Wallace's photographs. The Wallace exhibit has since travelled in Nova Scotia to Lunenburg, Yarmouth, Annapolis Royal and Digby and open at the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa, Ontario on September 17, 2008.

Publications

* "Blue Water: A Tale of the Deep Sea Fishermen", Toronto: Musson, 1907.
* "The Shack-Locker", 1916.
* "The Viking Blood", 1920. [http://sdmbizlists.home.infionline.net/VikingBlood.html]
* "Salt Seas And Sailormen", 1922.
* "Wooden Ships and Iron Men: The story of the square-rigged merchant marine of British North America, the ships, their builders and owners, and the men who sailed them", London : Hodder and Stoughton, 1924 (reprinted by White Lion (London) in 1973).
* "Captain Salvation", Grosset & Dunlap, 1925 (reprinted in 2005 by Formac with an introduction by Brook Taylor) ISBN 0-88780-676-7
* "Tea From China", 1926.
* "In the Wake of the Wind-Ships ", London : Hodder and Stoughton, 1927.
* "Record of Canadian Shipping: A List of Square-Rigged Vessels, Mainly 500 tons and over built in the Eastern Provinces of British North America from the Year 1786 to 1920", Toronto: Musson, 1929.
* "The Romance of a Great Port: The Story of Saint John New Brunswick", Saint John: Barnes & Co., 1935.
* "Under Sail in the Last of the Clippers", Boston: Charles E. Lauriat, 1936.
* "Canadian Fisheries Manual: Thirty Years Progress in Canada's Fish Industry (1914-44)"
* "Roving Fisherman: an autobiography recounting personal experiences in the commercial fishing fleets and fish industry of Canada and the United States", 1911-1924, Gardenvale, Quebec: Canadian Fisherman, 1955.

References

Further reading

* Taylor, M. Brook, "A Camera on the Banks: Frederick William Wallace and the Fishermen of the Grand Banks", Fredericton: Goose Lane Editions, 2006. ISBN 0-86492-441-0

External links

* [http://www.ernestina.org/history/1912.html Excerpt from Wallace poem and photos aboard the "Effie M. Morrissey", 1912.]