Antonio Jacobsen's painted ships on painted oceans (Mariners Museum publication)

The legendary definitive volume long sold out from the publisher. Torn by mixed emotions, Antonio Jacobsen catapulted onto the streets of New York from Copenhagen, Denmark, late in the year 1873. Dark loneliness at first overwhelmed his bright dreams of new opportunities in the New World. His daughter Helen recalled, "He told of his unutterably desolate first Christmas Eve, [bereft of] wonderful nights of family festivals in Denmark, with all the family gathered about the great tree, banked with presents, and dancing and singing after a tremendous and ceremonious dinner." But the twenty-three year-old Jacobsen was too resilient and eager for his new life to let sentiments hold him down long. Jacobsen could have chosen music to express his visions and provide a living: he arrived in America proficient not only on the cello, but also the violin and viola. Indeed, the name his father gave him, Antonio Nicolo Gasparo Jacobsen, comprised those of three Italian master violin makers: Antonio Stradivari, Nicolo Amati, and Gasparo da Salo. Antonio's father, Thomas Jacobsen, was a violin maker known for "exemplary workmanship." He was praised by artists and honored by the Court. Yet tragically, Thomas died when Antonio was but three years of age, so the son could have hardly remembered him. The violin shop was sold to another instrument maker, and later, taken over by Antonio's brother. The Jacobsen home continued to be a musical haven, providing the young Antonio a solid cultural background. Yet even with such a rich musical heritage, Antonio Jacobsen was destined for a different calling. However, he was practical enough to make use of his family's talent. According to Anita Jacobsen (no relation), a Jacobsen biographer, Antonio came from Denmark supplied with a letter of introduction to Leopold Damrosch, conductor of the orchestra that later became the New York Philharmonic. He was granted an audition, and soon occupied a chair in the string section...