“A lake…is the earth’s eye.” Henry David Thoreau See it aboard the Katahdin. Katahdin Cruises on Moosehead Lake Sailing late June thru Columbus Day Tel: (207) 695-2716 Fax: (207) 695-2367 PO Box 1151 Greenville, ME 04441 www.katahdincruises.com J u ly / A u g u s t 2 0 1 7 7 5 The Arts A Case of Mistaken Identity I n 1874, Littlefield was given the com- mission of his career: a magnificent nine-foot Neptune to gaze stoically out to sea from beneath the bow of the Ocean King (illustrated on the first page), the largest ship afloat in its day and the pride of Kennebunk. The four-masted ship may have left her home port in style, but her career ended at the bottom of Coos Bay, Oregon, in 1887, taking Littlefield’s Neptune with her. Maine’s hopes ignited in 1967 when word arose that a likely Neptune figurehead was on display at the Mariners’ Museum in Virginia. In November of that year, Down East magazine published a story claiming that the artifact was indeed Littlefield’s cre- ation. “According to our records, the family of the Ocean King’s captain, Nathaniel Lord Thompson, visited in 1956,” says Cindi Vers- er, Collections Management Specialist at the Mariners’ Museum, when asked about the possible connection. “They identified [a figurehead in the museum’s collection] to the curator at the time as the same one Littlefield had carved for the ship in 1874.” But don’t get too excited. “We have compared photos of the ship with the fig- urehead in our collection and found sig- nificant differences between the two,” says Verser. “Therefore, it is our opinion that the Neptune figurehead did not come from the Ocean King.” The rumor mill is a powerful machine. Littlefield’s Neptune still remains unaccounted for, and, according to Verser, most likely still resides at the bottom of the ocean with its ship. the ground by the British in 1775. As if in defiance, Littlefield never ventured far from the waterfront, and his carving shops always faced the ocean. Lost Imagery The Civil War and the advent of iron ships ended Portland’s golden era of wooden boat building–and with it, figureheads and the men who made them. Smithsonian experts estimate that fewer than 1,000 American- made figureheads exist today. Most rest be- neath the waves. When Littlefield passed on in June 1916, aged 83, his obituaries remembered him as Portland’s Fire Chief (1877-1881 and 1883), who fought the infamous blaze of July 4, 1866. His career as an artist and craftsman