From the series "Maritime and Yachting."

This series includes images of yachts, yacht racing in the San Francisco Bay area, the San Francisco Yacht Club and members, ferries, shipbuilding (boat and ship industry), sailing on Lake Merritt in Oakland, and the Great White Fleet's arrival in the Bay. Many images of William Letts Oliver and other members of the Oliver family are included as well. Of note are 1960.010 ser. 2 :295 and :297, which are images of William Letts Oliver at the helm of a yacht.In a note accompanying the collection, Roland L. Oliver describes four boats featured in this series. The Emerald was originally sloop rigged, [and] was imported via Cape Horn in about 1875 for racing purposes. It was 50 feet long by about 8 feet mid-ship, center board. Never defeated. When his children started aborning, he could no longer chance an over-sparred racer, so in 1879 he converted it to yawl-rigged for cruising and safety. The Yacht Folly, a sturdy English clipper about 35 feet long superceded the Emerald which [William Letts Oliver] sold to a broker in 1890 because his health was suffering from a chemical gas (chlorine) at the Lucol factory. Hey There, a speed boat, was bought by William Letts Oliver in about 1907, but sold shortly thereafter. William Letts Oliver had the Bonnie Doon built in Alameda about 1909. It was 69 feet in length, powered by a Doak gas engine which was made in Oakland by a company he owned. He used it entirely in San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento River. It was strictly a pleasure boat for his family and friends, although once entered in a race with other power boats and won the cup.

General Note: Oliver number 57.