The Catboat Era in Newport, Rhode Island

Interspersed among the gold-plated yachts of the Gilded Age were many humble catboats serving as fishing boats, livery craft, and pleasure boats. Here their story is told in well-researched detail with a fine collection of period photographs.
When we think of Newport at the end of the nineteenth century, we think of life lived large—big houses, big yachts, big money. But like the diversity of people found in any waterfront town, there was a diversity of watercraft in Newport waters. In amo…