Captain Frank Ley Photograph Collection

This collection contains the photographs of Frank Ley (1905-1997), a Hungarian sailor who left home at the age of 14 to become part of the last generation of mariners to sail the world on tall sailing ships. Ley sailed from Europe to Polynesia as a merchant seaman, and he documented his travels in pictures, over 200 of which are shown in this collection. 

These photographs and negatives depict the daily lives and activities of sailors aboard these ships in the 1920s–1940s. They show the mundanity of life on ships and the chores that the sailors were responsible for, as well as the ceremonies, recreation, and exploration these sailors undertook to keep themselves entertained on their long journeys. To learn more about this collection read the Collections Chronicles Blog “Archival Detective Work. The research process for the Captain Frank Ley Collection.”