The Sail Loft 1941 Vinalhaven 1

The Sail Loft 1941 Vinalhaven 1

The Sail Loft offers antiques, books, and gifts. It sits on the end of a wooden pier on Vinalhaven Island in Maine.

In the effort to preserve the building from demolition, Elin Elisofon compiled some history on the historic building, summarized as follows: The Sail Loft was built around 1860 by Reuben Carver as a storehouse for his shipbuilding business. Sold to Reinhold Boman, in addition to using the building as a sail loft, the Boman family used the large open space for an opera house, theater, dance hall, and tricycle ring.
Winslow, Sidney Intimate Views (1945-1946)
The Vinalhaven Neighbor, Vol 1 #20 (April, 1938)
Calderwood, Ivan E. Days of Uncle Dave’s Fish House (1969) p. 105-6
Elisofon, Elin Personal e-mail correspondence with Kevin Johnson (April 28, 2024) 

When Photographer Eliot Elisofon was not traveling the world taking photos for LIFE Magazine, he came to Vinalhaven, Maine to rest and recoup. Eliot bought a farmhouse near Crockett Cove on Vinalhaven in 1941, built by Joel and Mary Jane Philbrook in 1843.
Daughter Elin writes, “My father always said his favorite place on earth was Vinalhaven and he meant it. Wherever he was, he was counting the days until he could return to the island. Here he would 'recharge his batteries' from grueling trips to Africa, Asia, the Pacific, or from battles with the publishers and editors he had to constantly prod into sharing his passion and understanding his vision. In Vinalhaven he could relax, soak up the beauty of the place, plant trees, flowers, and vegetables, paint in his studio, cook, and develop the lifelong friendships he treasured."
Elisofon, Elin. FEAST. (Vinalhaven, Maine: April, 1992)
These images are personal photographs taken by Eliot Elisofon on Vinalhaven and were not published during his lifetime.