1945 O'Toole and Snow Pictorial Map of New England Lighthouses

Larry O'Toole (1909 – April 10, 1951) was a Rockport, Massachusetts based adventurer, visual artist, and muralist. For a time, he was the official artist of the U.S. Coast Guard. He also painted several murals, known for their 'salty humor,' for American naval bases. At least one is in the Boston Navy Officer's Club. From 1938 – 1939, O'Toole, also an accomplished sailor, manned movie star Sterling Hayden's square-rigged brigantine, the 'Florence Robinson,' on a voyage to Tahiti. O'Toole made few maps, but his Salty Map of Cape Ann is a notably fine example of mid-20th century pictorial mapmaking. More by this mapmaker...

Edward Rowe Snow (August 22, 1902 – April 10, 1982) was an American author and historian. Born in Withrop, Massachusetts, Snow graduated from Harvard University and subsequently from Boston University with an M.A. Snow married Anna-Myrle Haegg on July 8, 1932 with whom he had one daughter. Snow worked as a high school teacher in Winthrop, Massachusetts for a time. He served as a first lieutenant with the XII Bomber Command during World War II and was wounded in North Africa in 1942. He was discharged in 1943 due to the wounds he received. Snow also worked as a daily columnist at The Patriot Ledger, a newspaper in Quiuncy, Massachusetts, from 1957 – 1982. He is widely remembered for his stories about pirates and other nautical subjects. Snow is the author of over forty books many shorter works. Over the course of his life, Snow was the author of over 100 publications, mostly concerning New England coastal history. He is also well remembered for maintaining the tradition of the 'Flying Santa' for over forty years (1936 – 1980). Begun in 1929, the 'Flying Santa' tradition was organized as a way to drop Christmas gifts out of airplanes to lighthouse keepers and their families along the New England coast. Learn More...