Hi everybody...

I want you to be among the first to see the historic reunion of the 1854 Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Fresnel lens and Henry-Lepaute clockwork mechanism and pedestal at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum. It was a courageous decision by the National Park Service and the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. I am proud that we did not defer this momentous achievement to a succeeding generation. We can feel good about having redeemed the mistakes of the past involving this incredibly elegant, historic, significant but terribly abused and unappreciated machine from the 19th century. There's little doubt that when you see it in person, you'll know we did the right thing. Someday the apparatus will be recognized as one of the greatest of all American lighthouse artifacts. We already know that the pedestal is the largest of all first-order pedestals in the U.S.

It is especially worth noting that the effort, expertise and extreme care of Jim Woodward and his team, Jim Dunlap and Kurt Fosburg was absolutely remarkable. Upon completing the project Woody told me it was by far the most challenging of any lens jobs in his 40 year career. They are without question, the best!

I was there off and on and filmed the action in high-definition and thousands of photos were taken. I expect you'll see and read a lot more about the 3-week project in the coming days and months.

The pedestal and lens may still have a couple of secrets to reveal about its tumultuous and tortured past. My research continues and I will keep you posted.

I hope you'll be able to visit the museum in the near future.

Best Regards,

Kevin Duffus
Looking Glass Productions, Inc.
Raleigh, NC
(919) 845-9244
kevin_duffus@earthlink.net
Kevin\'s Web Site - The Lost Lens