Current Inventory:

 

·      Books

·      Maps

·      Stereoviews

·      Postcards

·      Ephemera


Collector – Dealer – Appraiser – Conservator – Historian – Explorer

Services:

 

·      Antiquity & Artifact Appraisal

·      Re-homing Collections

·      Conservation/Restoration

·      Research Services

·      Remote Sensing Services

·      About

About Baillod Maritime Antiquities

 

Brendon Baillod has been collecting Great Lakes maritime antiquities since the 1980s and has one of the largest private collections of antiquarian Great Lakes books, maps, stereoviews, postcards and ephemera in existence.  His collection includes many one-of-a-kind objects and his daily articles about his materials receive thousands of views on social media.  Brendon’s in-depth knowledge of the Great Lakes antiquities market has given him a unique perspective as an appraiser and he has helped dozens of people monetize their materials or donate them to public institutions.  Brendon learned book repair and conservation skills in order to be a better steward of distressed antiquities and has stabilized hundreds of objects in his collection using acid-free, archival materials and conservation best-practices.

 

Brendon began researching Great Lakes shipwrecks as a teen and he continues to research, write and publish his work forty years later.  He is the author of several books about Great Lakes shipwrecks and maritime history and has published over fifty articles in regional history journals and publications.  Brendon is frequently consulted for documentary productions and has appeared on the National Geographic Channel, the History Channel, the Travel Channel, the Science Channel and Wisconsin Public Television discussing Great Lakes shipwrecks and maritime history. 

 

Brendon has worked in the Great Lakes maritime history community to digitize important materials and to create databases of scarce vessel information.  He hosts several important databases including the David Swayze Great Lakes Shipwreck Database, the Dr. Charles Feltner Great Lakes Vessel Enrollment Database and his own Great Lakes Vessel Accident Database, which includes over 40,000 unique vessel accidents between 1841 and 1900.  In 2020, Brendon located a little-known hoard of over 8000 customs house shipwreck reports at the National Archives and secured permission for their digitization.

 

Brendon has collaborated with many of the Lakes’ most notable wreck hunters over the years to help locate lost ships and has found several nationally significant shipwrecks himself.  These include the schooners Trinidad, Margaret A. Muir and F.J. King as well as the tug John Evenson and the paddlewheel steamer L.W. Crane. 

 

A longtime member and current president of the Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association, Brendon frequently leads projects that enable the public to participate in Underwater Archeology through remote sensing.  He also teaches courses on sidescan sonar and ROV operation.  Brendon frequently works with state and federal authorities to document historically important shipwrecks and has co-authored five successful nominations for shipwrecks to the National Register of Historic Places.

 

Brendon is a co-founder of Wisconsin’s Ghost Ships Festival and is the current chairperson.  He is the administrator of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Research Group, a community of over 6,000 Great Lakes shipwreck research enthusiasts on Facebook and YouTube and is a frequent speaker at Great Lakes history events, including the Ford Seahorses Great Lakes Shipwreck Festival. 

 

 

Baillod Maritime Antiquities
Brendon Baillod
311 N. Stevenson St.
DeForest, WI  53532
608.438.7246
baillod@shipwreck.info

Venmo / Paypal: baillod@gmail.com