Karen Butler, author and chronicler of the history of Nantucket Island’s lighthouses and
lightships, will present a history of the Nantucket Lightship basket and how and why the
craftsmanship evolved among the crews stationed along the Nantucket shoals. Their main job
was warning mariners of the existence of danger, but they spent their spare time creating
practical baskets that became the inspiration for objects that added simple grace to homes and
elegance to the arms of women that quietly announced their love of Nantucket and its beauty.