|
Pat Croce’s passion for pirates began at an early age. His first fascination was with the movie Captain Blood starring Errol Flynn, and he soon began carving and drawing the skull & crossbones into his grade-school rulers and notebooks. Four decades later he owns one of only two authentic Jolly Roger flags in existence, currently on display at his one-of-a-kind Pirate Soul Museum in Key West, Florida.
Croce began collecting authentic pirate-related artifacts with his purchase of the 1684 first-edition copy of Exquemelin’s Bucaniers of America. But the piece de resistance of his collection – acquired at a Christie’s auction – is the world’s only treasure chest with provenance to a pirate, Captain Thomas Tew (1694).
Croce continued collecting rare and wonderful piratical artifacts, and one day began discussing the possibility of sharing his priceless treasures with the world. He partnered with his daughter Kelly and hired Gallagher & Associates (Holocaust Museum, International Spy Museum) to help design his dream attraction – Pirate Soul. He developed a strategic relationship with both the North Carolina Maritime Museum (for the loan of pieces from their Blackbeard collection) and with the Delaware Art Museum (for their Howard Pyle pirate paintings). With the help of other pirate collectors like Sir Robert Marx and Peter Tobia, who made their rare collections available for display, Pirate Soul Museum opened in Key West, Florida, in January 2005.
The unique and engaging museum gained instant national recognition and respect:
“Disney with an edge.” – Boston Herald
“Pirate Soul is the real Pirates of the Caribbean.” – Frommer’s Travel
“Disneyland meets the Smithsonian...it’s a must-see.” – Sacramento Bee
Croce’s expertise in the Golden Age of Piracy (1690-1730) is best witnessed in his book Pirate Soul: A Swashbuckling Journey through the Golden Age of Pirates. This labor of love features engaging authoritative text complemented by fantastic full-color art and over two dozen fun and fascinating 3-dimensional features – including a replica of Croce’s authentic Jolly Roger flag, so every pirate soul can wave their pirate colors!
Now a grandfather, Croce – as always wearing his signature pirate earring and tattoos for inspiration – has penned an interactive kids picture book entitled, My Pop-Pop Is a Pirate. As Croce says, it is never too early to unleash the pirate soul!
Or never too late. In 2007 Croce unveiled Pirate Soul Treasures – a line of cool costume jewelry exclusively available on the QVC shopping channel and at Pirate Soul Museum – because he feels every lady wants to feel adventurous, daring, and uninhibited at times. With designs based on actual pirate treasures from antiquity, Pirate Soul Treasures offers the only authentic piratical experience for pirate lovers today.
In his most piratical adventure to date, Croce teamed with movie producer Barry Josephson and Oscar-winning screenwriter David Franzoni to develop a major motion picture on the terrifying tale of Blackbeard. Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks have purchased the film rights with production scheduled for 2009. |
