Born in Cologne, Germany on May 4, 1886, Alfred Gabali left home at age 16 to become a seaman aboard the four masted bark Pamier, a German ship trading between Antwerp and England. He later sailed the Potose, a famed European ship, and there met a passenger, artist Schnars Alquist, who gave Alfred his first formal art training. After several subsequent voyages on English ships, he found himself stranded in San Francisco, still only 19 years old. Then begins a turbulent time when he was "shanghaied" aboard the whaler Bowhead, which included an attempted escape into icy Arctic waters, and a chance to participate in the great Alaskan gold rush.

After several trips including, one back to England, and then Australia, he returned to Germa...