Throughout history pirates and their exploits have fascinated and entertained people of all ages. The stories of these rogues of the high seas are explored in an exciting new exhibit, "Knights of the Black Flag", which premiered August 9, 2008, at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort.

These infamous characters who plied the waters along the eastern US seaboard and the Caribbean-- Blackbeard, Anne Bonny, Mary Reed, Jack Rackman, Stede Bonnet and many others--left a legacy of daring and myth during the Golden Age of Piracy, the era. "The life of the average buccaneer was a life of hardship, brutality and danger. And that life was a short one" says the Pirates of Colonial North Carolina, by Hugh F. Rankin.

The new exhibit features life-sized pirates dressed in period clothing to get a taste of the real experience. Replica cannons and weapons including swords, muskets and flintlock pistols used by pirate 'gangsters' to defeat their enemies and secure booty and treasure are on vies.

Paintings by artist Don Maitz (www.paravia.com/DonMaitz) of pirate scenes ashore and aboard their vessels, and his Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum^TM series, are well known on both coasts as examples of the fantastic realism genre. His lively and colorful depictions of the seamen and their ships are included in the exhibit. Also included in the exhibit are paintings by artist Donna Nyzio (www.paintedworld.com). Her life-like paintings portray the life of a pirate.

"Knights of the Black Flag" will be open daily, through January 4, 2009. The museum will be closed December 24-28 and January 1, 2009. Admission to the Maritime Museum is free to the public.

A special thanks to Tryon Palace, New Bern, for their kind assistance in the production of this exhibit. www.tryonpalace.org