Transportation

Americans have always been a people on the move—on rails, roads, and waterways (for travel through the air, visit the National Air and Space Museum). In the transportation collections, railroad objects range from tools, tracks, and many train models to the massive 1401, a 280-ton locomotive built in 1926. Road vehicles include coaches, buggies, wagons, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and automobiles—from the days before the Model T to modern race cars. The accessories of travel are part of the collections, too, from streetlights, gas pumps, and traffic signals to goggles and overcoats.

In the maritime collections, more than 7,000 design plans and scores of ship models show the evolution of sailing ships and other vessels. Other items range from scrimshaw, photographs, and marine paintings to life jackets from the Titanic.

This is a Stanley Model 60 runabout steam-powered automobile made in 1910. Several companies, notably White, Stanley, and Locomobile (a Stanley spinoff), built steam-powered automobiles in the late1890s and early 1900s.
Description
This is a Stanley Model 60 runabout steam-powered automobile made in 1910. Several companies, notably White, Stanley, and Locomobile (a Stanley spinoff), built steam-powered automobiles in the late1890s and early 1900s. In spite of their drawbacks—they were difficult to start and control and they could explode—sales of steam cars were steady, though modest. During the 1910s, the Stanley brothers continued to tinker with their steam cars, and their company turned out a small number of hand-crafted cars each year until the mid-1920s.
Perhaps more than any other early automobile, "Stanley steamer" conjures up romantic images of popular though obsolescing vehicle technologies at the turn of the twentieth century. Of three competing forms of automotive power—steam, electricity, and internal combustion—only steam was a well-stablished power source for long-distance transportation. As the automobile market grew, it was only natural that inventors, tinkerers, and manufacturers adapted steam power for production cars. The Stanley twins, Freelan and Francis, were pioneers of steam car technology and bridged a gap between technological adaptation and commercial production. Fewer than 1,000 Stanley cars were made each year, but the make developed a lasting reputation for power and speed. Stanley cars were entered in many auto races and held impressive records, including a world speed record set in 1906.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1910
maker
Stanley Motor Carriage Company
ID Number
1982.0417.01
catalog number
82.0417.01
accession number
1982.0417
Sylvester Roper, a machinist and inventor in Massachusetts, built this steam velocipede and demonstrated it at fairs and circuses. It is believed to be the oldest existing American motorcycle.
Description
Sylvester Roper, a machinist and inventor in Massachusetts, built this steam velocipede and demonstrated it at fairs and circuses. It is believed to be the oldest existing American motorcycle. With its forged iron frame and wooden wheels, it resembles a velocipede, a popular bicycle of the late 1860s. The saddle served as a water tank for the boiler, which was heated by a firebox that burned charcoal. Twisting the handlebar controlled the throttle and brakes. Roper built several other steam vehicles, including another motorcycle in 1895, but he died just before the motor vehicle manufacturing industry got underway.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1869
maker
Roper, Sylvester H.
ID Number
TR.314809
catalog number
314809
accession number
209499
The Luckenbach Line donated this 1/4" scale model to the Smithsonian in 1967. A portion of the model's starboard hull is cut away, revealing the ship's cargo holds packed with barrels, sacks, lumber, boxes, and coal.
Description
The Luckenbach Line donated this 1/4" scale model to the Smithsonian in 1967. A portion of the model's starboard hull is cut away, revealing the ship's cargo holds packed with barrels, sacks, lumber, boxes, and coal. The engine room, bridge, crew's quarters, and passenger accommodations are also visible. The deck of the model includes winches, derricks, masts and booms for cargo handling. The single stack is painted black and displays a white "L" on a red band, the insignia of the Luckenbach Steamship Company. On the port side of the hull the name "Luckenbach Line" appears in large white letters.
The steamship Lewis Luckenbach was built in 1919 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., in Quincy, Massachusetts. Its dimensions were 496.2 feet long, 68.2 feet beam, and 37.2 feet depth. This was the second steamship named for the founder of the Luckenbach Line, the first having been built in 1903. With its sister ship, the Andrea Luckenbach, the second Lewis Luckenbach joined the line's fleet of intercoastal freighters on runs between New York and California. The ship could carry over 700 carloads of freight in its massive holds. Accommodations were modest compared to passenger liners, but the rates for "travel by freighter" were affordable at between $215 and $255 for roundtrip passage between Seattle and Brooklyn, NY, in 1936. During World War II the ship was converted to an Army hospital ship and renamed Louis A. Milne, for the surgeon who served New York's Port of Embarkation from 1937 to 1943. The vessel was scrapped in 1958.
date made
1919
used date
1919-1958
ID Number
TR.327977
catalog number
327977
accession number
272605
This experimental vehicle is one of the earliest American-made automobiles. On September 21, 1893, Frank Duryea road-tested the vehicle – a second-hand carriage with a gasoline engine – in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Description
This experimental vehicle is one of the earliest American-made automobiles. On September 21, 1893, Frank Duryea road-tested the vehicle – a second-hand carriage with a gasoline engine – in Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1896, Frank, his brother Charles, and financial backers founded the Duryea Motor Wagon Company, the first American company that manufactured and sold automobiles. Thirteen production models were made; the only surviving example is in the collection of the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. This forerunner was donated to the Smithsonian in 1920 and was restored in 1958.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1893-1894
maker
Duryea, Charles E.
Duryea, J. Frank
ID Number
TR.307199
accession number
65715
catalog number
307199
Although the Salem, Massachusetts privateer Rhodes was less than 98 feet long, it had a crew of 90. Privateers needed large crews not only to intimidate their prey and hopefully make them surrender quickly, but also to overpower their enemies if a battle occurred.
Description
Although the Salem, Massachusetts privateer Rhodes was less than 98 feet long, it had a crew of 90. Privateers needed large crews not only to intimidate their prey and hopefully make them surrender quickly, but also to overpower their enemies if a battle occurred. After a fight, the winner also needed to put a “prize” crew aboard to sail the captured vessel into port, where the ship and contents could be inventoried and sold. The auction proceeds were then distributed among the owners, the ship officers and the crew.
The three-masted ship Rhodes was sharply built for speed and heavily armed, with 20 cannon. Despite these features, it was captured on a cruise in the West Indies by H.M.S. ship Prothé in February 1782. It was taken back to England, where its hull shape was drawn on paper to document how it might have obtained its speed. The Royal Navy then purchased it and renamed it H.M.S. Barbadoes.
Date made
1962
privateer captured
1782-02
ID Number
TR.320667
catalog number
320667
accession number
245900
This model represents an 1881 life raft by Frederick S. Allen of Cuttyhunk Island, Massachusetts Made with only a few parts, the raft was easy to use and collapse for storage. It was made of three barrels attached with wood strips in a triangular shape on the top and bottom.
Description
This model represents an 1881 life raft by Frederick S. Allen of Cuttyhunk Island, Massachusetts Made with only a few parts, the raft was easy to use and collapse for storage. It was made of three barrels attached with wood strips in a triangular shape on the top and bottom. In the center there was rope webbing, with three oars included. Although tested, the raft was never used.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1881
patent date
1881-04-24
ID Number
TR.160184
accession number
12246
patent number
240,634
catalog number
160184
This French-patterned velocipede was donated to the museum in 1907. The donor of this machine stated that it was made by either Sargent or French, carriage builders of Boston, Massachusetts, about1868, and that it sold for $160.
Description
This French-patterned velocipede was donated to the museum in 1907. The donor of this machine stated that it was made by either Sargent or French, carriage builders of Boston, Massachusetts, about
1868, and that it sold for $160. It seems likely it is from the period: an illustration of an almost identical machine is captioned "American velocipede of 1869" on page 22 of Charles Pratt's The American Bicycler (1880). Another similar machine, illustrated on page 28 of Harry Griffin's Cycles and Cycling (1890), is described as an "Improved Boneshaker of
1870," made by Charles Pomeroy Button, of 142 Cheapside, London.
The velocipede is made from a heavy forged bar with a fork at its lower end to hold the rear wheel. A vertical iron fork, topped by a horizontal
handlebar holds the front wheel. The wood-spoke wheels have 13/16 inch- wide iron tires. A forward projection of the frame carries a pair of footrests for use while coasting. Weighted bronze pedals hang from the cranks that are secured to the live front axle. Twisting the handlebars in the mounting brackets winds up a cord, which presses a brake shoe against the tire of the rear wheel. A padded, pigskin-covered metal saddle is mounted on a flat steel spring, on which it can be adjusted forward or backward to suit the length of the rider's legs.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1868
ID Number
TR.247884
catalog number
247884
accession number
47725
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1923
date used
1936 to 1960s
ID Number
1984.0331.08
accession number
1984.0331
catalog number
1984.0331.08
For almost a century, the gasoline pump has symbolized changing relationships between consumers, the oil industry, and government.
Description
For almost a century, the gasoline pump has symbolized changing relationships between consumers, the oil industry, and government. In addition to its practical use, each modern pump is a measure of supply and demand, an agent of taxation, a corporate advertisement, a dispenser of cleaner blends that reduce emissions, and a reminder of motorists' growing dependence on domestic and imported oil. Gasoline pumps have served as flash points for energy issues that directly impact consumers. Rising gasoline prices influenced demand for smaller vehicles and stimulated programs aimed at greater fuel efficiency. In the 1970s, gasoline shortages led to massive inconveniences, flaring tempers, and even riots. More often, higher gasoline prices have led to frustration, distrust, or misunderstanding of corporate practices and government energy policies. The gasoline pump has become the most visible symbol of the value of portable energy and recurring discontent and concern over its cost and availability.
This Gilbert & Barker Model T-6 is one of the first gasoline pumps that counted the number of gallons pumped. In 1865, Charles Gilbert and John Barker formed a company to manufacture a "gas machine" that vaporized petroleum distillates for lighting systems. Gilbert & Barker later manufactured oil burners for industrial furnaces, and in 1910 the company added hand-operated gasoline pumps to its product line.
When automobiles first came on the market, gasoline was available in large quantities, but it was a little used by-product of oil refining. Kerosene was in great demand for lighting; gasoline was used as a solvent and, to a limited extent, as fuel for cook stoves. Much of the gasoline produced at refineries was treated as waste. The growing use of automobiles greatly increased demand for gasoline. Initially gasoline was retailed much like kerosene; it was transported from bulk oil storage facilities on the edge of town to general stores, hardware stores, and drug stores, where it was sold in metal cans. Repair garages and livery stables were added to these outlets. In some locations, gasoline was sold in barrels using a spigot that released the liquid into a measured container. Motorists soon began driving to bulk storage facilities to refuel, but they still had to transfer the liquid into the gasoline tank with a can, bucket, or pitcher and a chamois-lined funnel--a slow, cumbersome, dangerous method. The first direct refueling station, equipped with a gravity-feed, above-ground tank, hose, and glass gauge, opened at a St. Louis bulk oil facility in 1905.
The most significant retail innovation--an underground tank with a hand-operated pump--made driving an automobile much more practical. Like oil wells, the refined product was out of sight until needed, offering maximum convenience. By the 1910s, gasoline was dispensed in a continuous flow, with occasional replenishing of underground tanks. Curbside gasoline pumps proliferated at stores that sold hardware, feed, drugs, and general merchandise, as well as at repair garages. Mechanical gauges like the one on this Gilbert & Barker pump made retail sales more practical, efficient, and accurate.
Demand for curbside service soon led to traffic congestion at the pump. Dedicated, off-street gasoline stations, set back to accommodate several cars, appeared in the 1910s and spread rapidly. By the 1920s, vertical integration within oil companies created branded gasoline products sold at stations and repair garages throughout regional territories. Since the 1930s, electric pumps, price computation, credit cards, advertisements, standardized corporate design and gas station architecture, and self-serve controls have made gasoline pumps an even more intimate part of the driving experience and have brought motorists into closer contact with oil companies.
In recent decades, gasoline pumps have symbolized concern about finite oil supplies, volatile prices, global politics, and negative effects on the environment and the economy. Since the 1970s, efforts to replace gasoline with homegrown energy sources--ethanol, hydrogen, and electricity generated by coal, nuclear power, wind, sun, water, and biomass--have gained limited momentum. Recent concerns about carbon dioxide emissions and global warming have strengthened the argument for an entirely new form of energy for vehicles. But any modifications to the gasoline retail-distribution infrastructure would have to take into account a century of development and refinement as well as the habits, preferences, and economic choices of motorists and energy producers and retailers.
Date made
1911
maker
Gilbert & Barker Manufacturing Co.
ID Number
TR.MHI-P-7694A
accession number
230265
catalog number
MHI-P-7694A
This model represents a small rowing boat known as a New England sailing dory. During the nineteenth century, these dories were used in the fisheries near Cape Ann, Massachusetts.
Description
This model represents a small rowing boat known as a New England sailing dory. During the nineteenth century, these dories were used in the fisheries near Cape Ann, Massachusetts. Dories were also carried nested on the decks of fishing vessels, especially schooners in the later nineteenth century. A dory would be launched into the open sea and filled with fish, which along the New England coast was usually cod. The sailing dory usually had one or two masts with a spritsail and a jib for heavier weather. This model represents a dory 21 feet on the gunwale and 5 feet wide; the Smithsonian purchased it in 1883 from boat builders Higgins & Gifford, Gloucester, MA.
date made
1883
ID Number
TR.57573
catalog number
57573
accession number
4986
This Massachusetts license plate was registered to William Gray and used on his Winton Auto in 1910. Massachusetts was the first state to issue license plates to motorists, beginning in 1903. The commonwealth began putting the date on the plate in 1908.
Description
This Massachusetts license plate was registered to William Gray and used on his Winton Auto in 1910. Massachusetts was the first state to issue license plates to motorists, beginning in 1903. The commonwealth began putting the date on the plate in 1908. In 1907, Massachusetts became the first state to require drivers to take a driving test. In 1928 an embossed codfish was added to the plate in what was an early example of the now common phenomenon of decorative plates.
The plate is marked MASS.730/1910 on front, and “The Baltimore Enamel and Novelty Company” on the back.
date made
1910
ID Number
1981.0631.01
accession number
1981.0631
catalog number
1981.0631.01
Pounded by a large wave during an Atlantic storm in December 1929, the passenger ship Leviathan developed a serious crack. It ran across C Deck just aft the forward funnel uptakes and down the ship’s starboard (right) side.
Description
Pounded by a large wave during an Atlantic storm in December 1929, the passenger ship Leviathan developed a serious crack. It ran across C Deck just aft the forward funnel uptakes and down the ship’s starboard (right) side. This rivet was one of 6,000 produced to fasten replacement steel plates to the ship’s hull when the crack was repaired in February 1930, while the Leviathan lay at the government pier in Hoboken, New Jersey.
The ocean liner Leviathan was built as the Vaterland for Germany's Hamburg-American Line in 1914. During World War I the American government seized the ship and operated it as a troopship. After a complete reconditioning at Newport News, Virginia, in 1922-23, the Leviathan became the flagship of the new United States Lines, which operated it for the U.S. Shipping Board until 1929. Subsequently sold into private hands, the ship ran until 1934. Laid up as a result of high operating costs and low Depression-era patronage, the Leviathan was sold to Scottish shipbreakers in 1938 and dismantled.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930
ID Number
1991.0856.17
catalog number
1991.0856.17
accession number
1991.0856
The stiff wood and metal frame of velocipedes resulted in a rough ride, garnering them the “boneshaker” moniker. Propelled by pedals attached to the front axle, velocipedes were the historical antecedent to the high-wheeler and safety bicycle later in 19th century.
Description
The stiff wood and metal frame of velocipedes resulted in a rough ride, garnering them the “boneshaker” moniker. Propelled by pedals attached to the front axle, velocipedes were the historical antecedent to the high-wheeler and safety bicycle later in 19th century. With no identifying marks, it is difficult to establish a firm provenance for the vehicle. When S. R. Sturdevant donated the vehicle to the National Museum in 1889, he believed it was made around 1869 in Dayton, Ohio.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1866
ID Number
1986.0194.01
catalog number
180456
accession number
1986.0194
This motorcycle was designed in 1901 by noted bicycle racer Oscar Hedstrom. Hedstrom worked for the Hendee Manufacturing Company of Springfield, Massachusetts and was tasked with designing a gasoline powered motorcycle from the bicycles the company already produced.
Description
This motorcycle was designed in 1901 by noted bicycle racer Oscar Hedstrom. Hedstrom worked for the Hendee Manufacturing Company of Springfield, Massachusetts and was tasked with designing a gasoline powered motorcycle from the bicycles the company already produced. It is one of the 143 motorcycles built in 1902, the year the model was first offered for sale. The introductory model of motorcycle was called the India, which the company adopted as its name in 1923.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1902
ID Number
TR.309934
catalog number
309934
accession number
109248
Every whaling voyage began with assembling a crew from whatever labor pool was available in a port city at a particular time. In New Bedford in late May 1876, 31 men signed to work aboard the 106-foot bark Bartholomew Gosnold for its next voyage.
Description
Every whaling voyage began with assembling a crew from whatever labor pool was available in a port city at a particular time. In New Bedford in late May 1876, 31 men signed to work aboard the 106-foot bark Bartholomew Gosnold for its next voyage. Less than half were from the United States; the rest were from Portugal, England, Ireland, Germany, France and Scotland. The two Frenchmen and one of the eight Portuguese were listed as blacks; the remaining men were of light or brown complexion. Four each of the crew were in their forties and thirties; 16 were in their twenties, and six were in their teens. Three of these teenagers, all from the New Bedford area, were only 16 years old when they shipped out.
date made
1876-05
ID Number
TR.103009.03
catalog number
103009.03
accession number
12006
This large, kerosene-fueled switch lamp, ca. 1900s-1940s, was placed immediately adjacent to the manual operating lever that controlled the position of a switch in a railroad track.
Description
This large, kerosene-fueled switch lamp, ca. 1900s-1940s, was placed immediately adjacent to the manual operating lever that controlled the position of a switch in a railroad track. The lever, operated by a brakeman or switchman, changed the position of the movable rails of the switch, aligning the switch for a train's movement from one route to another, or from a main track to a siding track.
This lamp has fresnel lenses - two blue and two red. The crenelated top allows heat to escape from the burner. The body is embossed with the initials, "M.C.R.R.", showing that it was made for and used on the Michigan Central Railroad, a major part of the New York Central System.
A switch lamp's position was mechanically interlinked with the position of the switch, so that the lamp automatically indicated which way the switch was aligned. When aligned for a main route or normal path ("normal" as specified in the railroad's employee timetable and/or standing instructions for that particular switch's milepost location), the lamp's green (or blue) lenses showed fore and aft; when the switch was changed to a diverging route or siding, the lamp rotated 90 degrees so that the red lenses showed fore and aft.
Clearly, the safety of passing trains was dependent on the accurate indication of the lamp, if a derailment due to a misaligned switch was to be prevented.
This large-size lamp is of a type typically used on principal tracks in railroad yards or on main routes in the vicinity of junctions or stations. The kerosene fuel for the lamp had to be replenished regularly by nearby employees. Electric lighting for such lamps became common in the 1890s-1900s along heavily used routes. But kerosene lamps were common into the 1950s along lightly used routes and in many rail yards.
Location
Currently not on view
user
Michigan Central Railroad
maker
Peter Gray & Sons
ID Number
1989.0687.01
catalog number
1989.0687.01
accession number
1989.0687
The most dangerous act in the dangerous business of whaling was “spading flukes.” The whaleboat drew up close alongside a desperate, unpredictable whale on the water surface, and a crewman used a boat spade or fluke lance to sever the whale’s tail tendons.
Description
The most dangerous act in the dangerous business of whaling was “spading flukes.” The whaleboat drew up close alongside a desperate, unpredictable whale on the water surface, and a crewman used a boat spade or fluke lance to sever the whale’s tail tendons. This effectively immobilized the prey, for the whale couldn’t swim without its tail.
According to James Temple Brown, who wrote the 1883 catalog of the Smithsonian’s whaling collection, the fluke lance was exceedingly rare and was regarded as “a monstrosity by all the fraternity”. This rare inscribed example was used aboard the starboard whaleboat of the bark Sea Fox.
Date made
ca 1880-1889
authored whaling reference material
Brown, James Temple
maker
Driggs, James D.
ID Number
TR.056358
catalog number
056358
accession number
012298
By the later 19th century, guns had replaced most hand harpoons and lances, since they were far more efficient and deadly to the prey. They also could be shot from a safer distance from the prey than the hand tools could be wielded.
Description
By the later 19th century, guns had replaced most hand harpoons and lances, since they were far more efficient and deadly to the prey. They also could be shot from a safer distance from the prey than the hand tools could be wielded. The darting gun was one of the more popular types. Loaded with different darts, this versatile weapon could be used both for harpooning and killing whales.
This particular gun was displayed at the 1883 International Fisheries Exhibition in London, England. After the display ended, it was donated to the Smithsonian by its inventor, Capt. Eben Pierce of New Bedford, Mass.
date made
1880s
guns replaced hand tools
late 19th century
displayed at the International Fisheries Exhibition
1883
maker
Pierce, Eben
ID Number
TR.316550
catalog number
316550
accession number
66767
The bony substance from the mouths of whales known as baleen is formed of keratin, like human hair and nails. It hangs in long, parallel sheets from the upper jaws of the blue, right, and minke whales, as well as other lesser-known species.
Description
The bony substance from the mouths of whales known as baleen is formed of keratin, like human hair and nails. It hangs in long, parallel sheets from the upper jaws of the blue, right, and minke whales, as well as other lesser-known species. Its hairy fringe filters food from seawater.
Dried out, baleen’s strength and flexibility made it ideal for buggy whips, corset busks, and umbrella ribs before the advent of plastic. A whale’s bone could actually be worth more than its oil. This man’s large umbrella has a wooden shaft, heavy hinged baleen ribs made in short sections, and an ivory handle. Marked “G. Hobbs, Barre,” it belonged to the donor’s grandfather, who lived in Barre, Massachusetts, until around the end of the Civil War.
Date made
ca 1835-1865
user
Hobbs, George
ID Number
AG.169283.01
accession number
169283
catalog number
169283.01
In the later 19th century, guns with explosive charges shooting the harpoons took the place of hand tools for catching and killing whales. They were much safer, for they could be shot at a whale from greater distances than a hand lance could be applied.
Description
In the later 19th century, guns with explosive charges shooting the harpoons took the place of hand tools for catching and killing whales. They were much safer, for they could be shot at a whale from greater distances than a hand lance could be applied. They also penetrated the whale’s skin deeper and were harder for the animal to dislodge.
Gun harpoons were also far more efficient, for the steam whalers could approach the prey directly and did not need labor-intensive whaleboats and their highly trained crews any longer.
Designed to be fired from a shoulder gun, this nonexplosive style of harpoon was invented by Oliver Allen of Norwich, Conn. to fasten to whales prior to killing.
date made
mid-1800s
harpoons replaced hand tools
late 19th century
patentee
Allen, Oliver
inventor
Allen, Oliver
ID Number
AG.056230
catalog number
056230
accession number
012333
patent number
5949
This odd tool was used to scrape the flesh off the bones from a freshly caught whale. It was the last step in processing the whale’s body before the bone was partially dried on deck and then stowed below in the cargo hold.
Description
This odd tool was used to scrape the flesh off the bones from a freshly caught whale. It was the last step in processing the whale’s body before the bone was partially dried on deck and then stowed below in the cargo hold. Once the ship was back in port, the bone was placed on end in large yards to dry further.
The bone and baleen—rows of bony strips in a whale’s upper jaw that filter food from seawater—from a whaling voyage could yield as much as $50,000, or even greater profits than the oil itself. Baleen served a wide variety of purposes from buggy whips to umbrella ribs to women’s corset stays.
date made
1880s
ID Number
AG.057778
catalog number
057778
accession number
012278
Whaling crews used mincing knives to cut the blubber strips into thin slices down to, but not through, the thick whale skin. This process increased the surface area of the blubber and helped it melt faster in the try-pots.
Description
Whaling crews used mincing knives to cut the blubber strips into thin slices down to, but not through, the thick whale skin. This process increased the surface area of the blubber and helped it melt faster in the try-pots. Cut in this fashion, the sections of whale blubber and skin were known as “bible leaves” because they resembled the pages of a book.
date made
1876
collected
1876
ID Number
AG.025912
accession number
005019
catalog number
025912
Explosive lances were designed to kill a whale by exploding inside its body. Many different types were invented in the late 19th century. When they worked properly, they were extremely efficient.They could either be shot out of guns or set at the end of darting guns.
Description
Explosive lances were designed to kill a whale by exploding inside its body. Many different types were invented in the late 19th century. When they worked properly, they were extremely efficient.
They could either be shot out of guns or set at the end of darting guns. These devices resembled harpoon handles, to which the explosive lances were fixed. Once a plunger touching the whale’s skin moved a specific length, it triggered an explosive charge that shot the lance into the whale’s body.
date made
late 1800s
patent date
1879
explosive lances were invented
late 19th century
patentee
Pierce, Eben
manufacturer
Brown, Frank E.
ID Number
AG.316544
catalog number
316544
accession number
066767
After a whale was captured and killed, its carcass was towed by the whaleboat to the side of the mother ship for processing.
Description
After a whale was captured and killed, its carcass was towed by the whaleboat to the side of the mother ship for processing. Cutting up the whale was done by crewmen standing on a wooden plank, or cutting stage, rigged out over the side of the ship so that they could stand directly over the body. Crewmen used this canvas “monkey belt” to secure themselves while they stripped the whale of its blubber. It was dangerous and slippery work. If a sailor slid into the water he risked drowning or being attacked by sharks looking for an easy meal.
date made
1883
ID Number
AG.057716
catalog number
057716
accession number
2009.0184

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.