Transportation

1955 Ford Country Squire

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.

Date: 1900s

Scrimshaw Sperm Whale Tooth, mid 19th Century

The obverse of this tooth has an image of a full rigged sailing ship stopped in the water, with most of the sails furled or rolled up.
Description
The obverse of this tooth has an image of a full rigged sailing ship stopped in the water, with most of the sails furled or rolled up. Alongside it is the carcass of a big whale, spinning around as the ship’s crew slice and hoist the ‘blanket pieces’ or strips of skin and body fat off the carcass in long sheets onto the deck. Once the long sheets are aboard, they’ll be cut into smaller pieces and tossed into a pot of boiling ‘blubber’ to render into whale oil. Above the scene in flowing script are the words “Ship Swift cutting a large whale.” There are a few registration pinholes within the image, but most of it is lightly drawn freehand. Engraved below the ship are the initials WHS, and in modern ink writing around the initials is written “149890. N.Y. M. Willis./U.S.A.” The number is the Smithsonian’s catalog number; the remainder is a notation by an earlier owner of the tooth. There is also a tag marked “39” stuck to the surface of the tooth in front of the ship’s bowsprit.
The reverse depicts a full-rigged ship plowing hard through heavy seas, with all sails flying. It is chasing a pair of whales lying on the water surface just ahead of its bow. The engraving is very fine but quite shallow on this side, and multiple pinholes indicate that a magazine drawing was laid over the polished tooth and pricked through for the image detail.
Scrimshaw began in the late 18th or early 19th century as the art of carving whale bone and ivory aboard whale ships. The crew on whalers had plenty of leisure time between sighting and chasing whales, and the hard parts of whales were readily available on voyages that could last up to four years.
In its simplest form, a tooth was removed from the lower jaw of a sperm whale and the surface was prepared by scraping and sanding until it was smooth. The easiest way to begin an etching was to smooth a print over the tooth, prick the outline of the image with a needle and then “connect-the-dots” once the paper was removed. This allowed even unskilled craftsmen to create fine carvings. Some sailors were skilled enough to etch their drawings freehand. After the lines were finished, they were filled in with lamp black or sometimes colored pigments.
Scrimshaw could be decorative, like simple sperm whale teeth, or they could be useful, as in ivory napkin rings, corset busks (stiffeners), swifts for winding yarn or pie crimpers. The sailor’s hand-carved scrimshaw was then given to loved ones back on shore as souvenirs of the hard and lonely life aboard long and dangerous voyages.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
mid 19th century
ID Number
DL.149890
catalog number
149890
accession number
27163

Sugi of Imaichi Nikko

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late 19th century
ID Number
2012.0203.0065
accession number
2012.0203
catalog number
2012.0203.0065

Model, Horizontal Steam Steering Engine, late 19th century

This brass model represents an engine invented in the late 19th century by Herbert Wadsworth of Avon, NY. Powered by steam, the engine steered ships by controlling the rudder. The engine included a hand operated flat-slide valve. The model was given to the Smithsonian in 1932.
Description
This brass model represents an engine invented in the late 19th century by Herbert Wadsworth of Avon, NY. Powered by steam, the engine steered ships by controlling the rudder. The engine included a hand operated flat-slide valve. The model was given to the Smithsonian in 1932.
date made
late 19th century
ID Number
TR.310475
catalog number
310475
accession number
119413

Letter of Marque Topsail Schooner Lynx

Peter Kemp, Baltimore’s best known 19th-century shipbuilder, worked in the Fells Point area. He built the square topsail schooner Lynx in 1812 for just under $10,000. It measured 97 feet long and 25 tons, a bit larger than the swift pilot boats after which it was modeled.
Description
Peter Kemp, Baltimore’s best known 19th-century shipbuilder, worked in the Fells Point area. He built the square topsail schooner Lynx in 1812 for just under $10,000. It measured 97 feet long and 25 tons, a bit larger than the swift pilot boats after which it was modeled. Pilot boats had to be fast, for the first one that reached a vessel offshore won the job to lead it through local waters into the port facilities.
The Lynx was a letter of marque—a merchant vessel authorized to take prizes—rather than a privateer designed and built only to raid enemy shipping. Letters of marque were armed merchant vessels which were granted the authority to chase enemy merchantmen during the normal course of business, if an opportunity arose. Unlike privateers, letter of marque vessels paid their crews a regular wage, and their income did not depend on income from enemy ships. As a result, the Lynx carried only six guns and a 40-man crew instead of the many guns and big crews of privateers.
Lynx served less than a year before it was captured by a British fleet of 17 vessels while trying to run a blockade off the Rappahannock River, Virginia. Renamed the Mosquidobit, it served in the British naval squadron blockading Chesapeake Bay. At the end of the War of 1812, it served against France. In recognition of its superior sailing characteristics, its hull shape was recorded by the Royal Navy. In 1820, it resumed service as a private merchant vessel.
Date made
1964
Associated Date
19th century
shipbuilder
Kemp, Peter
ID Number
TR.323263
catalog number
323263
accession number
249753

Goat pulling cart of kids

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1907
ID Number
1983.0376.0035
catalog number
1983.0376.035
accession number
1983.0376

Scrimshaw Sperm Whale Tooth, mid-19th Century

This small sperm whale tooth is carved on two sides, with the pictures apparently unrelated. On the obverse is a heavy woman standing in a theatrical entry, probably in some sort of operatic pose.
Description
This small sperm whale tooth is carved on two sides, with the pictures apparently unrelated. On the obverse is a heavy woman standing in a theatrical entry, probably in some sort of operatic pose. Her arms are crossed, holding a long shawl around her shoulders over a heavy, floor-length gown. Her eyes are more deeply engraved than other features and infilled with black paint, emphasizing her solemn gaze into an imaginary audience. The technique used by the artist is a combination of pinpricking and freehand carving, for an amateur effect.
Although the subject on the reverse also is a woman, the effect is completely different. Here, a beautiful, elegantly dressed young woman gazes demurely downwards at a closed fan in one hand. A large bustle adorns the back of her dress, which is made of rich, elegant patterned materials. Her hair is swept up in a bun, decorated and held up by a band with red highlights. Carved by the pinprick method, the original artwork used by the scrimshaw artist was probably out of a ladies’ fashion magazine of the period. The use of pinpricking for both linework and integrated detailing speaks to an experienced artist comfortable with his tools, techniques and subject matter.
Scrimshaw began in the late 18th or early 19th century as the art of carving whale bone and ivory aboard whale ships. The crew on whalers had plenty of leisure time between sighting and chasing whales, and the hard parts of whales were readily available on voyages that could last up to four years.
In its simplest form, a tooth was removed from the lower jaw of a sperm whale and the surface was prepared by scraping and sanding until it was smooth. The easiest way to begin an etching was to smooth a print over the tooth, prick the outline of the image with a needle and then “connect-the-dots” once the paper was removed. This allowed even unskilled craftsmen to create fine carvings. Some sailors were skilled enough to etch their drawings freehand. After the lines were finished, they were filled in with lamp black or sometimes colored pigments.
Scrimshaw could be decorative, like simple sperm whale teeth, or they could be useful, as in ivory napkin rings, corset busks (stiffeners), swifts for winding yarn or pie crimpers. The sailor’s hand-carved scrimshaw was then given to loved ones back on shore as souvenirs of the hard and lonely life aboard long and dangerous voyages.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
mid 19th century
ID Number
DL.374499
catalog number
374499
accession number
136263

Child's Hand Car, “Irish Mail,” ca. 1900

The Wabash Manufacturing Company of Wabash, Indiana made this hand car during the early 1900s. The hand car is a four-wheeled vehicle propelled by pumping the handlebar and steered with the feet on the front wheels.
Description
The Wabash Manufacturing Company of Wabash, Indiana made this hand car during the early 1900s. The hand car is a four-wheeled vehicle propelled by pumping the handlebar and steered with the feet on the front wheels. Colloquially known as an “Irish Mail,” the donor used this as a toy in his youth.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
maker
Wabash Mfg. Co.
ID Number
TR.312869
catalog number
312869
accession number
170052

Scrimshaw Sperm Whale Tooth, mid 19th Century

On the obverse of this tooth, eight men in a rowboat are pulling offshore for a ship in the distance. One man, probably an officer or mate, is standing in the stern directing the crew to row; a sketchy American flag is flying at the bow.
Description
On the obverse of this tooth, eight men in a rowboat are pulling offshore for a ship in the distance. One man, probably an officer or mate, is standing in the stern directing the crew to row; a sketchy American flag is flying at the bow. Farther offshore, a fogbank is rolling in and obscuring the hulls of more ships offshore; only their upper sails are visible. On the far left, another ship is visible, but its upper masts and rig are missing. The absence of any pinholes in the composition indicates a freehand carving; the reverse side is polished but undecorated.
Scrimshaw began in the late 18th or early 19th century as the art of carving whale bone and ivory aboard whale ships. The crew on whalers had plenty of leisure time between sighting and chasing whales, and the hard parts of whales were readily available on voyages that could last up to four years.
In its simplest form, a tooth was removed from the lower jaw of a sperm whale and the surface was prepared by scraping and sanding until it was smooth. The easiest way to begin an etching was to smooth a print over the tooth, prick the outline of the image with a needle and then “connect-the-dots” once the paper was removed. This allowed even unskilled craftsmen to create fine carvings. Some sailors were skilled enough to etch their drawings freehand. After the lines were finished, they were filled in with lamp black or sometimes colored pigments.
Scrimshaw could be decorative, like simple sperm whale teeth, or they could be useful, as in ivory napkin rings, corset busks (stiffeners), swifts for winding yarn or pie crimpers. The sailor’s hand-carved scrimshaw was then given to loved ones back on shore as souvenirs of the hard and lonely life aboard long and dangerous voyages.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
mid 19th century
ID Number
DL.374476
catalog number
374476
accession number
136263

Autocar, 1901

The Autocar was designed by Louis S. Clarke, president and engineer of the Autocar Company, in 1901. This automobile is believed to be the first shaft-driven car constructed in the United States.
Description
The Autocar was designed by Louis S. Clarke, president and engineer of the Autocar Company, in 1901. This automobile is believed to be the first shaft-driven car constructed in the United States. In November 1901, this car was driven from the factory in Ardmore, Pa., to the auto show in New York City's Madison Square Garden in just over six hours. The 1901 Autocar has a water-cooled shaft-driven two-cylinder horizontal-opposed engine with a selective sliding-gear transmission.
The Autocar Company began life as the Pittsburg Motor Car Company in 1897. In 1899, the company moved to Ardmore, Pa., and changed its name to the Autocar Company. The Autocar Company began to make trucks as well as cars in 1907 and switched over to making trucks exclusively after 1911. In 1953, the White Motor Car Company bought a controlling interest in Autocar and moved the company to Exton, Pennsylvania. In the 1980s, Volvo bought the name, and the company changed hands again in 2001 with the purchase of the brand by the GVW Group. Since 2001 Autocar has produced heavy trucks for severe-service use.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1901
designer
Clarke, Louis S.
contributed
Firestone, Jr., Harvey S.
restoration
Rite-Way Auto Painters
White Motor Company
maker
Autocar Company
ID Number
TR.307257
catalog number
307257
accession number
68520

Ship Model, Lighthouse Tender Joseph Henry

This model represents the U.S. Lighthouse Tender Joseph Henry, a side-wheeled steamer built by Howard & Company in Jeffersonville, Indiana, in 1880. This 180-foot-long vessel was built for service along the nation’s inland waterways.
Description
This model represents the U.S. Lighthouse Tender Joseph Henry, a side-wheeled steamer built by Howard & Company in Jeffersonville, Indiana, in 1880. This 180-foot-long vessel was built for service along the nation’s inland waterways. Lighthouse tenders served both coastal and inland areas by delivering supplies, fuel, news, and relief and maintenance crew to lighthouses and lightships. They also maintained aids to navigation, including markers identifying channels, shoals, and obstructions. Based out of Memphis, the Joseph Henry worked along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers until 1904.
The vessel’s namesake, Joseph Henry, was America’s foremost scientist in the 19th century. His expertise was in the field of electromagnetism. Henry was a professor at the College of New Jersey (Princeton) when he was named the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, a position he held from 1846 until his death in 1878. He also served on the U.S. Lighthouse Board (1852-78), and implemented various improvements in lighting and signaling during his tenure. This lighthouse tender was named in his honor at its launching two years after his death.
Date made
1880
1962
used
late 19th century
ID Number
TR.321486
catalog number
321486
accession number
245714

Scrimshaw Sperm Whale Tooth, mid-late 19th Century

This classic example of scrimshaw has a portrait of a fashionable young woman pinpricked into the surface of a polished sperm whale’s tooth.
Description
This classic example of scrimshaw has a portrait of a fashionable young woman pinpricked into the surface of a polished sperm whale’s tooth. The artist’s inexperience is evident in the overuse of the pinpricking technique, whereby a magazine illustration is wetted and smoothed on the surface of a tooth and then pricked through to get the subject’s outline. Nearly every detail of this carving is guided by the original illustration, with nothing left to interpretation. As a result, the woman’s face has a deep, dark outline where the original picture was shaded. Her headband is decorated with tiny flowers and some portions of her hair and accessories are incomplete, giving an unfinished look to the artwork.
Scrimshaw began in the late 18th or early 19th century as the art of carving whale bone and ivory aboard whale ships. The crew on whalers had plenty of leisure time between sighting and chasing whales, and the hard parts of whales were readily available on voyages that could last up to four years.
In its simplest form, a tooth was removed from the lower jaw of a sperm whale and the surface was prepared by scraping and sanding until it was smooth. The easiest way to begin an etching was to smooth a print over the tooth, prick the outline of the image with a needle and then “connect-the-dots” once the paper was removed. This allowed even unskilled craftsmen to create fine carvings. Some sailors were skilled enough to etch their drawings freehand. After the lines were finished, they were filled in with lamp black or sometimes colored pigments.
Scrimshaw could be decorative, like simple sperm whale teeth, or they could be useful, as in ivory napkin rings, corset busks (stiffeners), swifts for winding yarn or pie crimpers. The sailor’s hand-carved scrimshaw was then given to loved ones back on shore as souvenirs of the hard and lonely life aboard long and dangerous voyages.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850 - 1900
ID Number
DL.374501
catalog number
374501
accession number
135263

50th Birthday of the Railroad Eng. V.V. Salov

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1908
ID Number
NU.69.127.420
catalog number
69.127.420
accession number
286471

toy, auto

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1900 - 1905
maker
Kenton Hardware Company
ID Number
1971.295669.908
accession number
295669
catalog number
295669.908

Navigational Track Chart for the German Nitrate Ship Pampa, 1904

By the mid-1870s, the Pacific guano trade had mined all the available bird guano from the South American and remote Pacific Ocean islands.
Description
By the mid-1870s, the Pacific guano trade had mined all the available bird guano from the South American and remote Pacific Ocean islands. Fortunately for international agricultural interests, nitrate and phosphate mines had recently been discovered inland in Peru and Chile to fill the gap, and big sailing ships from Europe and the United States exchanged the avian excrement for chemicals that could be mined and blended for fertilizers and other products.
This track chart measured daily progress for the German steel-hulled full-rigged ship Pampa from Hamburg, Germany to "The West Coast" (South America) on a 1904 voyage. Built at Rostock for the Flying P line of nitrate clippers, Pampa measured 295 ft. 5 in. long and 1777 tons (gross); the long-lived ship was an extremely fast sailer and set several records in its day. Pampa was dismasted in 1922 in a storm, sold by F. Laeisz (owners of the Flying P Line) and sent to British ship breakers.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1904
ID Number
1999.3004.02
catalog number
1999.3004.02
nonaccession number
1999.3004

Whaler's Explosive Lance

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

Model of a Brigantine

This is a three-masted, wooden planked model of an unnamed 19th century French brigantine, fully rigged and armed with six cannons.
Description
This is a three-masted, wooden planked model of an unnamed 19th century French brigantine, fully rigged and armed with six cannons. A French description of the model in the original accession file indicates that this sort of fine-lined, swift vessel was used by pirates or as messenger vessels, due to its speed and maneuverability.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 19th century
maker
unknown
ID Number
2005.0279.067
accession number
2005.0279
catalog number
2005.0279.067

Scrimshaw Walrus Tusk, 19th Century

This long, highly polished walrus tusk is scrimshawed on one side; the other remains rough and unpolished. At the bottom is a heraldic shield and weapons image with a British flag and a sash with a crown.
Description
This long, highly polished walrus tusk is scrimshawed on one side; the other remains rough and unpolished. At the bottom is a heraldic shield and weapons image with a British flag and a sash with a crown. Above is a mid-19th century bust portrait of a young woman with elaborately coiffed hair, a brooch on a ribbon around her neck and a low-cut fur bodice—possibly an opera singer or stage actress. Above, a circular motif frames an anchor topped with eight stars. The highest image is only a little more than halfway up the long tusk, and it is an unfinished scene of two doves both reaching for the same ribbon. The rest of the tusk is polished but undecorated to the top, which is pierced by a hole for hanging the piece. On the back in small letters is the word “HAZEN”, which might be the name of the scrimshander who carved this tusk.
Scrimshaw began in the late 18th or early 19th century as the art of carving whale bone and ivory aboard whale ships. The crew on whalers had plenty of leisure time between sighting and chasing whales, and the hard parts of whales were readily available on voyages that could last up to four years.
In its simplest form, a tooth was removed from the lower jaw of a sperm whale and the surface was prepared by scraping and sanding until it was smooth. The easiest way to begin an etching was to smooth a print over the tooth, prick the outline of the image with a needle and then “connect-the-dots” once the paper was removed. This allowed even unskilled craftsmen to create fine carvings. Some sailors were skilled enough to etch their drawings freehand. After the lines were finished, they were filled in with lamp black or sometimes colored pigments.
Scrimshaw could be decorative, like simple sperm whale teeth, or they could be useful, as in ivory napkin rings, corset busks (stiffeners), swifts for winding yarn or pie crimpers. The sailor’s hand-carved scrimshaw was then given to loved ones back on shore as souvenirs of the hard and lonely life aboard long and dangerous voyages.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
ID Number
DL.154079
catalog number
154079

Scrimshaw Ivory Whale Stamp, mid 19th Century

Generally carved from sperm whales teeth, whale stamps were used in whaleships’ official logbooks to record the type of whales captured on any given day, and the number of barrels of oil the whales yielded once its blubber or fat was boiled down into liquid.This whale stamp appea
Description
Generally carved from sperm whales teeth, whale stamps were used in whaleships’ official logbooks to record the type of whales captured on any given day, and the number of barrels of oil the whales yielded once its blubber or fat was boiled down into liquid.
This whale stamp appears to be made of two pieces of ivory. It has a “P” pinpricked into its top, and below are two parallel rings of pin pricks. Below is pricked the word “SPERM”, below which the whale ship’s name “PROGRESS” is pinpricked. On the opposite side of the round stamp are the letters “N.B.”; probably the carver’s initials. On the bottom is a long whale’s body with a hole in the middle to write the number of barrels of oil obtained from each whale recorded.
Scrimshaw began in the late 18th or early 19th century as the art of carving whale bone and ivory aboard whale ships. The crew on whalers had plenty of leisure time between sighting and chasing whales, and the hard parts of whales were readily available on voyages that could last up to four years.
In its simplest form, a tooth was removed from the lower jaw of a sperm whale and the surface was prepared by scraping and sanding until it was smooth. The easiest way to begin an etching was to smooth a print over the tooth, prick the outline of the image with a needle and then “connect-the-dots” once the paper was removed. This allowed even unskilled craftsmen to create fine carvings. Some sailors were skilled enough to etch their drawings freehand. After the lines were finished, they were filled in with lamp black or sometimes colored pigments.
Scrimshaw could be decorative, like simple sperm whale teeth, or they could be useful, as in ivory napkin rings, corset busks (stiffeners), swifts for winding yarn or pie crimpers. The sailor’s hand-carved scrimshaw was then given to loved ones back on shore as souvenirs of the hard and lonely life aboard long and dangerous voyages.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
mid 19th century
ID Number
1980.0260.01
accession number
1980.0260
catalog number
80.0260.01
1980.0260.01

64. The Cathedral, City of Mexico

date made
late 19th century
ID Number
2012.3033.4078
catalog number
2012.3033.4078
nonaccession number
2012.3033

Delivery Wagon

This three-spring delivery wagon was purchased from a collection in Baltimore, Maryland. It was collected to help build the museum's examples of common commercial horse drawn wagons used at the turn of the 20th century.
Description
This three-spring delivery wagon was purchased from a collection in Baltimore, Maryland. It was collected to help build the museum's examples of common commercial horse drawn wagons used at the turn of the 20th century. This type of wagon was used to deliver all kinds of light goods to homes and businesses. The wagon’s striping and scroll work was repainted in 1978 using the original patterns on the wagon. There is a label on the wagon marked "M. Martin, builder, Raspeburg, Md." Max Martin was a wheelwright, carriage, and wagon builder in Raspeburg, Maryland around 1914.
date made
ca 1900
maker
Martin, M.
ID Number
TR.336470
accession number
1978.0988
catalog number
336470

Scrimshaw Ivory Whale Stamp, mid 19th Century

Generally carved from sperm whales teeth, whale stamps were used in whaleships’ official logbooks to record the type of whales captured on any given day, and the number of barrels of oil the whale yielded once its blubber or fat was boiled down into liquid.This example has an “S”
Description
Generally carved from sperm whales teeth, whale stamps were used in whaleships’ official logbooks to record the type of whales captured on any given day, and the number of barrels of oil the whale yielded once its blubber or fat was boiled down into liquid.
This example has an “S” carved on its top; around the bottom the whale ship’s name “Splendid” is engraved. Below, the initials “H.B.” and fraction “1/2” are carved. On the bottom is a schematized whale in profile, with a hole in the middle of the stamp to write the number of barrels of oil it gave up.
Scrimshaw began in the late 18th or early 19th century as the art of carving whale bone and ivory aboard whale ships. The crew on whalers had plenty of leisure time between sighting and chasing whales, and the hard parts of whales were readily available on voyages that could last up to four years.
In its simplest form, a tooth was removed from the lower jaw of a sperm whale and the surface was prepared by scraping and sanding until it was smooth. The easiest way to begin an etching was to smooth a print over the tooth, prick the outline of the image with a needle and then “connect-the-dots” once the paper was removed. This allowed even unskilled craftsmen to create fine carvings. Some sailors were skilled enough to etch their drawings freehand. After the lines were finished, they were filled in with lamp black or sometimes colored pigments.
Scrimshaw could be decorative, like simple sperm whale teeth, or they could be useful, as in ivory napkin rings, corset busks (stiffeners), swifts for winding yarn or pie crimpers. The sailor’s hand-carved scrimshaw was then given to loved ones back on shore as souvenirs of the hard and lonely life aboard long and dangerous voyages.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
mid 19th century
ID Number
1980.0260.02
accession number
1980.0260
catalog number
80.0260.02
1980.0260.02

Scrimshaw Sperm Whale Tooth, mid 19th Century

The carving and artistry on this sperm whale tooth indicate the hand of a professional artist or engraver. In the center of the obverse is an American crest with stars and stripes.
Description
The carving and artistry on this sperm whale tooth indicate the hand of a professional artist or engraver. In the center of the obverse is an American crest with stars and stripes. From either side come American flags hung on spears, which change on both sides into three bayonets affixed to rifle barrels below. Under the bayonets are large cannon muzzles, below which are the rams used to clean and prepare the tubes for the next shot. At the top of the crest, a large sailing ship with all sails raised sails towards the viewer. Below is an intricate geometric border surmounted by a floral device in the center under the crest.
The complex shading, imaginative composition and absence of any image registration pinholes attest to the master craftsmanship of the piece; unfortunately, it is undecorated on the back side.
Scrimshaw began in the late 18th or early 19th century as the art of carving whale bone and ivory aboard whale ships. The crew on whalers had plenty of leisure time between sighting and chasing whales, and the hard parts of whales were readily available on voyages that could last up to four years.
In its simplest form, a tooth was removed from the lower jaw of a sperm whale and the surface was prepared by scraping and sanding until it was smooth. The easiest way to begin an etching was to smooth a print over the tooth, prick the outline of the image with a needle and then “connect-the-dots” once the paper was removed. This allowed even unskilled craftsmen to create fine carvings. Some sailors were skilled enough to etch their drawings freehand. After the lines were finished, they were filled in with lamp black or sometimes colored pigments.
Scrimshaw could be decorative, like simple sperm whale teeth, or they could be useful, as in ivory napkin rings, corset busks (stiffeners), swifts for winding yarn or pie crimpers. The sailor’s hand-carved scrimshaw was then given to loved ones back on shore as souvenirs of the hard and lonely life aboard long and dangerous voyages.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
mid 19th century
ID Number
DL.374485
catalog number
374485
accession number
136263

Sailor's Embroidery

Sailors sometimes used their off-duty hours aboard ship to do hand crafts such as carving, knotting, and needlework. This sailor's silk embroidery on linen of patriotic symbols and Civil War-related scenes, was "Worked at sea by J. M. Adams" in the late 19th century.
Description
Sailors sometimes used their off-duty hours aboard ship to do hand crafts such as carving, knotting, and needlework. This sailor's silk embroidery on linen of patriotic symbols and Civil War-related scenes, was "Worked at sea by J. M. Adams" in the late 19th century. It is 20-1/2 inches long. The center vignette has "Liberty" seated on a wharf beside the "Mississippi River," looking at a three-masted ship flying the stars and stripes. She holds a pole topped with a liberty cap in her left hand and a shield decorated with stars, stripes, and the word "Liberty" in her right. An anchor and cannon balls are at her feet.
"United States of America" and "In God We Trust" are embroidered on the scene's circular frame. Atop the frame is an American eagle holding an "E Pluribus Unum" banner. A rising sun is behind the eagle, and a stars-and-stripes shield is at its feet. To the right and left of the eagle are rifles with bayonets and American flags. To the right of the frame is a sailor; at the left is a soldier in Zouave uniform. The corner vignettes depict: 1. The "Battle of Mill Creek," fought in Kentucky on January 19, 1862, ending in a Union victory and a Confederate retreat. It is based on an engraving published by Johnson, Fry & Co., New York, from a painting by Alonzo Chappel. 2.The "Death of Ellsworth" in Alexandria, Va. He was the first Union soldier killed in the Civil War. It is based on an illustration in Harper's Weekly of June 15, 1861, from a sketch by Francis Brownell, a young Zouave soldier who immediately avenged Colonel Ellsworth's death and became a national hero. 3. Monument in Charlestown, Mass; designed by Martin and Joseph Milmore. Dedicated in 187l, it reads, "Erected in memory of the heroes of Charlestown who fell in the late Civil War." 4. Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument on "Boston Common," Massachusetts. Designed by Martin Milmore and dedicated in 1877.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
late 19th Century
maker
Adams, J. M.
ID Number
TE.E388178
catalog number
E388178
accession number
182022

Scrimshaw Sperm Whale Tooth, mid 19th Century

This large sperm whale tooth is 7-1/2 inches high. On the main side is a portrait bust of a middle-aged man from the left side. He is well dressed with vest, tie and jacket, but unshaven and growing out a beard. His hair is thin on top and he has a comb over.
Description
This large sperm whale tooth is 7-1/2 inches high. On the main side is a portrait bust of a middle-aged man from the left side. He is well dressed with vest, tie and jacket, but unshaven and growing out a beard. His hair is thin on top and he has a comb over. Although he is not identified, the unusual size of the tooth and high quality of the engraving indicates that he was an important individual.
The reverse of the tooth has a woman on a rearing horse on a rocky landscape; she holds the reins in her left hand and is waving on high a flag on a short pole in her right hand. A helmeted male figure with a staff, bow and small shield is holding a section of her garment, but it is not clear whether he is helping her with a frisky horse or trying to pull her off it. This is probably some sort of theatrical, allegorical or mythical scene (Apollo chasing Daphne?), but its meaning and any relationship to the figure on the other side are not clear.
Scrimshaw began in the late 18th or early 19th century as the art of carving whale bone and ivory aboard whale ships. The crew on whalers had plenty of leisure time between sighting and chasing whales, and the hard parts of whales were readily available on voyages that could last up to four years.
In its simplest form, a tooth was removed from the lower jaw of a sperm whale and the surface was prepared by scraping and sanding until it was smooth. The easiest way to begin an etching was to smooth a print over the tooth, prick the outline of the image with a needle and then “connect-the-dots” once the paper was removed. This allowed even unskilled craftsmen to create fine carvings. Some sailors were skilled enough to etch their drawings freehand. After the lines were finished, they were filled in with lamp black or sometimes colored pigments.
Scrimshaw could be decorative, like simple sperm whale teeth, or they could be useful, as in ivory napkin rings, corset busks (stiffeners), swifts for winding yarn or pie crimpers. The sailor’s hand-carved scrimshaw was then given to loved ones back on shore as souvenirs of the hard and lonely life aboard long and dangerous voyages.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
mid 19th century
ID Number
DL.374481
catalog number
374481
accession number
136263

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