| National Museum of American History

This boat compass was used by merchant seamen aboard one of the lifeboats from the SS Alcoa Guide, an American freighter sunk by the German submarine U- 123 three hundred miles east of Cape Hatteras on April 16, 1942.

Description: This boat compass was used by merchant seamen aboard one of the lifeboats from the SS Alcoa Guide, an American freighter sunk by the German submarine U- 123 three hundred miles east of Cape Hatteras on April 16, 1942. The donor, Waldemar Semenov, was a Junior Engineer aboard the vessel and one of twenty-seven men who survived the attack. After drifting for three days, crowded into two lifeboats, they were spotted by a search plane and rescued a day later by the USS Broome, a navy destroyer. A life raft carrying another four members of the freighter’s crew was not found until three weeks had passed, at which point only one man was still alive. Seven lives were lost in the attack.; Nineteen forty-two was a deadly year for shipping in the waters of the Atlantic. U-boats roaming the seas destroyed over 400 ships, including 82 American merchant vessels, in the first six months alone. The Alcoa Guide was the fourth U.S. merchant ship sunk by U-123 in the first two weeks of April. Unarmed and without an escort, the ship was vulnerable as it steamed from New Jersey toward the island of Guadaloupe with a load of U.S. Army equipment for troops stationed in the West Indies, and a cargo of flour for the island. After detecting the freighter, U-123’s commander, Lt. Reinhard Hardegen, ordered the sub to the surface and began firing. Desperate to defend his ship, the Alcoa Guide’s master, Capt. Samuel Cobb, attempted to ram the sub, but to no avail. The bombardment continued and, after two hours, the freighter sank.

date made: late 1930s
Alcoa Guide sank: 1942-04-16

captain of Alcoa Guide: Cobb, Samuel
maker: Marine Compass Company

ID Number: 2005.0295.01
accession number: 2005.0295
catalog number: 2005.0295.01

These ten painted aluminum panels comprised a wall mural aboard the ocean liner SS United States. Called “The Currents,” the mural depicts the Atlantic Ocean with the direction of the ocean’s currents rendered in stylized, dimensional arrows.

Description: These ten painted aluminum panels comprised a wall mural aboard the ocean liner SS United States. Called “The Currents,” the mural depicts the Atlantic Ocean with the direction of the ocean’s currents rendered in stylized, dimensional arrows. The continents are applied to the panels in gold leaf, while the ocean is painted in various shades of blue and green. Aboard the ship this mural was located on the starboard side of the first class observation lounge. “The Currents” and a companion mural called “The Winds” were painted by artist Raymond John Wendell.; Designed by naval architect William Francis Gibbs, the SS United States was created out of an unusually close connection to the federal government. During the Second World War, the U.S. Navy recognized that converted ocean liners were effective transports for conveying troops to far-flung war zones. After the war ended, the government pursued the building of a technologically advanced passenger vessel that could be converted to carry troops in the event of another global conflict. With significant federal funding and support, the SS United States was built and launched in 1952. Although it was never converted for wartime use, many of its design details remained classified into the 1970s.; One of the most unusual features of the ship was the tremendous amount of aluminum and the lack of wood Gibbs specified for its construction. Determined to build a ship that was not only fast, but ultra-safe, Gibbs was especially concerned with fire prevention after several wartime catastrophes. One that haunted him was the story of the luxury liner RMS Empress of Britain that was attacked by a German bomber while transporting hundreds of soldiers on October 26, 1940. Sixty-four troops were killed in the resulting blaze, which was fueled by the ship’s lavish wood carvings, staircases, and paneled rooms.; Two thousand tons of aluminum were used in the construction and outfitting of the SS United States, making the ship lighter and more fire-resistant than any vessel afloat. The furniture and artwork, including these panels, were all made of aluminum. Publicists for the ship claimed that the only wood on board was to be found in the galley’s chopping blocks and in the piano. Gibbs even tried to reduce this miniscule amount of wood, but Steinway & Sons allegedly refused to build an aluminum piano. To this day, the SS United States is considered the fastest and one of the safest ships ever put to sea.

date made: 1952
SS United States built and launched: 1952

naval architect of SS United States: Gibbs, William Francis
painter: Wendell, Raymond John

ID Number: TR.336767.154
catalog number: 336767.154
accession number: 1978.2219

The inventor Joseph Francis (1801-93) was best known for developing corrugated-iron lifesaving boats.

Description: The inventor Joseph Francis (1801-93) was best known for developing corrugated-iron lifesaving boats. This 1841 patent model reveals his ideas about a new method for constructing boats made of wood.; Trade and communication in 1840s America relied heavily on waterborne transportation, and boat building was an important related industry. With this invention, Joseph Francis sought to reduce the cost of constructing boats by simplifying the process. He proposed setting up a reusable frame over which very narrow planks would be bent to form the hull. The planks would be fastened together by bolts or nails driven through their edges, and no complicated joinery was to be done where the curves of the hull converged at bow and stern. “Ordinary workmen and machinery” could build this simple boat, he wrote. It would save on material, as none of the planks would overlap, and it would not require caulking, “as the narrow planking is drawn so closely together by the . . . nails . . . .” Finally, Francis claimed that the boat’s metal fasteners, buried between the planks, would not be likely to corrode and loosen the structure. Francis may have used this technique in his own boat works, but it was otherwise ignored by the nation’s many skilled boat builders.

date made: 1841
patent date: 1841-10-11

patentee: Francis, Joseph
inventor: Francis, Joseph

ID Number: TR.308538
accession number: 89797
catalog number: 308538
patent number: 2,293

The 102-foot three-masted scow schooner Milton was built by Ellsworth & Davidson at Milwaukee, Wis., in 1867.

Description: The 102-foot three-masted scow schooner Milton was built by Ellsworth & Davidson at Milwaukee, Wis., in 1867. It spent 20 years hauling lumber on Lake Michigan, along with hundreds of other small boats nicknamed the “mosquito fleet.” Built to carry as much cargo as possible, many of these flat-bottom boats did not sail very well.; The Milton collided with the ship W.H. Hinsdale at Milwaukee in December 1867, causing about $100 in damage to each vessel. It also ran aground twice during its career.; On 8 September 1885, while transporting a cargo of cedar posts and cordwood, the Milton sank off Two Rivers, Wis., during an autumn storm. The entire crew of five men was lost—three of them brothers.

Date made: 1962
Milton built: 1867

ID Number: TR.321529
catalog number: 321529
accession number: 246222

Operating out of New York, the Black Ball Line pioneered scheduled packet ship service to Liverpool, England in 1818, and the firm continued operating until it was dissolved in 1879.

Description: Operating out of New York, the Black Ball Line pioneered scheduled packet ship service to Liverpool, England in 1818, and the firm continued operating until it was dissolved in 1879. Its success resulted from focusing on the lucrative passenger trade, at a time when immigration to the United States was at its highest level.; In 1851, the massive three-deck packet Isaac Webb was the seventh and last Black Baller launched from the shipyard of famous New York shipbuilder William H. Webb, who also owned a 1/16 share of the ship. Named after the builder’s father, the Isaac Webb measured 185 feet in length and 1,359 tons. It made about four round trips per year between New York and Liverpool, England from 1851–1879. The average length of a passage was 37 days, with the shortest voyage recorded as 25 days.; In June 1863, while westbound from Liverpool to New York with 658 passengers, the Isaac Webb was captured by the Confederate commerce raider Florida. A bond for a $40,000 ransom freed the ship to complete the passage. In late December 1866, while westbound for New York, the Webb encountered a gale so cold that it killed three crew, and several others were badly frostbitten. On the same passage nearly two years later, another powerful gale killed the captain.; The Isaac Webb continued to sail after the Black Ball Line closed. In late October 1880, while bound from Europe to New York, it was abandoned at sea by its crew of 24, who were rescued by a passing steamship bound for Boston. British marine painter Samuel Walters completed this oil painting around 1851, when the ship was new.

Date made: 1851
ship was launched: 1851
ship made transatlantic voyages from New York and Liverpool: 1851-1880
ship was abandoned: 1880-10

shipping firm: Black Ball Line
shipbuilder: Webb, William H.
ship's namesake: Webb, Isaac
maker: Walters, Samuel

ID Number: TR.317527
catalog number: 317527
accession number: 229943

Pie crimpers or jagging wheels are among the most common scrimshaw items carved by American 19th century whalemen. They were useful, as well as decorative kitchen implements.

Description: Pie crimpers or jagging wheels are among the most common scrimshaw items carved by American 19th century whalemen. They were useful, as well as decorative kitchen implements. The fluted wheel was used to cut dough or seal the top of a pie crust to the sides before baking.; This example’s shaft is in the form of a snake or sea serpent, with a tongue in the shape of a three-tine fork. The fork was used to decorate or poke holes in the upper pie crust to vent the steam created by baking.

date made: 19th century
Associated Date: 19th century

ID Number: DL.388597
catalog number: 388597
accession number: 182022

“Straight edges” or rulers were used aboard ships as writing guides on the unlined pages of letters, journals and logbooks.

Description: “Straight edges” or rulers were used aboard ships as writing guides on the unlined pages of letters, journals and logbooks. The back side of this long stick is marked in 2-1/4, 4-1/2 and 9-inch sections, indicating another usage, probably by the ship’s cooper to measure the level of liquid (water, wine, beer or whale oil) in his wooden casks.

date made: 1800s
collected: 1960-07-26

ID Number: DL.61.0049
catalog number: 61.49
accession number: 231930
catalog number: 61.0049

For much of the nineteenth century, ladies' fashion required very small waists. The most common way to achieve this was to wear a tight laced corset, which could be adjusted according to the specific garment it accompanied.

Description: For much of the nineteenth century, ladies' fashion required very small waists. The most common way to achieve this was to wear a tight laced corset, which could be adjusted according to the specific garment it accompanied. Like this example, many of them were handmade to fit an individual, although they were also available in shops.; One of the most intimate pieces of scrimshaw a whaleman could produce was a bone or baleen busk, or corset stiffener. These were carved and given to a crewman's loved one, who then inserted it into a matching sleeve on her corset as a unique memento of her beloved's feelings.; One side of this whalebone busk contains three cityscapes, two of which have busy ports with lots of shipping. The other side has eight vertical pictures, topped by a full frontal portrait of a beautiful young woman. She may represent the recipient of this busk. Below her is a city scene with multiple church steeples over a flag in a precinct. A multi-colored circular geometric pattern is at the center, above a garden scene over a delicate basket of flowers. Next is a three-masted warship, and at the bottom is a large rural villa overlooking a walled garden. Can these pictures be woven into a story?

date made: mid-nineteenth century; mid-1800s
fashion: 19th century

ID Number: DL.374478
catalog number: 374478
accession number: 136263

In early 1841 at the age of 21, Herman Melville shipped out on a voyage to the Pacific Ocean aboard the Massachusetts whaler Acushnet, which he deserted in the Marquesa Islands after only 18 months.

Description: In early 1841 at the age of 21, Herman Melville shipped out on a voyage to the Pacific Ocean aboard the Massachusetts whaler Acushnet, which he deserted in the Marquesa Islands after only 18 months. He then served briefly on the Australian whaler Lucy Ann; the Nantucket whaler Charles & Henry, and in the US Navy. His whaleship experience supplied the background for his sixth and most famous novel, Moby-Dick, or the Whale, published in 1851. The first American edition of Moby-Dick of 2,915 copies did not sell well at $1.50 and only netted Melville lifetime earnings of $556.37.; Although he continued to write poetry and fiction, Melville supported himself as a New York City customs inspector for 19 years before dying in 1891 at the age of 72. It was not until the 1920s that Melville achieved recognition as one of the icons of American literature. This 1930 edition of Moby Dick, published by Random House and illustrated by Rockwell Kent, introduced Melville to thousands of Americans.

Date made: 1930

author: Melville, Herman
illustrator: Kent, Rockwell
publisher: Random House, Inc.

ID Number: 2007.0071.1
catalog number: 2007.0071.1
accession number: 2007.0071

For much of the 19th century, ladies’ fashion required very small waists. The most common way to achieve this was to wear a tightly laced corset, which could be adjusted according to the specific dress it accompanied.

Description: For much of the 19th century, ladies’ fashion required very small waists. The most common way to achieve this was to wear a tightly laced corset, which could be adjusted according to the specific dress it accompanied. Like this example, many corsets were handmade to fit an individual, although they were also available in shops.; One of the most intimate pieces of scrimshaw a whaleman could produce was a bone or baleen busk, or corset stiffener. These were carved and given to a crewman’s loved one, who then inserted it into a matching sleeve on her corset as a unique memento of her beloved’s feelings.; Each of these busks has a cityscape etched into one side. The other side of one has eight pictures, topped by a portrait of a beautiful young woman. The other has a plaintive love poem on the back.

date made: mid-1800s
collected: 1951-06-29
fashion: 19th century

ID Number: TR.388604
catalog number: TR*388604
accession number: 182022

Women and ships were the most popular subjects for scrimshaw carved by crewmen on long, slow whaling voyages.

Description: Women and ships were the most popular subjects for scrimshaw carved by crewmen on long, slow whaling voyages. In this deeply engraved example, a beautifully coiffed and fashionable young lady, possibly in mourning dress, has pulled a locket from her bodice and is gazing at the image of a smiling young man. The curls of her girlish hairstyle would indicate that she is unmarried, although the traditional ring finger of her left hand is not shown. The mid-19th-century date of this tooth is suggested by the style of the dress.

Date made: ca 1840

maker: unknown

ID Number: TR.374506
catalog number: 374506
accession number: 136263

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

Carved from the teeth of captured sperm whales, whale stamps were used to record the type of whale and number of barrels of oil they yielded.The stamps were inked onto the page of whaleship logbooks or sailors’ journals, with an empty space in the whale’s body for writing in the

Description: Carved from the teeth of captured sperm whales, whale stamps were used to record the type of whale and number of barrels of oil they yielded.; The stamps were inked onto the page of whaleship logbooks or sailors’ journals, with an empty space in the whale’s body for writing in the number of barrels. This example in the form of a sperm whale is decorated with steel pin heads and a turned handle.

date made: 1800s

ID Number: 1978.0052.06
accession number: 1978.0052
catalog number: 1978.52.6

Part of the navigator’s tool kit, parallel rules were used to transfer compass points, course lines and other directional information across large charts without change. This large wooden set has a carved ivory whale inlaid into its surface, with a brass tack for the whale’s eye.

Description: Part of the navigator’s tool kit, parallel rules were used to transfer compass points, course lines and other directional information across large charts without change. This large wooden set has a carved ivory whale inlaid into its surface, with a brass tack for the whale’s eye.

ID Number: 1978.0052.08
accession number: 1978.0052
catalog number: 1978.52.31

Made of hard wood, bone, or ivory and tapering to a point, fids were used mostly for ropework, such as splicing. On deck, they were also used for breaking knots that might be frozen from overtightening, wet weather, or other conditions.

Description: Made of hard wood, bone, or ivory and tapering to a point, fids were used mostly for ropework, such as splicing. On deck, they were also used for breaking knots that might be frozen from overtightening, wet weather, or other conditions. In a pinch, one could also serve as a temporary belaying pin to tie off a line, or even as a weapon.

date made: 1800s

ID Number: AG.025650
catalog number: 025650
accession number: 4798

Seam rubbers were part of a sail maker’s tool kit. They were used to smooth and flatten the seams of heavy canvas sailcloth, where two pieces were joined or the edges were hemmed before they were sewn.

Description: Seam rubbers were part of a sail maker’s tool kit. They were used to smooth and flatten the seams of heavy canvas sailcloth, where two pieces were joined or the edges were hemmed before they were sewn. This unusually large example was probably carved from the panbone, part of a whale’s jaw.

date made: 1800s

ID Number: AG.025793
accession number: 4957
catalog number: 025793

Many 19th-century inventors turned their attention to life boats, a large number of them focusing their efforts on simplicity of construction, ease of launching, and imperviousness to sinking.

Description: Many 19th-century inventors turned their attention to life boats, a large number of them focusing their efforts on simplicity of construction, ease of launching, and imperviousness to sinking. By contrast, two Bavarian immigrants living in New York City—George Tremberger, carpenter, and Michael Stein, patterns machinist—focused on the “comfort, convenience, and safety of the passengers.” Their main innovation was to design the boat as a cylinder in which the cabin rolled independently from the overall motion of the boat. A geared wheel inside allowed the crew to adjust the cabin’s tilt by hand or to lock it in place. The inventors also fitted a telescoping mast, hand-lever-operated propeller, and external rubber bumpers for increased buoyancy.; This is a cutaway model of Tremberger and Stein’s idea. It shows seats and benches running lengthwise in the interior of the cabin. A wheel inside turns a gear that keeps the inner cabin from rolling as the outer hull rolls in the sea. Four hatches on deck slide open for access. The telescoping mast with sail can be operated from inside, while two interior levers activate the propeller. There is also a steering wheel forward connected by a line to the rudder.

Date made: 1879
patent date: 1879-01-28

patentee: Tremberger, George; Stein, Michael Joseph
inventor: Tremberger, George; Stein, Michael Joseph

ID Number: 1978.2282.06
catalog number: 1978.2282.06
accession number: 1978.2282
patent number: 211,807

The sidewheel steamer George Law was built in 1852/53 at New York by William H. Webb for the United States Mail Steamship Company. Named after the company president, the Law measured 278 ft. long and 2,141 tons.

Description: The sidewheel steamer George Law was built in 1852/53 at New York by William H. Webb for the United States Mail Steamship Company. Named after the company president, the Law measured 278 ft. long and 2,141 tons. It was built to sail the New York-Panama route for the California gold rush. In 43 round trips between 1852 and 1857, the ship carried as much as a third of all the gold found in California. In 1857, the ship went aground and returned to the Webb yard for a major overhaul. The Law's name was changed to Central America during the rebuilding, possibly to reflect its most common route and because its namesake had sold his interest in the company.; On September 3, 1857, the Central America left Panama for New York City with nearly 600 passengers and crew, as well as thousands of new $20 Double Eagle gold coins produced at the San Francisco mint. Nine days later, the vessel sank in a hurricane off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, in the deadliest peacetime shipwreck in American history. Four hundred twenty-five people perished in the wreck, and tons of California gold went to the bottom. The wreck horrified and fascinated the American public and helped fuel a financial crisis known as the Panic of 1857. Without the Central America’s gold, several New York banks were unable to pay their creditors.; In 1858, President James Buchanan gave this ornamental silver speaking trumpet to the captain of the German bark Laura for bringing the Central America’s final three survivors to New York. Actually, the British brig Mary had rescued the men after nine horrific days on the open sea. However, the Mary was bound for Ireland, so it transferred the survivors to the New York-bound Laura. The inscription reads:; “The President of the United States to Capt. Martin Brinckmann of the Bremen Bark Laura for his humane zealous and successful efforts in rescuing one of the Passengers and two of the Crew of the Steamer Central America from the perils of the Sea. 1858”

Date made: 1858

ID Number: 1980.0464.01
catalog number: 1980.0464.01; 80.0464.01
accession number: 1980.0464

The packet ship Shenandoah was built in 1840 by John Vaugn & Son at Philadelphia, Pa. for Thomas P. Cope & Son, better known as the Cope Line.

Description: The packet ship Shenandoah was built in 1840 by John Vaugn & Son at Philadelphia, Pa. for Thomas P. Cope & Son, better known as the Cope Line. Wealthy Philadelphia Quakers, the Copes transported about 60,000 passengers—mostly Irish immigrants—from Liverpool to Philadelphia from 1820-1870.; Measuring 143’ long and 738 tons, the Shenandoah spent nearly its entire career on the Philadelphia–Liverpool passage. It made 14 voyages for the Cope Line from 1839-44. In 1845 it sailed for the Dunham & Dimon Liverpool Line out of NY, but the following year it returned to Philadelphia for the Black Diamond Line. By 1847 it served the New Line, clearing Philadelphia on the 1st of the month and leaving Liverpool five weeks later, on the 8th of the following month. In the late 1840s, it lost its popular captain to the new Collins ocean steamship Atlantic. Many of the old sailing packet companies lost their captains to the newer and faster transatlantic steamship lines. The Shenandoah was abandoned at sea in August 1854.

Date made: 1963
original ship built: 1840
Cope Line operated: 1820-1870
sailed with the Cope Line: 1839-1844
sailed for the Dunham & Dimon Liverpool Line out of New York: 1845
sailed for the Black Diamond Line out of Philadelphia: 1846
sailed for the New LIne out of Philadelphia: 1847
abandoned at sea: 1854-08

shipbuilders: John Vaugn & Son
ship owners: Thomas P. Cope & Son

ID Number: TR.322426
catalog number: 322426
accession number: 247838

Very little is known of Lewis Temple's early life. Born around 1800 to slave parents in Richmond, Virginia , by 1829 he had moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he married.

Description: Very little is known of Lewis Temple's early life. Born around 1800 to slave parents in Richmond, Virginia , by 1829 he had moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he married. By 1836, he had a blacksmith shop on a local wharf, where he made shipsmithing items like spikes, harpoons, rigging elements, cargo hooks, barrel hoop and other iron ship fittings.; Temple developed a simple but significant refinement to the harppon: the so-called Temple toggle iron or gig. This feature at the tip of a harpoon offered a more secure way to hook into a whale. Unfortunately, Temple never patented his idea, which swiftly achieved widespread application throughout the world's whale fisheries. He died in May 1854, unrecognized and in debt.; While Lewis Temple did not invent the toggle, his invention made it better. The first barb at the tip of the dart was designed to penetrate the whale's flesh, and the second barb also went straight in. A small wooden peg holding the lower barb in place would then break when the whale pulled away, allowing the barbed head to swivel away from the shaft. The new T-shape of the barb prevented the dart from pulling out of its wound.

date made: ca 1859

inventor: Temple, Lewis

ID Number: TR.330535A
catalog number: 330535a
accession number: 294088

Even whalemen with little or no artistic talent could carve highly detailed scenes, through use of the pinprick technique. In this method, a picture was cut from a contemporary magazine and then pasted or dampened to stick to the polished surface of a sperm whale's tooth.

Description: Even whalemen with little or no artistic talent could carve highly detailed scenes, through use of the pinprick technique. In this method, a picture was cut from a contemporary magazine and then pasted or dampened to stick to the polished surface of a sperm whale's tooth. A sharp pin was then pushed through the lines of the image, which was then removed. This left lines of dots; when these were connected with engraved lines, they formed a copy of the original picture. Most commonly, lamp black (soot) was then rubbed into the engraved lines to make them stand out from the background of the tooth, although colored pigments like those on this tooth also could be applied for variety. The high fashion of this lady's garments bracket a date just a few years after the end of the Civil War.

Date made: 1865 - 1869

ID Number: DL.374502
catalog number: 374502
accession number: 136263

All the hand tools were found in the engine and boiler space below decks in Indiana’s hold, indicating that they were used for the machinery. The crew used the shovel to add coal to the fires.

Description: All the hand tools were found in the engine and boiler space below decks in Indiana’s hold, indicating that they were used for the machinery. The crew used the shovel to add coal to the fires.

date made: mid-1800s
when the Indiana was found: 1972

ID Number: 1979.1030.59
accession number: 1979.1030
catalog number: 1979.1030.59

Once a whale was caught, killed, and brought alongside the mother ship, the outer flesh and fat layer, or blubber, was peeled off the carcass.

Description: Once a whale was caught, killed, and brought alongside the mother ship, the outer flesh and fat layer, or blubber, was peeled off the carcass. Then the remains were drawn onto the vessel’s deck for further processing.; The heavy head spade was used for decapitating the whale, by chopping through the vertebrae at the base of the animal’s skull. Then the head and bone could be further processed.

ID Number: 1990.0018.102
catalog number: 1990.0018.102
accession number: 1990.0018

After the whale skin and attached fat, together called blubber, was hauled aboard the mother ship for processing in large strips, it was chopped into small pieces with different tools to expose more surface area to the melting heat of the boiling oil in the try-pot.

Description: After the whale skin and attached fat, together called blubber, was hauled aboard the mother ship for processing in large strips, it was chopped into small pieces with different tools to expose more surface area to the melting heat of the boiling oil in the try-pot. This chopper was one of those tools.

ID Number: 1990.0018.085
catalog number: 1990.0018.085
accession number: 1990.0018

Transportation

Boat Compass

Mural Painting, The Currents

Patent Model, Method of Building Wood Boats

Scow Schooner Milton

Oil Painting, Black Ball Packet Ship Isaac Webb

Scrimshaw Ivory Jagging Wheel

Whalebone Ruler

Corset and Whalebone Scrimshaw Busk

Moby Dick, or The Whale

Corset and Whalebone Scrimshaw Busk

Scrimshaw Tooth

New Bedford Whaleship Crew List

Scrimshaw Ivory Whale Stamp

Wood and Ivory Parallel Rule

Bone Fid

Whale Bone Seam Rubber

Patent Model, Life Boat

Ship’s Speaking Trumpet, Bark Laura

Rigged Model of Packet Ship "Shenandoah"

Temple Toggle Iron

Polychrome Scrimshaw Whale Tooth

Ship Tools from the Propeller Indiana, Shovel

Whaler's Head Spade

Whaler's Chopper