Whale Hoist Patent Model

Description:

After some species of whales were killed, their carcasses sank. Other species, like the right whale, floated. A whale that sank represented a major loss to the whaleship crews, who had risked their lives to capture the creatures.

To prevent this sort of loss and maximize a whaleship’s efficiency, Thomas Roys of the whaling port of Southampton, on Long Island, N.Y., patented an apparatus for “Raising Dead Whales From the Bottom of the Sea.” There is little evidence that many American whalers tried the device or that it found widespread use in the industry.

Date Made: 1862

Patentee: Roys, Thomas W.

Whaling Port: United States: New York, Southampton

Used: WhalingRelated Event: Expansion and Reform

Subject:

See more items in: Work and Industry: Fisheries, Cultures & Communities, Work, Natural Resources, Transportation, On the Water exhibit

Exhibition: On the Water

Exhibition Location: National Museum of American History

Related Web Publication: http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater

Related Publication: On the Water online exhibition

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: AG.332326Catalog Number: 332326Accession Number: 94380Patent Number: 35476

Object Name: harpoonharpoon patent modelObject Type: Patent Model

Physical Description: steel (overall material)Measurements: overall: 3 in x 12 1/2 in x 2 in; 7.62 cm x 31.75 cm x 5.08 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ac-18a8-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_866913

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