Whaler's Carved Bailer Handle
Whaler's Carved Bailer Handle
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- Description
- Whalemen used long-handled bailers to remove hot whale oil from large try-pots into cooling tanks, and from those tanks into storage barrels. They had long handles to prevent the handler from being splashed or burned with molten oil.
- This example’s wooden handle has figures of whales whittled into its surface to indicate the number and species of mammals that crossed its greasy path. The “B.H.” refers to bowhead, “S” for sperm, “H.B.” for humpback, and “W” for right whale.
- Object Name
- handle (pole)
- date made
- 1828
- Physical Description
- wood (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 83 3/4 in x 2 in x 5 in; 212.725 cm x 5.08 cm x 12.7 cm
- ID Number
- AG.055809
- catalog number
- 55809
- accession number
- 12284
- Credit Line
- Gift of Jonathan Bourne
- subject
- Whaling
- Fishing
- Expansion and Reform
- 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
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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