Natural Resources

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  Sperm Whale Tooth Watch Stand

  Description

  Scrimshaw known to have been made specifically for men is comparatively rare. This unfinished tooth was hollowed out at the back to carry a gentleman’s pocket watch inside, perhaps set on a wardrobe, a bureau or a dressing table overnight.

  Patriotic imagery was very popular on American scrimshaw. At the top is a large eagle in flight clutching arrows and an olive branch; the hole for the watch is framed by a simple scalloped line. The space at the bottom was probably reserved for the owner’s initials or possibly a date, and the two holes were likely drilled for ivory buttons. The piece was unfinished when it was donated in 1875 by J. H. Clark of Newport, R.I.

  date made

  19th century

  Associated Date

  collected

  ID Number

  DL.024905

  catalog number

  024905

  accession number

  4331

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Alaska Ocean Coveralls

  Description

  Fish processors, laboratory staff, inspectors, supervisors, and others who work in the factory aboard the Alaska Ocean wear royal blue coveralls like these when on duty. These polyester coveralls are worn over other clothing to maintain standards of hygiene in the factory. Some processors change their coveralls several times during their daily 12-hour shift, which can extend to kicker shifts of an additional three hours. Because clean coveralls are always in demand, the factory’s laundry crew keeps the industrial washers and dryers running continuously. The coveralls, with the words Alaska Ocean emblazoned across the back, zip up the front and are typically worn tucked into boots.

  date made

  2006

  Associated Date

  2007

  used

  McFarland, Thelma

  maker

  Fristads

  ID Number

  2007.0178.20

  catalog number

  2007.0178.20

  accession number

  2007.0178

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Whaleback steamer Frank Rockefeller

  Description

  Scotsman Alexander McDougall (1845-1924) was a ship captain on the Great Lakes when he patented the idea of a “whaleback” ship in the early 1880s. With low, rounded hulls, decks and deckhouses, his invention minimized water and wind resistance. Between 1887 and 1898, 44 whalebacks were produced: 23 were barges and 21 were steamships, including one passenger vessel.

  Frank Rockefeller was the 36th example of the type, built in 1896 at a cost of $181,573.38 at McDougall’s American Steel Barge Company in Superior, WI. One of the larger examples of the type, Rockefeller measured 380 feet in length, drew 26 feet of water depth and had a single propeller.

  Although it belonged to several different owners over its 73-year working life, the Rockefeller spent most of its early life transporting iron ore from mines in Lake Superior to steel mills along the shores of Lake Erie. In 1927, new owners put it in service as a sand dredge that hauled landfill sand for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. From 1936-1942 the old ship saw service as a car carrier for another set of owners. In 1942 the ship wrecked in Lake Michigan, but wartime demand for shipping gave the old ship repairs, a new name (Meteor) and a new life as a tanker transporting petroleum products for more than 25 years. In 1969 Meteor ran aground off the Michigan coast, Instead of repairing the old ship, the owners sold it for a museum ship at Superior, WI. In poor condition today, Meteor is the last surviving example of McDougal’s whaleback or “pig boat”.

  Date made

  1961

  date the Frank Rockefeller was built

  1896

  patentee of whaleback ships

  McDougall, Alexander

  company that built the Frank Rockefeller

  American Steel Barge Company

  ID Number

  TR.318433

  catalog number

  318433

  accession number

  236171

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Gill Net Float

  Description

  This simple object packs a lot of meaning for certain residents of the lower Columbia River near Astoria, Oregon. It is a cedar net float, made about 1955, for use on a gill net, the preferred gear of commercial salmon fishermen in the area. While this float was never used for that purpose, it remained in Astoria where, some fifty years later, it was fashioned into this object commemorating the fishery’s former significance.

  The original float was made at the Columbia Net Floats Mill, which operated in Astoria from 1952 to 1959. According to mill worker and fisherman Cecil Moberg, “There were three steps in the process to make floats. The bolts of cedar were cut into six inch blocks by a twenty-four inch cutoff saw. The next machine was a ram device, which pushed the blocks through a round die. A hole was drilled through the center of the block by a belt driven wood lathe. The blocks were then put on a high speed lathe and were hand turned in three motions: one sweep to the right, one to the left and one finishing sweep over the whole float, giving them a smooth finish.”

  Moberg estimated the mill produced about three million floats in seven years of operation. Considering that an average Columbia River gillnet was about 1500 feet long and had about 500 floats, it is not hard to imagine a need for millions of floats among local gill netters.

  By the time the mill closed, fishermen had begun using plastic floats. The surplus cedar floats were eventually given to the Columbia River Maritime Museum’s Auxiliary. Members of that group, including donor Frankye D. Thompson, were inspired to create souvenir items to call attention to Astoria’s past. They cut the floats in half and affixed the flat side with images from the fishery’s heyday. The photo on this float shows the fleet of sailing gill net boats around the turn of the 20th century. Called the “Butterfly Fleet” by Astorians, the small, sprit-rigged vessels are emblematic of the town’s fishing heritage. A piece of lead and lead line decorate the float, and historical information provided by Cecil Moberg is provided on a piece of paper rolled to fit inside the hole where the float would have been strung on the float line.

  Date made

  ca 1955

  mill worker and fisherman

  Moberg, Cecil

  display surplus cedar floats donated by Columbia Net Floats Mill

  Columbia River Maritime Museum

  maker

  Columbia Net Floats Mill

  ID Number

  2005.0150.01

  accession number

  2005.0150

  catalog number

  2005.0150.01

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Stoneware Water Cooler

  Description

  This salt-glazed, ovoid stoneware cooler was made by Eleazer Orcutt and Horace Humiston in Troy, New York. It has two large handles and features a classical figure with a lyre in relief surrounded by a series of impressed medallions highlighted in cobalt blue. The cooler was probably made for an individual or firm named A. Drown in Canaan, New York.

  The presence of nearby stoneware clays gave rise to the New York state salt-glazed stoneware tradition that, by the early 1800s, developed in villages and towns along the Hudson River. Shipped upriver, the clay returned downstream after being transformed into useful ceramic vessels. With the Erie Canal completion in 1825, stoneware production extended its range to meet the increased flow of perishable goods from the Great Lakes region.

  Stoneware clay, when fired to a temperature of about 2100 degrees F, vitrifies into highly durable ceramic material that holds liquids and keeps perishable contents cool. Stoneware potters in America, many of them immigrants from Germany and the Netherlands, maintained their European tradition of throwing coarse salt into the kiln. The salt melts in the heat and forms a pitted glassy surface on the vessels, which would otherwise be a dull grey.

  The production of these sturdy salt-glazed containers declined following improvements in tinning and canning perishable foodstuffs. In the late 1850s, the glass Mason canning jar entered the market, after which the potteries lost much of the demand for food storage containers that sustained so much of their production.

  date made

  about 1832

  maker

  Orcutt, Eleazer

  Humiston, Horace

  ID Number

  CE.300894.017

  catalog number

  300894.17

  accession number

  300894

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Whaler's Fluke Lance

  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

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Fisherman’s Oilskin Hat

  Description

  Gloucester fishermen working on the North Atlantic were exposed to harsh weather conditions. Waves and freezing rain splashed over the decks and into the dories while the men worked. For some measure of protection, fishermen in the 19th century wore oiled clothes, the precursors to today’s waterproof foul weather gear.

  This hat, referred to as a “Cape Ann sou’wester” because of its wide use in the fisheries around Cape Ann, Mass., is made of soft oiled canvas and lined with flannel. It has an elongated brim in the back to keep water from running down the wearer’s neck and inside his clothing. Ear flaps for warmth are also part of the hat’s design.

  A catalog from the 1883 International Fisheries Exhibition in London claimed that with the sou’wester, “no class of seamen were so comfortably clothed as the New England fishermen.” At the time of the exhibition’s opening, sou’westers cost about $6.50 per dozen.

  This Cape Ann sou’wester was displayed at the London exhibition, courtesy of its manufacturer, A. J. Tower of Boston, Mass. It was part of a display of the latest gear used and worn by American fishermen.

  date made

  early 1880s

  used

  late 19th century

  on exhibit

  1883

  ID Number

  2009.0157.03

  catalog number

  102126

  accession number

  2009.0157

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Ship Tools from the Propeller Indiana, Hand Truck

  Description

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

  The hand truck—virtually identical to modern examples—is one of four found aboard Indiana and used for moving cargo into, out of, and around the cargo hold of the ship. This hand truck was the artifact that actually identified the vessel when it was located in 1972, for the words “PROPR INDIANA” were stamped into its handle. The other three had different ships’ names stamped on them, indicating that they were secondhand or borrowed equipment.

  Date made

  ca 1858

  when the Indiana was found

  1972

  ID Number

  1994.0033.01

  catalog number

  1994.0033.01

  accession number

  1994.0033

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Fisherman’s Work Gloves

  Description

  Deckhands who work aboard factory trawlers in the Bering Sea and North Pacific are exposed to extremely cold, wet, and sometimes dangerous conditions. They wear protective gear such as hard hats, boots, and waterproof clothing, including heavy-duty vinyl work gloves.

  These gloves, worn by a fisherman on the catcher-processor Alaska Ocean in 2007, are personalized with a phrase chosen by their owner, a common practice employed for identifying one’s own gear at a moment’s notice. The words “FISH ON ROCK,” appearing on both gloves, were this man's personal choice, their exact meaning known only to him.

  While the sleeves of these gloves are long for tucking in the sleeves of other garments, the deck hands often fold the glove sleeves to fit around their wrists when working in relatively warm, dry conditions.

  The Alaska Ocean is a 376-foot-long vessel in the Seattle-based catcher-processor fleet. Workers catch, process, package, and freeze groundfish—mostly pollock and Pacific whiting—in the Bering Sea and in the waters off the coast of the Pacific Northwest.

  date made

  ca 2007

  maker

  Showa Co.

  ID Number

  2007.0178.07

  catalog number

  2007.0178.07

  accession number

  2007.0178

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Ship's Medicine Chest

  Description

  Starting in 1790, American merchant ships larger than 150 tons and with more than 10 crew members were required to have medicine chests with contents assembled by an “apothecary of known reputation.” These had to be accompanied by instructions for the administration of each medicine. Most commonly, either the captain or first mate administered pharmaceutical products to any crew in need.

  This example has labels from the ports of Baltimore, Maryland; Mamaroneck, New York, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, indicating it was replenished more than once over its useful life.

  Date made

  19th Century

  maker

  Gray Telephone Pay Station Co.

  ID Number

  MG.302606.154

  catalog number

  302606.154

  accession number

  302606

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Whalebone and Bone Umbrella

  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

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Model of Snagboat Charles H. West

  Description

  Introduced in the early 19th century, snag boats were designed to clear trees, stumps, and other obstructions from navigable rivers and channels. Most were in the form of a catamaran, with two parallel hulls between which trees were hauled in, cut up, and disposed of on land.

  Designed by the Army Corps of Engineers, the federal agency responsible for maintaining the national waterways, Charles H. West was built at Nashville, Tenn., in 1933-34 by the Nashville Bridge Co. at a cost of $227,260.48. It measured 170’ in length and 38’ in beam but only drew 4’-6” of water. Instead of a catamaran design, the West had a normal, shallow sternwheeler hull. At the flat or scow bow, two A-frames hauled snags up a ramp for disposal. It cleared snags along the lower Mississippi River for many years.

  In 1969, the West was sold to a private party and converted to the restaurant boat Lt. Robert E. Lee in St. Louis, Mo. the following year. The name was fitting. Although best known as a Confederate general, in the late 1830s, Lee had been an officer in the Corps of Engineers. His work installing pilings and wing dams had helped the Mississippi currents to clear silt and keep open the main St. Louis landing.

  Moored on the Mississippi near the St. Louis Arch, the Lee was a successful restaurant until a 1993 flood devastated the waterfront. After several failed attempts to reopen, the vessel was auctioned on December 19, 2008, for $200,000. Its new owners plan to renovate and reopen the famous ship once again as a restaurant and nightclub in St. Louis.

  Date made

  1966

  ID Number

  TR.326538

  catalog number

  326538

  accession number

  265606

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Block Pan for Freezing Fish

  Description

  This shallow, metal pan was used for freezing processed fish aboard the factory trawler Alaska Ocean. Operating in the North Pacific and the Bering Sea, the Alaska Ocean is one vessel in the fleet that catches and processes pollock, hake, and whiting.

  In the factory the fish are gutted and filleted by German-made filleting machines, which can be calibrated to remove the bones and skin according to a customer’s preference. Onboard engineers adjust the angles of the knives within a quarter of a millimeter to provide a product with a small amount of fat, or no fat at all, depending on the customer’s specifications.

  After the initial filleting, workers in the factory load pans like this with fish fillets, fish roe, or minced fish. A conveyor belt carries the filled pans to other workers who load them into plate freezers. After about two hours, when the freezing is complete, the pans are unloaded from the freezer, and the blocks of frozen fish are removed and packed for shipment. The packed blocks of product are stacked in the ship’s large freezer hold until they can be offloaded ashore.

  The Alaska Ocean carries two sizes of pans, a block pan like this and a slightly larger size for surimi, a type of fish paste used in making imitation crabmeat. The vessel carries a total of 2800 pans, 1400 of each size. The factory has 16 plate freezers aboard, 8 for single pans and 8 for doubles. A single-pan plate freezer can hold 102 surimi pans and 119 block pans at a time.

  The wax lining in this pan facilitates removing the frozen product. This one is marked “M” for mince, a ground fish product used in making fish sticks and fish fingers.

  date made

  2000-2005

  Associated Date

  2007

  ID Number

  2007.0178.29

  catalog number

  2007.0178.29

  accession number

  2007.0178

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Scow Schooner Milton

  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

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Whalebone Ruler

  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

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Whale Bone Seam Rubber

  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

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Bone Dice

  Description

  Gambling usually was banned aboard whaling ships, on the grounds that it could cause too much strife among the crew. But “bones” or dice were easily concealed from a ship’s officers, and crews found out-of-the-way places to spend their free time wagering their earnings, tobacco, or other assets.

  date made

  1800s

  ID Number

  AG.024849.1

  accession number

  1875.4423

  catalog number

  24849.1

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  dice, ivory (pair)

  ID Number

  AG.024849.2

  catalog number

  24849.2

  accession number

  1875.4423

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Whaler's Shoulder or Darting Gun

  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

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Factory Processor’s Apron

  Description

  This vinyl bib apron was worn by fish processor Thelma McFarland over her coveralls and rain pants during her work shifts aboard the factory trawler Alaska Ocean in the summer of 2007. Processors like McFarland stand at long tables or conveyor belts and encounter considerable water and fish parts as they work. Processors typically wear aprons of one sort of another for protection.

  Although the on-board laundry crew takes care of cleaning workers’ coveralls, rain pants, gloves, and plastic sleeves, each worker is responsible for cleaning his or her apron. McFarland, who is about 5 feet tall, adjusted her apron to suit her small frame by cutting off the lower portion. She also personalized it by writing her name in permanent marker across the bib.

  date made

  2007

  used

  2007

  used

  McFarland, Thelma

  ID Number

  2007.0178.18

  catalog number

  2007.0178.18

  accession number

  2007.0178

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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