Natural Resources

• Whale Oil Lamp

  Description

  From a simple hanging lantern suitable for use in a barn to an elegant blown glass table lamp, whale oil illuminated the homes and businesses of America from the 18th century well past the time of the discovery of petroleum in Pennsylvania in 1859.

  Kerosene and other petroleum products largely replaced whale oil for illumination by the end of the century. However, the use of other whale products for various purposes lasted well into the 20th century.

  date made

  mid 1800s

  ID Number

  DL.377184

  catalog number

  377184

  accession number

  136485

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• Gloves Plastic Grip

  Location

  Currently not on view

  ID Number

  2007.0178.22

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• Gloves Wool

  Location

  Currently not on view

  ID Number

  2007.0178.26

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• Employee Handbook

  Location

  Currently not on view

  Date made

  April 2007

  maker

  Alaska Ocean Seafood

  ID Number

  2007.0178.28

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• Sweatpants (large)

  maker

  Jerzees

  ID Number

  2007.0178.11

  catalog number

  2007.0178.11

  accession number

  2007.0178

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• Safety Manual

  Location

  Currently not on view

  Date made

  April 2007

  maker

  Alaska Ocean Seafood

  ID Number

  2007.0178.27

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• Ball Cap (Connie's)

  Location

  Currently not on view

  maker

  LIDS

  ID Number

  2007.0178.14

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• Ivory and Bone Yarn Swift

  Description

  Swifts, or yarn-winders, were used in the home in place of an extra pair of hands. They held skeins of yarn or thread while it was being wound onto spools or rewound into measured lengths. This is a particularly large example, which fastened to the edge of a table with the clamp on the bottom.

  date made

  19th century

  maker

  unknown

  ID Number

  TE.T03311.000

  catalog number

  T03311.000

  accession number

  59652

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• Whale Oil Lamp

  Description

  From a simple hanging lantern suitable for use in a barn to an elegant blown glass table lamp, whale oil illuminated the homes and businesses of America from the 18th century well past the time of the discovery of petroleum in Pennsylvania in 1859.

  Kerosene and other petroleum products largely replaced whale oil for illumination by the end of the century. However, the use of other whale products for various purposes lasted well into the 20th century.

  date made

  mid 1800s

  whale oil lamps used

  18th cenutry

  discovery of petroleum

  1859

  ID Number

  DL.316030

  catalog number

  316030

  accession number

  66046

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• Gloves Cotton

  Location

  Currently not on view

  ID Number

  2007.0178.23

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• Oil Painting or Overpainted Print, Capturing a Sperm Whale

  Description

  The most dangerous part of a dangerous job was working in the actual whaleboat, first chasing and then capturing and killing the prey.

  This picture is a copy or an overpainted example of a famous print first issued in 1835, believed to be the first indigenous American whaling print. It is derived from a sketch by whaleman Cornelius Hulsart, who lost an arm on the whaler Superior and subsequently became an artist.

  The original print was one of a pair produced to raise money for Hulsart, and it was dedicated to Superior's owners N. & W.W. Billings of New London, Connecticut. It is a fairly accurate portrayal of the danger in approaching and killing a wounded, enraged whale. As shown by the red, bloody whale spout, the whalers have struck the prey’s lungs or arteries, but the animal was still strong enough to break a boat in half and flip a crewman into the water.

  date or original painting

  1835

  whaleman and artist

  Hulsart, Cornelius

  owner of the ship Superior

  N & W. W. Billings

  ID Number

  DL.65.0876

  catalog number

  65.0876

  accession number

  256396

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• Gloves Marigolds

  Location

  Currently not on view

  ID Number

  2007.0178.24

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• Gloves Fleece

  Location

  Currently not on view

  ID Number

  2007.0178.25

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• Red Hard Hat

  Location

  Currently not on view

  used

  Torres, Juan

  maker

  WGM Safety Corp

  ID Number

  2007.0178.19

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  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

• 

  Scrimshaw Sperm Whale Panbone, mid 19th Century

  Description

  This large panbone, or section of the back of a sperm whale’s jaw, served as the canvas for a whaleman’s freehand drawing on two levels. In the center of the upper level is a three-masted whaleship with painted gun ports along its sides. Merchant vessels often did this, to look like powerful warships from a distance and thus protect themselves from pirates or other predators. The ship’s vertical whaleboat davits are empty, and the ship is sailing towards its little fleet of four whaleboats in various stages of harpooning a pod of five whales. Four of the whales are ‘blowing,’ or exhaling through the blowholes on top of their heads. One of the whales already has two harpoons sticking out of its back and is towing a whaleboat on a ‘Nantucket sleigh ride.' Behind the ship on the left is an old-fashioned two-masted topsail schooner sailing in the opposite direction. The sea in the foreground is calm, and the scene is placed against a shoreline of low, rolling hills. Below is another pair of sailing ships: a two-masted square-rigged brig follows a brigantine with a square-rigged foremast and a fore-and-aft main. Although engraved by the same very talented artist, the two levels of illustrations do not appear to be related. Judging from the extremely detailed and technical rigs and sails of all the ships, the scrimshaw artist may have been a sailmaker or rigger.

  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.

  date made

  mid 1800s

  1840 - 1860

  ID Number

  DL.057605B

  catalog number

  57605B

  accession number

  2009.0206

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Miner's Cap Lamp

  Description (Brief)

  This tin oil-wick lamp was manufactured by the Leonard Brothers of Scranton, Pennsylvania in the late 19th century. The Leonard Bros. (also known as T.F. Leonard Co.) advertised their lamps in the 1882 “Engineering and Mining Journal” as being available with three different spout sizes, made of seamless brass without any soldering. This particular lamp seems to have one of the larger spouts.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  ID Number

  AG.059081

  catalog number

  059081

  accession number

  14851

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  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

• 

  Miner’s Safety Lamp

  Description (Brief)

  The Hughes Brothers of Scranton, Pennsylvania manufactured this Davy style safety lamp in the latter half of the 19th century. Encasing the flame in metal gauze prevented the flame from escaping the lamp and igniting the combustible gases (called firedamp), as would happen with the open flames of carbide or oil-wick lamps. Safety lamps were invented in the early 19th century, and are used to this day for gas detection, even as mine lighting has been replaced by electric lights.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  ID Number

  AG.MHI-MN-9548A

  accession number

  280476

  catalog number

  MHI-MN-9548A

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Miner’s Safety Lamp

  Description (Brief)

  The Koehler Manufacturing Company of Marlboro, Massachusetts produced this safety lamp during the 20th century. This lamp employs glass enclosure to protect the flame from extinguishing, wire gauze in the top-interior to keep the flame from escaping, and a metal bonnet exterior that serves both purposes.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  ID Number

  AG.MHI-MN-9757A

  accession number

  304880

  catalog number

  MHI-MN-9757A

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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