Whale Chart, 1851

By 1851, overfishing had decimated whale populations in the Atlantic Ocean. Most whalers moved to the Pacific and Indian oceans. Ships traveled north and south with the seasons, following the large whale populations on their annual migrations.

This chart was produced by oceanographer Lt. Matthew Fontaine Maury for the U.S. Navy. It showed whale populations in the world’s major seas and oceans and aided hundreds of whalers in finding their prey.

Cast-Iron Whale, late 1800s

This one-sided sperm whale probably served as a shop sign or decoration. Cast into the back are the words “BAKER NEW BEDFORD.” In the 1878 city directory for New Bedford, Massachusetts, the only Baker was Ansol Baker, a machinist.

New Bedford Whaling Bark Alice Knowles, about 1878

Whaleships were floating factories and warehouses. The top view of the deck plan shows the try works, a pair of big iron kettles where the whale blubber was boiled into oil. The lower view shows how the full barrels of whale oil were stowed below deck. Pieces of barrels, ready to be put together, were stored in the bow.

Oil Casks, New Bedford, Massachusetts, late 1800s

Barrels of whale oil made movement around the busy wharves at New Bedford almost impossible.

New England Whale Ship, about 1850

This model shows the typical outfit and gear for a deepwater whaling ship of the mid-1800s, when the industry was at its peak.

Pacific Steam Whaler Orca, 1882

The bark-rigged steam whaler Orca was constructed for the western whaling grounds. The steamship included all the latest innovations, although it still carried a full suit of sails for backup. The Orca was built heavily to operate around the northern icepack, but it was among a whale ship fleet caught in the ice and abandoned off Point Barrow, Alaska, in 1897.

Chopper, mid-800s

Like the mincing knife, the chopper was used to cut whale blubber into smaller pieces to speed the process of rendering it into oil.

Mincing Knife, about 1876

Whaling crew used mincing knives to cut the blubber strips into thin slices down to, but not through, the whale skin. Cut in this fashion, the sections of whale blubber and skin were known as “bible leaves” because they resembled the pages of a book. This process increased the surface area of the blubber and helped it melt faster in the try pots.

Boarding Knife, about 1876

The work of carving blubber from a whale carcass and hauling the strips aboard was called “boarding.” The boarding knife was an extremely sharp, double-edged sword at the end of a short wooden pole. It served a variety of purposes, from cutting a hole in the whale’s flesh for the blubber hook, to cutting the long strips of flesh into shorter sections for further processing.

Whalebone Scraper, 1880s

Whalebone scrapers were used to scrape the flesh off the bones, which were then dried on deck and stowed below for later processing and eventual sale.

Skimmer, late 1800s

After a whale’s blubber was melted down in the try pots, a few solids, like the skin, remained. These were removed with a skimmer. The tool’s long handle helped keep the crew from being burned or splashed with hot oil. The leftovers, or “fritters,” were then tossed under the pots and recycled into fuel to keep the fires burning.

Whale Hoist Patent Model, 1862

After whales died, they usually floated on the water, but sometimes the carcasses sank. To avoid this sort of loss, Thomas Roys of Southampton, Long Island, patented an apparatus for “Raising Dead Whales From the Bottom of the Sea.” Few American whalers tried it.

Whale Hoist Patent Model

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Gift of the U.S. Fish Commission

“Monkey Belt,” about 1883

Crewmen used this canvas “monkey belt” to hang over the side of the ship while they stripped the whale of its blubber. It was dangerous and slippery work, and if a sailor slid into the water, he risked drowning or being attacked by sharks looking for an easy meal.

Carved Bailer Handle, about 1828

Whalemen used bailers to remove oil from large try pots into cooling tanks. The handle of this bailer has the figures of whales whittled into its surface to show the number and species of whales that had been processed. The “B.H.” refers to bowhead; “S” for sperm, “H.B.” for humpback, and “W” for right whale.

Captains Ashore

These whaling captains photographed in New Bedford around 1882 may have been from the Azores or the Cape Verde Islands. In the 1800s, whaling vessels often landed at both groups of islands to take on provisions and crew.

Master Shipbuilder John Mashow (1805–1893)

John Mashow was born enslaved in South Carolina. By unknown means he found his way to Dartmouth, Massachusetts, apprenticed to a local shipbuilder, and then set up his own shipyard. Mashow’s yard at Padanarum designed more than 100 ships and built about 60, including 14 whaleships. When his yard closed, he received a public testimonial as “a thorough, practical master shipbuilder and a most worthy and respected citizen.”

Harpoon with Toggle Head, 1882

The first step in catching a whale was sticking harpoons into its back. A line at the bottom of the harpoon’s wooden handle attached it to the whaleboat. Once in the whale’s flesh, the sharp toggle tip swiveled sideways, making it harder to pull out. Whales normally dove deep after the first prick. This harpoon was twisted by a descending whale.

The Whaleboat

Light and fast, a whaleboat commonly had a crew of six men. One steered from the stern (back) of the boat when approaching the whale. After the oarsman in the bow (front) harpooned the whale, he took over steering. Various members of the crew killed the whale, tended the lines (ropes), and pulled the oars to return to the ship.

Whaleboats were crowded with gear. Line tubs carried enough rope to allow the whale to swim a safe distance from the boat until it tired. Lances, spades, and extra harpoons were kept on board, along with buckets for bailing. Whaleboats also carried a sail, a compass, a foghorn, and a keg of drinking water in case they were separated from the mother ship by a storm or fog.

South Sea Whale Fishery, about 1835

In the foreground of this fanciful print, a whaleboat approaches a wounded right whale. The harpooner stands in the bow to deliver the killing lance behind the fin. Behind is the mother ship, with a crew cutting in, or trimming, long strips of fat off a floating whale.

Crew List, 1876

Every voyage began with assembling a crew. In May 1876, the small 106-foot bark Bartholomew Gosnold signed a crew of 31 men for its next voyage from New Bedford. Less than half were from the United States; the rest were from Portugal, England, Ireland, Germany, France, and Scotland; two were listed as blacks. The oldest crewman was in his forties; the youngest was sixteen.

Manifest for the Bartholomew Gosnold, 1880

The Bartholomew Gosnold returned home to New Bedford in June 1880, just over four years after it left. Its cargo was sworn to include 1,260 barrels of whale and sperm oil; 95 casks of sperm, whale, and humpback oil totaling 26,742 gallons; and 27 bundles of whalebone, for a profitable voyage.

Scrimshaw Panbone, 1800s

This panbone, part of a sperm whale’s jaw, served as a sailor’s canvas. He drew a busy whale hunt—seven whaleboats chasing a pod of whales. The background depicts the coast of Ternate, one of the Spice Islands in Indonesia.

Panbone Port Scene, 1800s

This freehand sketch of an imaginary port scene includes a warship, a lighthouse, a military camp, and even a turreted medieval castle.

Scrimshaw Tooth, 1840–45

Women and ships were the most popular subjects for scrimshaw carved by crewmen on whaling voyages. In this example, a young lady, possibly in mourning dress, gazes longingly at an open locket containing a picture of a young man.

Polychrome Scrimshaw Tooth, 1865--69

Even whalemen with little or no artistic talent could carve highly detailed scenes like this with the pinprick technique. A picture cut from a magazine was pasted or dampened and wrapped on the polished surface of a sperm whale’s tooth. The whaler pushed a sharp pin through the lines of the image, then removed it, leaving the dots on the surface. He engraved the picture by connecting the dots and rubbing black soot or colored pigments into the lines.

USS Alaska Commemorative Tooth, 1878

This massive tooth of a sperm whale records the visit of the sloop of war USS Alaska to Talcahuano, Chile, in September 1878. Fifty-four of Alaska’s crew went absent without leave, and three more were confined to leg irons and handcuffs for their behavior on shore.

Ivory Jagging Wheel, 1800s

Pie crimpers, or jagging wheels, were common scrimshaw items made by American whalemen. The fluted wheel was used to cut dough or seal the top of a piecrust.

Scrimshaw Food Chopper, 1800s

This food chopper, or mincer, was carved in two pieces from the jawbone of a sperm whale. The blunt, curved blade was used to chop soft foods such as bread dough, fruits, sausage, and animal fats.

Sperm Whale Tooth Watch Stand, 1800s

This unfinished tooth is hollowed out from the back to hold a gentleman’s pocket watch.

Ivory Whale Stamp, 1800s

Carved from the teeth of sperm whales, whale stamps were used to record types of whales and the number of barrels of oil rendered from them. The stamps were inked into a whaleship’s log, with an empty space for writing in the number. This stamp is carved in the shape of a sperm whale.

Bone Seam Rubber, 1800s

Seam rubbers were part of a sailmaker’s tool kit. They were used to smooth and flatten the seams of heavy canvas sailcloth. This example was probably carved from the panbone, part of a whale’s jaw.

Bone Dice, 1800s

Gambling was banned aboard some whaling ships because it caused too much strife among the crew. But “bones,” or dice, were easily concealed, and crews found out-of-the way places to spend their free time wagering their earnings, tobacco, or other assets.

Bone Fid, 1800s

Made of hard wood, bone, or ivory and tapering to a point, fids were tools used for ropework, such as splicing rope or breaking knots that froze from overtightening or wet weather. In a pinch, they served as temporary belaying pins to tie off a line or even as weapons.

Whalebone Thimble Eye, 1800s

This rope-strapped thimble carved from whalebone would have had a light rope through the eye for rigging, perhaps on a whaleboat. These miniature items also served as children’s toys or curiosities back home, reminding families of their connections to the sea.

Wood and Ivory Parallel Rule, 1800s

Part of the navigator’s tool kit, parallel rules were used to transfer compass points, course lines, and other directional information across nautical charts. This wooden set has a carved ivory whale inlaid into its surface, with a brass tack for the whale’s eye.

Logbook, Whaling Bark Virginia of New Bedford, 1840

This logbook chronicles the Virginia’s voyage through the Pacific whaling grounds. The December 16 entry tells the story of two whales that were caught and processed. The figures inside the whale stamps show the barrels of oil taken from each whale. The last word, “Amanda,” reveals the writer’s homesickness. Her name appears often, as do the words “home sweet home.”

Gift of Thomas M. Peakes

Whalebone Ruler, 1800s

Straight edges or rulers, were used aboard whale ships as writing guides in the unlined pages of journals and logbooks. The back side of this long stick is marked in 2-1/4, 4-1/2 and 9-inch sections. The ship’s cooper may have used the ruler to measure the level of liquid in his wooden casks.

The Whale’s “Utility to Man,” 1800s

This illustration mixes scenes of capturing and processing whales with examples of products made from whales—from food for Eskimos to umbrella ribs to candles and oil for lighthouse illumination.

Baleen Drying Yard, 1880s

Baleen is a stiff material on the upper jaws of some whales that enables them to filter small particles of food from the ocean. By the late 1870s, it fetched more than $3.00 a pound as the raw material for umbrella stays, skirt hoops, fishing rods, shoehorns, and other products. The baleen from a single bowhead whale could be worth more than $50,000.

New Bedford Whale Oil Invoice, 1855

Whale hunts made for dramatic advertising, like the images on this invoice from a whale oil merchant in New Hampshire.

Madam Warren’s True Corset Story, late 1800s

This piece of advertising literature links a new corset to powerful improvements in beauty and comfort and universal admiration by men. It ends in the wedding of the purchaser, “illustrated in 4 chapters.”

Ambergris, unknown date

Pound for pound, ambergris was whaling’s most valuable prize. A waxy substance from a sperm whale’s intestines, it was occasionally found in whales’ stomachs but more commonly floating on the sea or washed up on shore. Some pieces weighed several hundred pounds. For many decades, perfume makers used it as a fixative to prolong scents. Why whales produce ambergris remains unknown. It may coat indigestible fragments, such as pieces of squid beaks, to protect a whale’s intestines. Or it may be the whale’s equivalent of human gallstones.

Sewing Machine Sperm Oil, late 1800s

Sperm whale oil is light and has a low freezing point. It was used to lubricate fine machinery such as clocks, watches, and sewing machines until well into the 1800s.

Whalebone and Bone Umbrella, 1835–65

Baleen is formed of keratin, like human hair and nails. It hangs in long, parallel sheets in the mouths of some whale species and 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.

This 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.

Ivory and Bone Swift, 1800s

Swifts, or yarn-winders, were an extra pair of hands for a knitter. They held skeins of yarn or thread while it was being wound onto spools or rewound into measured lengths. This large swift was fastened to the edge of a table with the clamp on the bottom.

Spermaceti Candles, 1800s

The head of a sperm whale has two large chambers called the spermaceti organ. The lower chamber is filled with oil and dense connective tissue. The upper section is filled with lighter, more valuable oil. A large whale could yield several hundred gallons. This sperm oil was chilled to extract a whitish, crystalline waxy solid known as spermaceti. Candles made from spermaceti burned with almost no odor or smoke.

Corset and Busks, mid-1800s

For much of the 1800s, ladies’ fashion required very small waists. Most women attained this shape by wearing tight-laced corsets stiffened by pieces of whalebone known as busks. One of the most intimate pieces of scrimshaw a whaleman could produce was a carved whalebone busk for a loved one’s corset.

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.

Gifts of Frederic A. Delano, Dr. and Mrs. Arthur M. Greenwood, and the Belcher Family