What’s Sperm got to do with it?

The Sperm Whale is the largest of all toothed mammals, which was specially made famous in Herman Melville’s 1851 book Moby Dick, the fictional tale of Ahab, the driven whaling captain who sought revenge against a Sperm Whale who bit off Ahab’s leg on a previous whaling expedition.

During most of the period when there was a dominant reliance on whale bi-products for the inhabitants of the United States, the city of New Bedford, Connecticut, was the primary center of this activity. The demanding and dangerous job of whaling was often noted in verse and prose in light of its difficulties. The profession of whaling was a classic “widow maker” with the additional issue of not knowing if a husband would return home even after several years of his absence had passed since some whaling excursions could take that long.

By the mid-nineteenth century, many whaling expeditions required hunting in the Arctic region of the Pacific Ocean, which was a long trip from the eastern seaboard. It wasn’t until the 1880s that some enterprising people saw the need for a whaling port on the Pacific side of the United States.

[Left] The date of manufacture for the Pure Sperm Gun Oil Arctic Oil Works bottle is difficult to determine. It could have been blown nearly anywhere in the eastern states but it may have also been produced at the San Francisco and Pacific Glass Works as early as 1884 when that factory began the production of clear glass.

The first few years of the decade of 1880 saw a noticeable decline in the success of the eastern whalers and a sharp increase in profits for the western-based whalers. This success prompted a number of wealthy San Francisco investors to create a new whaling hub for the United States. The capital costs were significant, but the modernization of the whaling fleet with steamships was worth the investment.

Articles of incorporation for the Arctic Oil Works were filed with the California Secretary of State in October 1883. The directors were William C. Griffith, Charles Goodall, E. L. Griffith, J. N. Knowles, George C. Perkins, A. K. P. Harmon and Edwin Goodall. The capital was $1,000,000 divided into 10,000 shares. (Sacramento Daily Union, October 27, 1883) Director Josiah Nickerson Knowles was the manager of the Arctic Oil Works until his death in 1896. No better individual could have been in charge since he was once a whaling sea captain. On one of his excursions, his ship became wrecked in the southern Pacific Ocean. Leaving most of his crew behind, Knowles took a longboat and eventually made his way to Pitcairn Island. While there, he buried $7,000 in treasure. He then set sail for Samoa in his little boat and, from there, was able to find passage to San Francisco. After his arrival, he found that he was presumed dead, and a partial disbursement of his estate had ensued. (The San Francisco Call, June 11, 1896)

As an adjunct to an even larger business, the same group of investors incorporated the Pacific Steam Whaling Company at the same time. This company held ownership of a large fleet of whaling vessels which was more operational in nature. In contrast, the Arctic Oil Works focused more on the refining end of the whaling business. In actuality, the two companies acted as one.

(The Sacramento Bee, November 1, 1883)

One contemporary news article summarized this issue of a modernized fleet of steam whaling ships. “This fleet is valued at fully $1,500,000, the steamers alone costing upwards of $900,000. All the steamers of the fleet are provided with iron tanks, which are fitted inside to the shape of the vessel.

By this means much time is saved as the hot oil, on being tried out, is immediately let run into them and no time is lost as in the sailing craft, waiting for it to cool before it is placed in barrels. The greatest object is to secure the bone, all of which comes from the head of the animal, and which, at the present time, is held very high. Of this article the company has now on storage the entire quantity caught during the season, while all the oil has been pumped into the two large tanks at the refinery at the Potrero. The latter structure is the result of the Arctic Oil Company, incorporated as an adjunct to the whaling company, with a capital of $1,000,000, half of which has been paid up, the same persons controlling both enterprises.” (San Francisco Chronicle, December 26, 1883)

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While it is unquestionable that the steam vessels were more efficient in processing whales, they came with one drawback. The earlier sail-driven ships were far quieter than the steam-driven ships. The extreme sound sensitivity engendered in whale anatomy tended to spook the whales, which made them more difficult to catch, but still considered more efficient. (The San Francisco Chronicle, May 24, 1891) This allowed the older whaling ships and their well-seasoned crews to continue their occupations with varying success, but by the end of the century, they were virtually gone. These older whalers were also serviced by the Arctic Oil Works as well, which became the dominant west coast center for selling and rectifying their catch.

The changing landscape of fuel resources began with the rise of the petroleum industry. Petroleum slowly became the leading commodity for lighting and lubricants.

The real change in fuel resources was felt with the opening of the Southern California oil fields in the mid-1890s. The Arctic Oil Works management quickly realized the change and took advantage of the ex-

[Left] A detailed drawing of the Arctic Oil Works dating to about 1890. Noted on the far left is the popular T-shaped pier which allowed ships to moor in the same direction as the tidal current. The large tanks were used to hold the refined whale oil which was initially created by rendering the whale fat in large try pots aboard the ships and held in barrels. The barrels were then transferred to the holding tanks at the Works after the ships docked. (Image courtesy of the University of California, Bancroft Library) cess supply being pumped from the ground and secured by contract the amount not required in the southland. “A deal in oil was concluded today, which will be of much interest, the Arctic Oil Works having purchased the local plant of the Los Angeles Oil Exchange. This means that in (the) future all the crude oil coming to this city (San Francisco) from Los Angeles will be handled by the Arctic Oil Works.” (The Los Angeles Times, February 6, 1896) Barrels of crude oil were soon loaded onto their ships and sent to the Arctic Oil Works for refining. This caused the Works to redesign and retool its infrastructure which occurred as time and money allowed.

The date of manufacture for the pictured Pure Sperm Gun Oil bottle is difficult to determine. It could have been blown nearly anywhere in the eastern states, but it may have also been produced at the San Francisco and Pacific Glass Works as early as 1884 when that factory began the production of clear glass. “President Newman of the San Francisco and Pacific Glass Works has been experimenting and investigating among the Eastern glass-blowing establishments for some time past, and has decided to attempt the manufacture of flint glass at the works of the company, at the corner of Fourth and King streets.

The furnaces will be ready this month, and blowing will commence in January. The factory will turn out everything in the shape of flint or white glass, such as tumblers, chimneys, lamp shades and globes, jelly glasses and druggists’ ware. An expert

[Above] Toward the end of the whaling saga, oil was not nearly as profitable as the head bones of the baleen whales. These bones were used primarily in the fashion world as busks. Even by the late 1890s the yard of the Arctic Oil Works was filled with the drying bones which could still fetch as much as $3.50 per pound.

[Below] The newspaper caption accompanying this drawing is, “OFF FOR THE FROZEN NORTH – The steam whaling fleet is now almost ready for another season in the Arctic. Some of the wind-jammers sailed a month ago. Three of the steamers are now on the way and the others will make a start before the week is out. The Belvedere went into the stream yesterday and will take the remainder of her crew on board to-day, while the Pacific Steam Whaling Company’s vessels, lying at the Arctic Oil Works, are ready for a start. Last year the whalers brought home nearly a million dollars’ worth of bone, and this year the men say they will do equally as well.”

(The San Francisco Call, March 1, 1899) from the East will superintend the works and employment will be given to about sixty men.” (The San Francisco Examiner, January 1, 1884) The S.F. & P.G.W. was located literally just blocks away from the Arctic Oil Works, which would have been an additional incentive for using their bottles. With the phasing out of whaling in the mid1890s, it is unlikely the Pure Sperm Gun Oil bottles were produced any later. Regardless of the factory origin, their gun oil bottles must have had a short run as they are quite rare.

By 1900 the Arctic Oil Works had essentially become a subsidiary of the Standard Oil Company. The latter was methodically buying up most of the independent oil companies across the nation with only one independent oil company left in California—the Keystone Company. (San Francisco Examiner, February 23, 1900)

The last whaler reported lost was in 1898 with a crew of 25 men. The Rosario was owned by the J.D. Spreckels & Bros. company and controlled by the Arctic Oil Works. It was commanded by Capt. E. Coffin. (Los Angeles Herald, August 31, 1898) The ship had been crushed in the ice east of Pt. Barrow.

The San Francisco whaling fleet continued its annual ‘harvest’ even up to the end of the 19th century, even though the primary goal was different than in earlier years. The remaining product, which was highly sought, was whale bone taken from baleen whales. This item was used in parasol ribs, baskets, buggy whips, and women’s fashion as stays, especially busks. Not until plastic was a cheap commodity did the bone market fall. Baleen whale bone was consistently about $3.50 per pound on the street.

The end of the Arctic Oil Works came in May 1902 when the rapidly expanding Standard Oil Company purchased Arctic. Considerable consternation was heard when this happened, painting a gloomy picture of the looming monopoly pushing out its competition. Arctic Oil responded by saying that the move was completely amicable and the directors of Arctic decided to retire from the business anyway.

(Los Angeles Evening Post-Record, May 20, 1902)