24 minute read
by Jack Fritsch
Humpback Irons:
A MOST UNUSUAL HARPOON
By Jack Fritsch
It seems that in the eyes of the Yankee whalers, a whale was a lot like a mouse and they were forever trying to invent a better mouse trap. Whalemen were like all fishermen in begrudging the one that got away. A quick perusal of logbooks shows that many whales did in fact get away after being darted by a harpoon. In light of this, it is not surprising that the pursuit of the whale fishery gave rise to many attempted improvements in the tools of the trade: there were eventually at least 23 different types and 34 unique U.S. patented harpoons.1 Some of these, believe it or not, actually were improvements.
One of the oddest of the harpoons was the little known (and rarely seen) Humpback Iron. This device was a greatly over-sized version of the improved toggle iron. It follows the design of a standard hand darted harpoon and could not possibly be fired from a gun. But just a quick glance at one in a museum immediately shows the mystery…this iron was too large and heavy to have been effectively thrown. The surprising answer does not disappoint and reveals the ingenuity (and desperation?) of the old whalemen.
The humpback was one of the five species normally hunted by the Yankee whalers. It was the least desirable of prey since it sank about half the time after being killed.2 In later years after the collapse of whale oil prices and baleen became the driving commodity,3, 4 the humpback became even less desirable as its baleen was considered useless for commercial purposes.2, 3 The pressures of the Revolutionary War forced Nantucket whalers to rely on short, quick cruises in nearby waters, and since the right whale population had been depleted, out of desperation they were forced to chase humpbacks in large numbers.5, 6, 7, 8 New England whalers in small shore-based operations throughout the Gulf of Maine in the mid- and late-nineteenth century also had to resort to humpbacks as all other whale species disappeared and the menhaden oil fishery waxed and waned.5, 9, 10, 11
Since at least half of the humpback whales captured promptly sank, the fishery was run (in Maine parlance) as a “shoot and salvage” operation. Small, fast schooners carrying no more than two whale boats chased the whales, which despite their speed could be caught and killed with relative ease now with the advent of shoulder guns and bomb lances. The problem lay with so many whales sinking that now needed to be recovered off the ocean floor. In order to have any hope for success, the humpback fishery had to be pursued in shallow waters less than forty fathoms in depth,12 and specialized recovery methods needed to be devised.
Simply trying to raise the whale by hauling back on the original harpoon line would not work: the small toggled head would pull out. Yankee ingenuity offered the solution of a specialized recovery harpoon—the “Humpback Iron”—with a greatly enlarged toggle head (in the order of ten inches as opposed to the standard five to six inches) and
Humpback Harpoon that hung for many years on the door of the Four Winds Gift Shop on Centre Street, which had been a non-whaling blacksmith’s shop until about 1950.
a much thicker and stronger shank (from one half to nearly a full inch in diameter as opposed to the normal average of about three-eighths inch). The harpoon was rigged, of course, with a much thicker and stronger whale line.1, 13
In use, a humpback iron was darted into the whale after it was taken with a traditional harpoon. If the whale sank before this could take place, then the carcass had to be harpooned on the bottom of the sea in an attempt to raise it! This was accomplished by mounting the recovery harpoon atop a long shaft from a cutting-in spade, attaching a heavy chunk of pig iron near the head (about 30 pounds or so), and a couple of iron hoops fastened along the shaft; to use, the original darted harpoon line leading up from the carcass was rove through the hoops, then the weighted recovery iron was sent traveling along the line to the bottom in the hope of driving firmly into the carcass. After a wait of a few days, the gases of decomposition would make the whale more buoyant, and the heavy line of the recovery iron would be slowly hauled back to raise the whale.1, 13, 14
Never wanting to “leave well enough alone,” in time there was an attempt to make an improvement on the Humpback Iron, and in 1862, Thomas Roys of Southampton, Long Island, patented an apparatus for Raising Dead Whales from the Bottom of the Sea. This so-called “Whale Raiser” was a massive affair altogether: a swivel barb harpoon that was ten feet long and weighed two hundred pounds, having a huge triangular head with two cutting edges backed by two very long pivot barbs, two guide hoops, and ending in a large ring in place of the normal open socket. In practice, a small codline was attached to this ring; after fastening to the sunken whale, this line was used to pull a larger line through the ring, and then in turn a larger hawser, which was to be hauled back by the ship’s windlass.1, 13
Rare Humpback Harpoons by E. B. & F. Macy (New Bedford, ca. 1860s to 80s), with 8 5/8 inch long toggle head, on 5/8 inch diameter shank, with overall 30 5/8 inch length. Sold by Nina Hellman Antiques. An identical harpoon is illustrated in Lytle, 1984.
Roys tried hard to impress the whaling fleet with his new invention, and throughout 1861 he ran advertisements in the New Bedford bimonthly Whalemen’s Shipping List, and Merchant’s Transcript, which claimed,
This instrument will attach any number of lines to whales that are dead on the bottom, and can be furnished for forty dollars; it can be done in anything less than one hundred fathoms of water. If it fails to give satisfaction if tried, the money will be refunded at termination of the voyage. Apparently Roy never had to give a refund, because it does not appear that his campaign was successful. Yankee whalers were not impressed with an unwieldy forty-dollar contraption when they already had an inexpensive Humpback Iron to do the job. There is no evidence that a single one of his devices was ever used.1, 14 In fairness, there was not much demand—even the recovery harpoons were not in widespread use—so that today they are among the rarest antique harpoons. Most people, even seasoned collectors of whaling items, have never seen a Humpback Iron. However, you can examine one right here on Nantucket at the Whaling Museum, where there is a fine one on display in their whaleboat.
Illustration of How a Humpback Recovery Harpoon Was Used (illustration from Thomas Roys 1862 patent application).
Photograph of Thomas Roys Patented Whale-Riser.
HUMPBACK IRONS
References Cited 1 Lytle, Thomas G. 1984. Harpoons and other
Whalecraft. Old Dartmouth Historical Society. 2 NBWM. 2020. Overview of North American
Whaling. https://www.whalingmuseum.org/learn/ research-topics/overview-of-north-american-whaling 3 Davis, Lance E., Gallman, Robert E. and Karin Gleiter. 1997. In Pursuit of Leviathan: Technology, Institutions,
Productivity, and Profits in American Whaling, 1816–1906. University of Chicago Press. 4 Davis, Lance E., Gallman, Robert E. and Teresa D.
Hutchins. 1988. The Decline of U.S. Whaling: Was the
Stock of Whales Running Out? The Business History
Review Vol. 62, No. 4 (Winter, 1988), pp. 569-595 5 Allen, G. M. 1916. The whalebone whales of New
England. Mem. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. 8(2):105–322. 6 Macy, O. 1835. The history of Nantucket. Hilliard, Gray, and Co., Boston. 7 Starbuck, A. 1878. History of the American whale fishery from its earliest inception to the year 1876. In
Rep. U.S. Comm. Fish Fish. 1875–76, App. A. 8 ________ . 1924. The history of Nantucket County,
Island and town including genealogies of first settlers.
C. E. Goodspeed & Co., Boston. 9 Clark, A. H. 1887a. History and present condition of the [whale] fishery. In G. B. Goode (Editor), The fisheries and fishery industries of the United States.
Sect. V, History and methods of the fisheries, Vol. II, pt. XV, p. 3–218. Gov. Print. Off., Wash 10 Mitchell, E., and R. R. Reeves. 1983. Catch history, abundance, and present status of northwest Atlantic humpback whales. Rep. Int. Whal. Comm., Spec.
Iss. 5:153–212. 11 Randall R. Reeves, Smith, Tim D., Webb, Robert
L., Robbins, Jooke and Phillip J. Clapham. 2002.
Humpback and Fin Whaling in the Gulf of Maine from 1800 to 1918. Marine Fisheries Review 64:1-12 12 True, F. W. 1904. The whalebone whales of the western
North Atlantic compared with those occurring in
European waters with some observations on the species of the North Pacific. Smithson. Inst. Press,
Wash., D.C. (1983 repr.). 13 Brown, J. T. 1887. The whalemen, vessels and boats, apparatus, and methods of the whale fishery. In G. B.
Goode (Editor), The Fisheries and Fishery Industries of the United States. Sect. V, Vol. II, pt. XV, p. 218–293.
Gov. Print. Off., Wash. 14 Smithsonian Institution. On the Water. 3: Fishing for a Living 1840 – 1920. https://americanhistory.si.edu/ onthewater/exhibition/3_7.html
2019 Gifts to the Collection
2019.1.1 Engraved scrimshaw tooth of the Nantucket whaler Henry Astor “Gift of the H.L. Brown Jr. Family Foundation in memory of Lucy Fowlkes Breed and her love of Nantucket.” 2019.2.1-2 Business signs Gift of Douglas Seholm 2019.3.1 Carpenter’s scribe Gift of Michael R. Harrison 2019.4.1-5 HyLine Cruises uniform Gift of HyLine Cruises 2019.5.1 Rectangular copper printing plate depicting map of Western part of Nantucket Sound, 1883 Gift of Captain William C. Russell and his beloved wife Lyndall Scott Russell 2019.6.1-2 Nantucket Angler’s Club burgee Nantucket Angler’s Club hat Gift of the Nantucket Angler’s Club 2019.7.1-2 Nantucket Friendship basket purse made by Charles Sayle Nantucket Friendship basket purse made by George Brown, Jr. NHA Purchase 2019.8.1 Painting: Nantucket Shore, 1865 by William Trost Richards Gift of the Friends of the Nantucket Historical Association 2019.9.1 (Above) Framed photograph: Whale Calf 1 by Bryant Austin Gift of Cheryl McCornick and Bryant Austin 2019.10.1-17 Dolls and doll clothing Gift of John McLaughlin 2019.11.1-6 Steamship Authority Captain’s uniform belonging to Captain Bruce Malenfant Gift of Bruce Malenfant 2019.12.1 Business sign from the Cy’s Green Coffee Pot restaurant Gift of Mary Ellen Pender 2019.13.1-2 Drawing: Atheneum Interior by A. Shunney Drawing Whaling Museum Attic by A. Shunney Gift of Patricia S. Anathan 2019.14.1 Ship model of whaleship Edward Cary Gift of the H.L. Brown Jr. Family Foundation 2019.15.1-114 Robert and Nina Hellman Collection Partial gift of Nina Hellman, partial NHA purchase with funds from the H. L. Brown Jr. Family Foundation, in honor of Polly Espy Millard 2019.16.1-20 Robert and Nina Hellman Collection Partial gift of the Friends of Nantucket Historical Association, partial gift of Nina Hellman 2019.17.1-2 Business sign Nantucket Sleigh Ride Painted sand dollar “Lovingly donated by the children of Mary M. and Edward M. Walsh in appreciation of their selfless dedication to family, and in memory of the many happy days we shared together on Nantucket in our youth.” 2019.18.1 Pencil from The Green Coffee Pot restaurant Gift of Barry R. Zlotin 2019.19.1-5 Household items including pastry cutters, silver spoons, plate, and scissors. Gift of Marsha Hall Brown 2019.20.1 Sea chest (Isaac Riddell) Gift of Patricia Damm 2019.21.1 Miniature mortar and pestle, 19th century Gift of Peggy MacDonald 2019.22.1-10 Eliza Coffin slippers, doll and doll clothing, sampler, silver spoons, needlework pieces, scarf, cape, and silver pendant. Gift of Mark and Rebecca Williams
2019.23.1a-b Pair of shoes worn by Florence Maria Merriam at her wedding, 1896 Gift of Merriam Bouscaren
2019.24.1 Painting: The Fisher Girl, Nantucket, 1881 Gift of Jan and Warren Adelson 2019.25.1 Painting: Laying the Trywork Bricks, by James Harrington Gift of Betty Harrington 2019.26.1 Print: Residence and Tomb of Washington, Mount Vernon, on the Potomac, engraved by William Henry Capone after William Henry Brooke Gift of Stuart Frank 2019.27.1-2 Drapery, Tony Sarg Drapery, Tony Sarg Gift of Billi and Bobby Gosh in memory of Muriel Williams 2019.28.1-2 Embroidered bedspread by Nantucket Needlewomen 19th century needlepoint pillow Gift of Julie Beinecke Stackpole and the Estate of Mary Ann Beineche Tony Sarg’s “The Toy Shop” on display in the new Discovery Center. 2019.29.1 Scrimshaw whale’s tooth with inscribed memorial to “Albert Gardner Lost at Sea 1840” Gift of Rick and Janet Sherlund 2019.30.1 Wampanoag grinding stone Gift of Janie Goodwillie 2019.31.1 Sawfish bill Gift of Robert Farley 2019.32.1-2 Business signs Gift of Deborah Culbertson 2019.33.1 “My First Flight at Hyannis Air Service” button Gift of Jim Borzilleri 2019.34.1 (Below) Tony Sarg diorama “The Toy Shop” NHA Purchase
Non-Accessions
2019.8001.1-3 Bottle of sperm oil from Nantucket Whaling Museum Bottle of raw unprocessed head matter spermaceti Bottle of spermaceti wax Gift of Nina Hellman 2019.8002.1-4 Framed ink and watercolor: Whale Fishery in New England 1853, No.3 Framed ink and watercolor: Whale Fishery in New England 1853, No.1 Framed ink and watercolor: Whale Fishery in New England 1853, No.4 Needlepoin: Whale Fishery in New England No.2, 1853 Gift of Lucile W. Hays 2019.8003.1-3 Whale, seal, and crude oil candles Gift of Mary Malloy 2019.8004.1-5 Swordfish sword, ship model, bottles, and shadowbox. Gift of Robert Farley 2019.8005.1 Tapa cloth Gift of Beverly Hall 2019.8006.1-5 Commemorative plaques from the Whaling Museum Found in collection 2019.8007.1 Portrait of Lucretia Mott by Heather Vance, 2019
NHA Purchase
2019 Research Library Acquisitions
RL2019.1 Jim Borzilleri Collection of Nantucket Airlines Materials Gift of Jim Borzilleri RL2019.2 H.S. Wyer Photographs Gift of Meredith Dyer Sweet RL2019.4 Postcard to Miss Gertrude Perry Gift of Alvin Shaut RL2019.5 Map of Davis’s South Shoal and Other Dangers, 1849 Gift of Peter Mckie RL2019.6 Bill Fisher Tackle bumper stickers Gift of Jeff Allen RL2019.7 Cynara Reid Collection of Nantucket Angler’s Club Billfish Tournament Materials Gift of Cynara Reid RL2019.8 Bartlett Family Letters Gift of Charles Bartlett RL2019.9 First Congregational Church broadsigns Gift of Bill and Linda Steelman RL2019.10 Hazel Kingsley Turley Papers Gift of Michele Fogg RL2019.11 Wauwinet Tribe photograph Gift of Valerie Faubel RL2019.12 Quadrangles of air and sea disasters Gift of David Bachman RL2019.13 1835 American Silk Growers Guide NHA Purchase RL2019.14 Mary Van Arsdale Papers Gift of an anonymous donor RL2019.15 Protection Certificate for ship Mary Ann NHA Purchase RL2019.16 Virginia Johnston Collection of Nantucket Photographs Gift of Donald Johnston RL2019.17 Robert Butman Photographic Collection Gift of Marcia Butman RL2019.18 Once More at Cy’s by Zelda Zlotin Gift of Denise Korngold
RL2019.19 Addition to the Macy Family Papers Gift of Neil Cinelli RL2019.20 Addition to the Edouard Stackpole Collection Gift of Renny Stackpole RL2019.21 E.S. Fitzgerald and Joseph Mitchell business materials Gift of Paul Bullock RL2019.22 Helen Marshall handwritten manuscripts Gift Helen Marshal Hall Brown RL2019.23 Scrimshaw and Scrimshanders: Whales and Whalemen by E. Norman Flayderman Gift of John and Cynthia Everets RL2019.24 Additions to the Riddell Family Papers and Gardner Family Papers Gift of Patricia Gay Damm RL2019.25 Abisha Luce whaling journal NHA Purchase RL2019.26 Photograph of Nantucket Band, c. 1888 Gift of Bryan Fisher King RL2019.27 Nantucket Atlas, plate 10 NHA Purchase RL2019.28 ‘Sconset History Night Research Files Gift of the Siasconset Historical Research Group RL2019.29 Monaghan Family Photographic Collection Gift of Mr. Charlie Bullock RL2019.31 Robert Hellman Collection Partial gift of Nina Hellman, partial NHA purchase with funds from the H.L. Brown Jr. Family Foundation, in honor of Polly Espy Millard RL2019.32 Robert Hellman Collection Partial gift of Nina Hellman, partial gift of the Friends of Nantucket Historical Association RL2019.33 George Wendell Macy account book and ‘Nantucket Sleighride’ craft show materials Gift of the children of Mary and Edward Walsh RL2019.34 Benjamin Franklin Folger genealogical chart for Thomas Farmer and Sarah Grieves Gift of Michael Richard Kelly RL2019.35 Clinton Parker blacksmithing account book Gift of Virginia F. Andrews RL2019.36 (Bottom right) Mid-Island Bowling Leagues photo album Gift of Robert A. and Harvey S. Young RL2019.37 Nantucket business and events ephemera Gift of Barry R. Zlotin RL2019.38 Academy Hill School class photographs Gift of Pauline Igoe RL2019.39 Sea Cliff Inn and Cottages brochure Gift of Jeanne Underhill RL2019.40 Book and photographs Gift of Merriam Bouscaren RL2019.41 H. Marshal Gardiner photograph of Academy Lane Gift of Rhoda Kimble RL2019.42 Miss Cora Stevens gift bag and postcards Gift of Florence Kraigel RL2019.43 John Cunningham Ring high school diploma Gift of Anne Dyer RL2019.44 Cushman Family Letters Gift of Mark and Rebecca Williams RL2019.45 Robert Stackpole collection of postcards Gift of Mrs. Beth Stackpole Kelly RL2019.46 (Top left) Milo Calkin whaling journal NHA Purchase, with support from support from Susan Blount, Polly Espy Millard, Art and Diane Kelly, and L. Dennis and Susan Shapiro RL2019.47 Dreamland account book Gift of Jane Lovering RL2019.48 Charlie Swain Army Air Force portrait Gift of his children, Jonathan Swain and Nancy Swain Reeves RL2019.49 Addition to the Marshall-Pinkham Family Papers / Brown Collection Gift of Helen Marshall Hall Brown RL2019.50 “Survey of the Nantucket Harbor and Shoals” Gift of L. Dennis Shapiro RL2019.51 Hospital Thrift Shop records Gift of the Nantucket Hospital Thrift Shop RL2019.52 Galley Theater Lighting records Gift of Sandra Galley RL2019.53 Digital reproduction of the Bigelow and La Farge Families Tuckernuck House Journal Gift of the La Farge Family RL2019.54 Robert Hellman Collection Gift of the Friends of the NHA RL2019.55 Robert Hellman Collection NHA Purchase
IMPORTANT EXHIBITION SUMMER 2021
Major Retrospective of Anne Ramsdell Congdon paintings and drawings in the McCausland Gallery
The Friends of the NHA bought this important painting by Anne Ramsdell Congdon for the Museum in August 2020. It was rediscovered by Vose Gallery at an estate sale in California. It did not come with a title but the distinctive tall building with the hip roof on the right is still standing today and places the scene on Old South Wharf. Congdon loved the wharves and like many of her other works, this lushly painted image with both warehouses and sailboats expertly captured the Nantucket waterfront as it was transforming from a working to a recreational port.
Congdon is one of the most important female painters from the Nantucket Art Colony (1920–1945) and this top- notch painting adds to the small but growing collection of Congdons owned by the Museum. The NHA has digitized her diaries, and in the next five years plans to produce the first catalog to document and contextualize the work of this very significant but little-known female artist from Nantucket.
Above: Anne Ramsdell Congdon (1873–1958) Old South Wharf, Nantucket, 1937 Oil on panel Gift of the Friends of the NHA
2020 Gifts to the Collection
2020.1 Painting: The Northern Whale Fishery. Ship Harmony of Hull and other Ice-Bound Whalers on the Davis Strait between Baffin Bay, Canada and Greenland, by W.J. Huggins, 1835 NHA Purchase with support from Kaaren & Charles Hale, Shelley & Graham Goldsmith, Caroline & Jeffrey Paduch, the Richard E. Griffin Family Acquisition Fund, and an anonymous gift 2020.2 Spermaceti wax samples Gift of the Chemistry Students of Nimitz High School, Irving, Texas 2020.3 Brick from Nantucket street Gift of Harvey Deutsch 2020.4 Maritime artifacts Gift of Samantha Rand 2020.5 Pair of silver cufflinks made by Morton and Reva Schlesinger Gift of Judith Wodynski 2020.6 Winthrop silver-plated, six-piece coffee and tea service Gift of Helen Marsha Hall Brown 2020.7 Sculpted bronze portrait of Lucretia Coffin Mott NHA Purchase 2020.8 Embroidered dinner napkin Gift of Cynthia Gallagher 2020.9 Pins pertaining to Ellen R. Ramsdell Gift of Frances Karttunen 2020.10 Engraved whalebone plaque Gift of Marcy Bartlett 2020.11 Model of the whaling brig Beaver NHA Purchase, made possible with a gift from the H.L. Brown Jr. Family Foundation 2020.12 Odd Fellows regalia and rolling pin Gift of Frances Karttunen 2020.13 Three signs of various types Gift of Deborah D. Culbertson 2020.14 Painting: South Wharf, Nantucket by Anne Ramsdell Congdon Gift of the Friends of the Nantucket Historical Association 2020.15 Nantucket rush-seat ladder-back chair belonging to James Cary Gift of Jason Tilroe 2020.16 Murray’s Toggery face mask Gift of Murray’s Toggery Shop 2020.17 (Bottom) Historic painting and scrimshaw Gift of James L. Dunlap 2020.18 Two sperm whale teeth Gift of the Irene Hatch Family Trust 2020.20 Queequeg, 2019 Geddes Jones Paulsen (born 1988) Acrylic and shellac on canvas NHA purchase 2020.21.1–2 Two American Legion hats belonging to Alvin “Toppy” Topham Gift of Leigh M. Topham 2020.8001 Line-O-Scribe machine printing press with four trays of type Gift of Lucile W. Hays 2020.8002 Nantucket scalloper Gift of Edward A. Stojak 2020.8003 Painted whale rib bone Gift of James L. Dunlap
Accessions January–September 2020
2020 Accessions at the Research Library
RL2020.1 Typed manuscript on shawls Gift of Helen Marshall Hall Brown RL2020.2 Photographs, aerials, and negatives Gift of Richard Austin RL2020.3 (Above) Anne Ramsdell Congdon Papers Gift of the Congdon Family RL2020.4 Old Mill photograph Gift of Woody Kay RL2020.5 Young’s Bicycle Shop maps, 1964-2014 Gift of Young’s Bicycle Shop RL2020.6 Scans of Young’s Bicycle Shop maps, 1977–2018 Gift of Young’s Bicycle Shop RL2020.7 Bill Haddon color photograph of Old Mill Gift of Joanne Polster RL2020.8 Pascaert van Nieu Nederland Van Hendrick Christiaens Eyland tot Staaten hoeck of Cabo Cod by Arent Roggeveen, 1675 Partial gift of the Friends of the Nantucket Historical Association, partial gift of Elizabeth and William Guardeniere RL2020.9 From Shore to Shore by Phoebe Ann Coffin Hanaford NHA Purchase RL2020.10 The Writ of Injunction, Labor Unions, Boycotts, Strikes, and Contempts by William Barnes NHA Purchase RL2020.11 Columbian Centinel, 15 December 1790 edition NHA Purchase RL2020.12 Nantucket Preservation Trust House Histories Gift of the Nantucket Preservation Trust RL2020.13 Nathaniel Barney letter to Samuel Williston, 1847 Gift of Deborah Petite RL2020.14 Sales receipt from Mendle Rothenberg’s store on Main Street, 1878 Gift of Paul LaPaglia RL2020.15 Six photographs and Ellen Ramsdell’s Garden price list Gift of Frances Karttunen RL2020.16 Physics textbook owned by Lawrence S. Folger at the Coffin School, 1886 Gift of Norman W. Chaleki RL2020.17 Items pertaining to Ellen Ramsdell Gift of Frances Karttunen
RL2020.18 The Last Voyage of the Independence by Milo Calkin, 1953 NHA Purchase RL2020.19 Oldest House watercolor postcard Gift of Mary Shannon RL2020.20 Geo. E. Eldridge’s Chart C Vineyard Sound Lt. Ship to Chatham, 1909 NHA Purchase, with a gift from Diane and Art Kelly RL2020.21 Squam House “Chadwick’s Folly” manuscript materials Gift of Helen Marshall Hall Brown RL2020.22 Family manuscript materials and Edward Coleman Gibbs Bible Gift of Frances Karttunen RL2020.23 Crew list for ship Barclay, 1832 NHA Purchase, with a gift from Patricia and Thomas Anathan RL2020.24 Two Nantucket maps by the Killen Brothers, c. 1930 Gift of Susan Watkins RL2020.25 Scans of Lincoln Ceely ledgers
RL2020.26 Aerial Views of Nantucket, Mass., 1926 Gift of Chad Gifford
RL2020.27 Eldridge’s New Chart from Chatham New Harbor to West Chop Light, 1894 NHA Purchase with support from Diane and Arthur Kelly RL2020.28 U.S. Coast Survey Map of Block Island, Buzzard Bay, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, 1883 NHA Purchase with support from Diane and Arthur Kelly RL2020.29 Topham family photographs Gift of Leigh M. Topham RL2020.8001 Steamship Authority brochure with timetable Gift of Mike Fagan RL2020.8002 The whaleman’s experience in the golden age of whaling, 1814–1880 by Vincent Santapaga Gift of Vincent Santapaga RL2020.8003 A Thousand Leagues of Blue: The Pacific Whaling Voyages of Charles and Susan Veeder of Nantucket by Betsy Tyler Publication of the Nantucket Historical Association RL2020.8004 Tales & Legends of Early Nantucket: A Historical Treasure Hunt by Julie Jensen NHA Purchase RL2020.8005 Trees, Shrubs & Lianas of Nantucket, 2 volumes, by Yeshe Palmo NHA Purchase RL2020.8006 Last Call and The Last Bay Scallop? by John Stanton NHA Purchase RL2020.8007 Henry S. Wyer postcard Gift of W. Lee H. Dunham RL2020.8008 Agency: Married women traders of Nantucket, 1795-1865, by Mary Heen Gift of Mary Heen RL2020.8009 Figuring by Maria Popova NHA Purchase RL2020.8010 Tribe, Race, History by Daniel Mandell NHA Purchase RL2020.8011 An Innovation Story by Stephen L. Yelon NHA Purchase RL2020.8012 The Mapping of North American (2 vols.); New England in Early Printed Maps Gift of Arthur L. Kelly RL2020.8013 New England Prospect: A Loan Exhibition of Maps at the Currier Gallery of Art; Surveying the Shore Gift of Michael Buehler RL2020.8014 Sea History, No. 171, Summer 2020 Gift of the National Maritime Historical Society RL2020.8015 Sherburne to ‘Sconset: A Nantucket Success Story Publication of the Nantucket Historical Association RL2020.8016 The Life and Times of Oswald Anthony Tupancy by Paul R. Judy Gift of Paul R. Judy RL2020.8017 From the Forecastle to the Cabin; Five Years before the Mast Gift of the Los Angeles Maritime Museum RL2020.8018 Colonial Homes, Feb 1998, Vol. 14 No. 1 Gift of Peter Greenhalgh RL2020.8019 (Left) Frederick Douglass: Portrait of a Free Man Gift of Kelly Williams
Charting a Map Collection
Two years ago, Diane and Art Kelly of ‘Sconset and Chicago expressed an interest in helping the NHA strengthen its historic map collection. Five important maps have been added to the collection since then, including this recent donation of an 1883 U.S. Coastal Survey (USCS). It is massive at seven feet long and three feet high, detailing the coast and waters from Monomoy through the Nantucket Shoals to Block Island. The NHA thanks Michael Buehler of Boston Rare Maps for his expert advice and assistance.
This chart consists of three charts, all printed on heavy paper and joined. Overall, it is profoundly informative, hard to find in this format and condition, and eminently displayable. USCS charts were prepared by an agency of the U.S. Government beginning in about 1816. They were both accurate and detailed.
One drawback with USCS charts is that they were not updated frequently. Since the ocean currents regularly changed the location of shoals and subsequently the soundings, commercial mariners and fishermen wanted current and accurate charts. This is what provided an opening for George Eldridge, beginning in the early 1850s, to found his firm, which thrived by providing regularly updated charts. Again, thanks to the Kellys, six Eldridge charts of Nantucket have been identified and three are now in the NHA’s map and chart collection.
In addition to frequency of issue, there is one other important difference between the USCS and Eldridge charts. The former show both topographical (land) and nautical details; the latter focus almost exclusively on the nautical, because they were targeted at mariners for their use at sea. To view our map collection, go to: nantuckethistory.org.
The NHA has been awarded a $190,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to catalog the NHA’s archeology collections. These include Native peoples and English settlers collections estimated to number at least 5,000 stone tools, pottery, ceramic fragments.
This project will include creating digital images and records that will be publically accessible once complete on the NHA’s online collection database. Artifacts will be rehoused in new museum-quality enclosures for better protection.
To commemorate the 360th anniversary of the first contact between Native peoples and English settlers on Nantucket in 2019, staff set a goal to revive and build on Dr. Elizabeth Little’s lifetime work of groundbreaking research. This is a multi-year effort that will impact every department in the organization. The NHA will work with Plimoth Plantation, the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Tribal Council, and noted archaeologists. To provide expert advice and direction, the NHA has also engaged Mary Lynne Rainey, Principal Senior Archaeologist, Richard Grubb & Associates, Inc. to work alongside NHA project manager Amelia Holmes, Director of Collections, as well as Michael Harrison, NHA Obed Macy Research Historian, and Karl Wietzel, NHA Collections Specialist.
Wampanoag projectile points, Gift of Alice and Alfred Shurrocks, 1940.1. Photography by Jeffrey S. Allen. Amelia Holmes, NHA Director of the Collections, notes: “The archaeology collection forms one of the NHA’s largest artifact groups. The objects divide broadly into four groups. The first and largest contains lithic spear and arrow points made by the Native peoples who inhabited Nantucket from about 8,000 BCE to the eighteenth century. There are 2,000-3,000 items in this category, documenting hunting practices and tool-making materials spanning from thousands of years before European settlement into the post-contact period. The next group of objects contains larger Native American stone tools, including ax heads, mallets, fishing weights, and mortars and pestles. There are about 200-300 of these items in the collection. The third group contains animal bones and seashells excavated at native dwelling and hunting sites across the island. The number of items in this group is approximately 500. The last grouping holds between 1,000-2,000 historic-period ceramic and glass fragments excavated at English colonial and early American sites on the island. A majority of these items document daily life at historic houses and sites now under the care of the NHA, and were uncovered during digs at those sites.”
