Scrimshaw is the name given to handiwork created by whalers made from the byproducts of harvesting marine mammals. It is most commonly made out of the bones and teeth of Sperm Whales, the baleen of other whales, and the tusks of walruses. It takes the form of elaborate carvings in the form of pictures and lettering on the surface of the bone or teeth, and then highlighting the engravings using a pigment, or small sculptures made from the same material. The making of scrimshaw began on whaling ships between 1817 to 1824 on Pacific Ocean whalers, and survived until the ban on commercial whaling. The practice survives as a hobby and as a trade for commercial artisans. A maker of scrimshaw is known as a scrimshander.

History of Scrimshaw

Scrimshaw is dervied from the practice on ships of sailors creating common tools, and on whaling ships the byproducts of whales were readily avaliable. The term orignially referred to the making of these tools, only later referring to works of art created by whalers in their spare time. Whale bone is ideally suited towards the task, as it is very easy to work and very plentiful.

The development of scrimshaw took off after the market for whale teeth, which was sought by Chinese traders for use in the Pacific Islands (for example the Fijiian market for tabua, was flooded with teeth after a narrative by an American sailor, Captain David Porter, revealed both the market and the source of the teeth. Around this time is the earliest authenticated pictoral piece of scrimshaw (1817). The tooth was enscribed with the following This is the tooth of a sperm whale that was caught near the Galapagos islands by the crew of the ship Adam [of London], and made 100 barrels of oil in the year 1817.

Scrimshaw essentially was a leisure activity for whalers. Because the work of whaling was very dangerous at the best of times, whalers were unable to work at night. This gave them a great deal more free time than other sailors. A lot scrimshaw was never signed and a great deal of the pieces are anonymous.

Scrimshaw Design

Scrimshaw was a highly variable medium. Both practical pieces such as hand tools, toys and kitchen utencils, and highly decorative pieces which were purely ornamental. The designs on the pieces varied greatly as well, though they often had whaling scenes on them. For example Herman Melville, in Moby Dick, refers to lively sketches of whales and whaling-scenes, graven by the fishermen themselves on Sperm Whale-teeth, or ladie's busks wrought out of the Right Whale-bone, and other skrimshander contrivances. Most engravings were adapted from books and papers.

Scrimshaw Collections

Most of the original scrimshaw created by whalers is currently held by museums. Museums with significant collections include the Hull Maritime Museum in Kingston on Hull , England; the Kendall Whaling Museum in Connecticut, and the Nantucket Whaling Museum in Massachusetts. Privately held original pieces are very valuable, and a great many reproductions exist in the market.