Friday, April 18, 2014

The Art of Scrimshaw




With Nancy J. Farrier. Please leave a comment to be entered in an exciting drawing. Details below.

From accounts I’ve read, the art of scrimshaw began on whaling vessels.
National Museum of American History
Fishermen would spend months, sometimes years, at sea, often with little to do. Whaling could only be done during daylight, so the sailors had hours of time on their hands. They had an abundance of bone and teeth from the whale, so they carved designs, or made useful objects to take home to their wives, mothers or a sweetheart. The men who did the scrimshaw were called scrimshanders.

Sailors used the teeth of sperm whales, bones of other whales, or the tusks of the walrus to make their carvings. A crude sailing needle was used to etch the design. Often, soot, tobacco juice or candle black would be used to bring out the design. The quality and detail of the artwork depended not only on the skill of the artisan, but also on the weather and the seas. Imagine trying to scratch tiny lines into a hard surface when the floor is moving. That must have been difficult to do.

National Museum of American History
Scenes of home life, sailing scenes and pictures of sweethearts from back home were popular to use in scrimshaw. From masted ships to breeching whales the art of the scrimshanders captured the imagination of people everywhere.

There were many useful objects carved or fashioned by scrimshanders. Many of these can be found on the website of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History if you type in scrimshaw to their search engine. They include wonderful detail on each item that is fascinating to read.

One of the bones used would have been the pan bone, or jaw bone of the whale.
National Museum of American History
An oval section of bone would have been cut from the jawbone, sliced thin and polished prior to adding a design. In the picture is such a pan bone, although it is unusual in that the scrimshander included the date and detail information. This scene depicts the harpooned whale diving and dragging the boat down with him. Most fishermen did not know how to swim, so this would mean death for them, especially in the cold waters of the north. In this scene, with the other boats in close proximity, the sailors would have had a good chance of survival.

Here are some of the items made by scrimshanders:

National Museum of American History
Candle Lantern: This lantern was designed to hold a single candle. The materials are bone and copper. There are holes in the bottom for draft purposes, and if the picture were larger, you could see the stub of a candle in the holder. The copper is etched as are the four pieces of bone that make up the top of the lantern. Each piece of bone on top has a different scrimshaw. One is a ship, one the date of 1859, one the scrimshander’s name – John Denton, and the last is the inscription – Happy is he who findeth light. From the lack of soot inside the lantern it is obvious this piece was prized and rarely used.

National Museum of American History
Pie Crimper: Men loved to make useful items to bring home to their wives, mothers or sweethearts. Pie crimpers were very useful and showed the man had been thinking of them on the long voyage. The edge of the pie crimper would run around the outside of the pie and seal the edges together. They were made in many different shapes. The one I have here is in the shape of a mythical hippocamp – half horse, half fish.

National Museum of American History
Corset Busk: Another popular item to take home was the corset busk. Many women wore corsets to make their waists smaller. The scrimshander would make the busk from the bone or baleen of a whale. This would have been a very intimate scrimshaw item, which the wife would use to stiffen the corset, and also served as a way to keep her husband close when he would be gone for long periods of time.

National Museum of American History
Watch Stand: Most scrimshaw was done with women in mind, however this watch stand must have been made for a man. This piece has a hollowed place to put a man’s pocket watch, but is unfinished. You can also see from the eagle at the top that patriotic carvings were popular.

Walters Art Museum




Sun Dial: This last piece is so exceptional I had to include it. I love the beautiful sailing ship, highlighted by the black detail. This sundial is made of ivory with the dial being brass. The precision is beautiful.






This post has been a bit long, but I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about scrimshaw. It’s hard for me to imagine being on a ship for months at a time, but if I had to do that I would enjoy doing some sort of handcraft to pass the time.

Have you ever seen, or do you have, any scrimshaw? What do you do in your spare time? I like to do needlework of some sort. Right now I’m making some cross stitch bookmarks, but I also like to knit and crochet.

I’m having a giveaway this month for a copy of The Immigrant Brides  or another book of your choice if you have this one, and a vintage faux scrimshaw necklace. Leave a comment to be entered in the drawing.










Nancy J Farrier is an award winning author who lives in Southern California in the Mojave Desert.
She loves the Southwest and interesting historical past. Nancy and her husband have five children. When Nancy isn’t writing, she loves to read, do needlecraft, play with her cats, and spend time with her family. Nancy is represented by Karen Ball of The Steve Laube Literary Agency. You can read more about Nancy and her books on her website: nancyjfarrier.com.
 

25 comments:

  1. I had never heard of scrimshaw! Crafts done at sea using natural elements like bones, teeth, etc. Very interesting.
    I have not read Immigrant Brides and would LOVE to win it. I enjoy collections and get to know many authors this way. In my spare time I read books, swim, walk, play dominoes, and am learning Country line dancing. All these are done and enjoyed at our retirement community. Thanks for the post. sm, CA wileygreen1(at)yahoo(dot)com

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    1. Sharon, thank you for your comments. How fun to learn line dancing. I've never tried it, but it looks like fun.

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  2. I would enjoy reading The Immigrant Brides Collection. Making items from scrimshaw surely surely keep the sailors busy.
    capileggi316@gmail.com

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    1. Carol, I imagine they suffered from boredom since there wasn't much to do at sea when they weren't catching/processing anything. I love the way they figured out an art form with what they had on hand. Thanks for commenting.

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  3. I would enjoy reading The Immigrant Brides Collection. Making items from scrimshaw surely surely keep the sailors busy.
    capileggi316@gmail.com

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  4. Nancy, what an interesting post and what an intriguing scene came to mind upon reading about corset busks--so romantic!! Don''t have much spare time, but I do enjoy knitting.

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    1. Margaret, thank you. I agree the idea of the corset busk was intriguing. I'm not sure this would be my idea of keeping my husband close. :) I love knitting, but take forever to get something done since I don't have much time. Thanks for commenting.

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  5. This is so interesting, and the artwork is wonderful! I enjoyed the pictures and the history behind this craft. In my free time I like to read and knit. Thank you!
    Linda Hutchins
    lindajhutchins@gmail.com

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    1. Linda, thank you for your comments. I like to knit in my free time, but I make time for reading. :)

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  6. Nancy, This is the first time I have heard of scrimshaw and I find it fascinating. I would have considered it a treasure if my whaling husband had brought me a work he had done at that time. In my spare time I love reading different blogs, reading, and above all, being around my three precious grands. There is no greater way to spend my time in my book. I know The Immigrant Brides Collection is filled with wonderful stories and the beautiful necklace would be a treasured piece. What a fabulous giveaway. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

    mauback55 at gmail dot com

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    1. Melanie, you are so right. Spending time with my grandson is about as good as it gets. I don't live close to him, so the I treasure each time we're together. Thank you for your comments.

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  7. Nancy, Interesting post! I have heard of scrimshaw and saw a big display of it at Silver Dollar City's Craft Festival years ago. It's fascinating how the artists can create such detailed scenes on something so tiny. It's hard to imagine tough, hardened sailors doing such detailed work too, but I know they did. I've been learning stained glass and have been working on some projects in my free time.

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    1. Vickie, my sister used to make some beautiful stained glass ornaments and windows. I love stained glass, but haven't tried to make it. I do love the detail on scrimshaw. Amazing when you think of the conditions where they were working.

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  8. I have seen bones with carvings on them before, but never knew what it was actually called! Love this site and all the new things you can learn about history. Thank you for sharing this! jumpforjoy at gmail dot com.

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    1. Joy, thank you for commenting. I'm so glad you enjoy our site. We love sharing tidbits of history.

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  9. Nancy, I loved this post about scrimshaw ! What wonderful creative pieces they created !
    I have been trying to learn basic knitting. I find it relaxing but I have along way to go !!
    Thank you for the giveaway and the information.
    mcnuttjem0(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. Jackie, thank you for commenting. You can do a lot with basic knitting. You are right that knitting does help with relaxing.

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  10. So beautiful! I especially love the sundial but enjoy the idea of the corset piece keeping her husband close.

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    1. Eileen, the sundial was my favorite piece, although I do love the whale teeth. The corset busk is an interesting idea.

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  11. This brings back memories. My husband is a scrimshander. He took up the art while we lived in Mystic, CT and he was a submariner in the Navy. He did it for gifts. Mostly jewelry, but he did an exquisite whole whale's tooth for his dad. Our son has it now. We were able to buy antique ivory cabochons and antique whole whale's teeth at the Mystic Seaport Museum. Buying new whale ivory is illegal.

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    1. Thanks for sharing, Sunni. How wonderful that your husband made these. I'm glad you enjoyed the post.

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  12. Nancy, I've always been fascinated with scrimshaw because my husband and I sailed to Alaska where a friend bought me a small sea otter scrimshaw necklace for my birthday in Glacier Bay. I believe my pendant was made from walrus tusk by an Alaskan native. I would love to read The Immigrant Brides collection!

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    1. Deb, I love sea otters and I'm sure the necklace was lovely and a treasured piece. Thank you for commenting.

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  13. H Nancy! I have neither seen nor owned anything with scrimshaw work done ons it, but what a fascinating post, thank you! That work is beautiful and would be fun to learn if I had any artistic ability whatsoever!! I've been itchin' to get my hands on Immigrant Brides since it came out. So thanks for the chance to win a copy!

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  14. Absolutely fascinating post, Nancy! I knew a little bit about scrimshaw, and now I know a whole lot more. :-) Immigrant Brides sounds equally fascinating and the necklace is beautiful. Would love to win!

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