Whaling scene, ship Pacific of Nantucket by Edward Burdett, circa 1825–28.
NEW BEDFORD, MASS. – Hundreds of scholars, artists and historians will gather for the Whaling Museum’s 29th annual Scrimshaw Weekend, May 12-14. The 8th annual Nautical Antiques Show, on Friday, May 12, kicks off this year’s Scrimshaw Weekend, featuring high-quality antiques from some of New England’s most respected dealers.
Two walrus ivory crimpers with offset wheels and tortoise inlay. All items shown are from the Kendall Collection of the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
With more than 5,000 scrimshaw objects in the museum’s collection, it is the ideal venue for Scrimshaw Weekend – the world’s only forum devoted to the indigenous shipboard art of whalers during the “Age of Sail.” Founded in 1989, this event attracts enthusiasts from across the globe who gather to study, celebrate and discover this remarkable art form.
Scrimshaw Weekend begins Friday with a keynote presentation at 8 pm by Stuart M. Frank: “The John Fitzgerald Kennedy Scrimshaw Collection.”
Saturday evening includes a reception, dinner and book signings with Kenneth R. Martin, Around the World in Search of Whales: A Journal of the Lucy Ann Voyage 1841-1844; Judith N. Lund, American Offshore Whaling Voyages, and Stuart M. Frank, Classic Whaling Prints and Ingenious Contrivances.
Weekend presentations will include “Medicalshaw: Aspects of Medical Practice in Scrimshaw Art”; “The Catalpa Scrimshaw,” presented by scrimshaw artist Gary Tonkin; “What the Whalemen Wore”; “Scrimshaw in the London South Sea Whale Fishery”; “Scrimshaw in Tasmania,” presented by Colin S. Thomas of Hobart, Tasmania; “The Art of the Yankee Whale Hunt”; the annual market report and Antique Scrimshaw Collectors Association, progress to date.
“Olivia” workbox by Josiah Robinson, Jr, circa 1860–63.
Registration for the three-day Scrimshaw Weekend is $315 for Whaling Museum members and $370 for nonmembers. Registration includes regular admission to the Nautical Antiques Show, all sessions Friday through Saturday, and dinner on Saturday evening. The Saturday dinner and evening program can be purchased separately for accompanying guests at $75 per person.
Sunday’s festivities will include an off-site field trip with an additional fee to cover the cost of transportation and lunch. The field trip site and costs are to be announced.
Full scholarships are available to university-level students, supported by Robert C. Eldred Co., Northeast Auctions, and Skinner, Inc.
The New Bedford Whaling Museum is at 18 Johnny Cake Hill Road. For more information or to register for the Scrimshaw Weekend, 508-997-0046, extension 100, or www.whalingmuseum.org and click on the programs tab.
