NANTUCKET, MASS. — “Scrimshaw, to me, is the whaler’s sketchpad…” Rafael Osona has been known to muse. His is an apt vantage point for evaluating the off-duty handwork of whaling crews. More than 160 lots of scrimshaw and whalemen’s crafts crossed the block along with a full range of the maritime and Americana fare that is Osona Auction’s wheelhouse in a two-day sale on August 8-9. Topping the sale was a singular sperm whale tooth, “The Wiscasset of Wiscasset, circa 1836” flying the American flag, which sold for $152,500, including buyer’s premium. “It went to a collector and went to Wiscasset,” said Rafael Osona.

The Wiscasset is depicted flying the American flag and in full sail approaching a headland, with lighthouse and signed in fraktur “S. Svenson.” The underneath is inscribed “A tooth of a 90 bbl whale got on the coast of New Zealand, Jany 7th 1836.” The verso of the 8¾-inch-long tooth depicts the Wiscasset engaged in whaling with three boats out on the ocean with whalers busy on a pod of five whales.

The two-day event featured more than 800 lots, comprising old Boston and historic Nantucket material, plus Americana, fine art, continental and American furnishings and décor, as well as the estate of Linda Loring, to benefit Linda Loring Nature Foundation, with additions. “It was an over-the-top sale!” said Osona.

Watch for a full review of the sale’s highlights in a later issue.