POLYCHROME SCRIMSHAW WHALE TOOTH, ATTRIBUTED TO CALEB ALBRO circa 1840 (2 sided)
InformationPOLYCHROME SCRIMSHAW WHALE TOOTH, ATTRIBUTED TO CALEB ALBRO, Circa 1835-1847 (TE5063)
Obverse depicts three vignettes. Upper vignette depicts an eagle perched on an anchor resting on a floating log, with an American flag on pole to the left. Central vignette is titled Sperm Whaling In the South Sea" in script lettering and depicts a whaling scene with whaleship and three whaleboats in pursuit of a diving sperm whale. Lower vignette depicts a spouting sperm whale. Reverse depicts an attractive woman wearing a bonnet and gown, holding an open parasol in her right hand and a handkerchief in her left hand. She is standing on a parquet floor beneath swaged draperies. (TE5063)
Dimensions: Length 7.25".
Reference: In his appraisal of this tooth, Stuart M. Frank "confidently attributes" it to Caleb T. Albro of Jamestown and Portsmouth, Rhode Island, who sailed aboard the John Coggeshall of Newport from 1834 to 1847. According to Scrimshaw and Provenance: A Third Dictionary of Scrimshaw Artists written by Frank (Mystic, Ct.: Stuart M. Frank and Mystic Seaport Museum, 2013), Albro was born probably in 1816 and served on one whaling voyage.
Reference: Ingenious Contrivances, Curiously Carved: Scrimshaw in The New Bedford Whaling Museum by Stuart Frank. Published by David R. Godine, Boston, 2012. Page 333. The tooth described is very similar to the Alboto tooth published on page 333 this tooth is signed "Ship John Coggeshall Newport" and dated 1835-April 12, 1839. The obverse has a very similar whaling scene above and engraved sperm whale. Both teeth are almost identical on the reverse with an engraving depicting a women in a long fancy dress with a curtain above and a patterned floor below.
Provnance:
Barbara Johnson Whaling Collection.
West Sea Company, 1997.
The Collection of Sam and Donna McDowell.
Left Page – Full size
(TE5063_1) on left of page & (TE5063_2) on right
Sperm Whaling in the South Sea Scrimshaw Polychrome Whale Tooth, attributed to Caleb or Thomas Albro
The obverse depicts an eagle clutching an anchor next to a flagpole flying a large American flag. Below
Is a whale ship with a whaling scene, above an image of a sperm whale with its jaw lowered. The reverse of the tooth depicts a lovely thin waisted woman in a long fancy gown and wearing a hat and holding an umbrella. She is standing below a window drapery. There is a detailed checker pattern floor at the base of the tooth.
Private Collection
Circa 1840s
Dimension: H 7 ¼ inches
Circa 1840
