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A richly illustrated sketchbook that documents the techniques, equipment, and daily life of traditional whaling through detailed plates and diagrams. Sequential images and captions depict fitting out, sail handling, whaleboats, harpooning and lancing, the struggle of the chase, cutting-in and rendering blubber, shipboard trades and tools, and shore activities such as gams and recruiting. A foreword frames the material by contrasting the romantic image of sail whaling with mechanized modern whaling, while the artwork emphasizes technical accuracy, danger, and the labor and culture of the whalemen.
“What’s this—the cook’s pocketbook?”
Jack always ate his meals on deck except in inclement weather. Salt beef or pork, cooked in a sadly unvarying fashion, was served in small wooden tubs called “kids,” and the sailor’s treasured privilege, no matter what the quality of the fare might be, was to make uncomplimentary remarks about the cook and all his ancestors.