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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.
The captain with the first and second mate, usually was on the stage, taking an active part in cutting in.
The windlass crew were forward, heaving on the tackle which was suspended from the cap of the lower mainmast.
As they hove the blanket rose higher and higher, the cutters plied their spades, and the whale rolled over and over.