Nautical Art: Scrimshanders and their Scrimshaws

At the height of the whaling industry during the 18^th and 19^th centuries, the art of producing scrimshaw became prominent among whalermen and sailors. Simply put, scrimshaw “is the art of carving on ivory, bone, woods and shells.” [1] Some experts believe that any piece produced after 1900 is no longer considered a scrimshaw or, more narrowly, that a piece is only considered a scrimshaw if produced by whalermen. Others believe that a scrimshaw just needs to “have a nautical association in respect to one or more of the following: maker, motif, method, or materials.” [2] This art form is by no means exclusive to this time period, nor is it exclusive to whalermen and sailors. In fact, these whalermen brought this art form to the west coast where the Eskimos were exposed to the new technique. The Eskimos have a long history of using walrus ivory which they then combined with these new scrimshaw techniques. Scrimshanders, or the makers of scrimshaw pieces, still practice this art form today.

Modern laws on ivory trading and the protection of marine life, along with increasing numbers of counterfeits, make it even rarer for one to come into possession of an authentic scrimshaw. With this in mind, the San Diego Maritime Museum has been fortunate to receive a donation of an extensive scrimshaw collection from the Norman C. and Jeanne M. Bunker Trust. Mr. Norman C. Bunker is a dentist in California with an interest in collecting scrimshaws. This collection consists of 47 pieces of scrimshaw in excellent condition. Although all the pieces of the collection are outstanding, a few notable pieces stand out.

HMS Victory
by William Gilkerson

The first, and most valuable, piece of this collection is the HMS Victory created by William Gilkerson, a famous scrimshander. This piece of  whale ivory measures seven inches in length and three inches wide. The front of the scrimshaw was first created with the image of the front (or bow) of the HMS Victory. It was then placed into an exhibit at the San Francisco Maritime Museum, at which Mr. Bunker purchased it. Mr. Bunker later commissioned Gilkerson to complete the backside of the scrimshaw with the image of the rear (or stern) of the HMS Victory. Further, this scrimshaw comes along with a wooden stand that was made from a piece of the original pasture oak removed from the lower hold of the ship during repairs in 1953.

Eskimo on walrus ivory

The next piece is a good example of how the Eskimos have been influenced by the art of scrimshaw. This piece was made with walrus ivory and measures five and a half inches in length and two and a half inches wide. The technique used is similar to most of the other pieces in this collection while the image is distinctly Eskimo.

Metal picks with a
different whale on each handle

A remarkable set of six metal picks with bone handles is a great example of how scrimshaw does not only consist of whole pieces of whale ivory or bones, but are sometimes made into more creative pieces. These metal picks are relatively small in size, measuring around 5 inches in length and half an inch wide. This small size makes the intricate carvings all the more impressive. On each of the six bone handles, an image of a whale is carved onto one side, with different whaling tools carved onto the other. The images of the whales include (from left to right): a sperm whale, a humpback whale, a killer whale, a right whale, a blue whale, and a sulphur bottom whale.

Dagger with reindeer scene

Another more creative piece of scrimshaw in this collection is the dagger with a handle made of whale bone that comes in a dagger sheath also made of whale bone. This piece measures around 8 and a half inches in length and 1 inch wide. On both parts of this beautiful piece, scenes with reindeers are carved onto the bone.

One of two scrimshaws made
with the dotting technique

Lastly, a distinct pair of scrimshaw, possibly dating back to the period of the Godey Lady, stands out because of the technique used to carve the image onto the whale ivory. Both pieces measure around 6 inches in length and 2 inches wide. Normally, the scrimshander would connect the dots or directly carve lines onto the ivory. The images on both pieces are clearly seen to have been outlined by dots and left as is. They were then filled in with some color. Of all 47 pieces in this collection, only these two pieces were produced with this technique.

While the whalermen and sailors of the 18^th and 19^th centuries viewed the art of scrimshaw as a way to pass time out in the open sea, modern scrimshanders today view this art form as a way to respect the sea and to keep this great tradition alive. Karl Kortum, the Director of the San Francisco Maritime Museum, said it best: “The old scrimshaw was an escape from the sea – from too much sea – back towards the land. The new scrimshaw moves in the other direction.” [3]    

Entry prepared by Samantha Chu, Collections Intern.