This English watercolor of the ship Iona in its original frame is one of many consigned and donated nautical antiques in the Scrimshaw Weekend's Benefit Auction on May 14 at 8pm, proceeds to benefit the New Bedford Whaling Museum. None of the items are from the Museum's collections. (Photo by Richard Donnelly)

Scrimshaw experts, collectors and fans from around the world have another reason to look forward to the 22nd Annual Scrimshaw Weekend at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, May 13-15. It features three days of new presentations and activities, including a first-ever public auction of consigned nautical antiques on Saturday, May 14 at 8:00 p.m. in the Cook Memorial Theater.

The world’s only forum dedicated to the indigenous shipboard art of whalemen, Scrimshaw Weekend attracts enthusiasts from four continents to share the enjoyment of collecting and researching this remarkable artwork at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, home to the world’s largest collection of scrimshaw.

The weekend kicks off at noon on Friday, May 13 with a Marine Antiques Show and Swap Meet, expanded by popular demand. On Friday evening, the keynote address titled “‘Built’ Scrimshaw: Types, Tools, and Construction Methods” is presented by James Vaccarino, J.D., and Sanford Moss, Ph.D. at 8:00 p.m. in the Cook Memorial Theater. A full day of special programs devoted to scrimshaw on Saturday will wrap up with a cocktail reception at 5:00 p.m. and gala banquet at 6:00 p.m. The banquet will be followed by a public auction of consigned and donated nautical antiques at 8:00 p.m. in the Cook Memorial Theater, with proceeds to benefit the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Special exhibitions and an optional fieldtrip on Sunday are also planned.

Marine Antiques Show and Swap Meet

On Friday, May 13, from noon to 5:00 p.m., the second annual Marine Antiques and Swap Meet will feature for sale high quality marine antiques including scrimshaw, nautical instruments and tools, whaling logbooks, ship models, photos, paintings, prints, New Bedford memorabilia, and more in the Jacobs Family Gallery. Entry fee for the Antiques Show and Swap Meet only is $5, or free with museum admission or membership.

Scrimshaw Plenary Sessions

On Saturday, May 14, plenary sessions from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. will include, “Care and Feeding: Taking Care of Your Scrimshaw – Expanded,” with Conservator and Curatorial Intern, D. Jordan Berson, M.A., M.L.S.; Scrimshaw Preservation and Conservation Q&A Session; “Pictorial Sources of Scrimshaw in Institutional and Private Collections” with Jack H. T. Chang, M.D.; “Pictorial Sources of Scrimshaw in the New Bedford Whaling Museum,” with Stuart Frank, Ph.D., Senior Curator, NBWM; “Scrimshaw in the McDowell Collection”; “Pirates and Female Pirates on Scrimshaw,” and more.

Sessions will also include a Scrimshaw Market Report and Q&A with marine antiques dealer, Andrew Jacobson; an update on “A Comprehensive Catalogue of Scrimshaw in the New Bedford Whaling Museum,” with James Russell, Museum president; Richard Donnelly, book photographer, and Sara Eisenman, designer; Nautical Antiques Auction overview with Richard Donnelly, and a Collectors’ Show-and-Tell.

Public Auction of Consigned Nautical Antiques

On Saturday, May 14 at 8:00 p.m., guest auctioneer Ron Bourgeault of Northeast Auctions, LLC, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, will preside over the public auction of a wide array of consigned nautical antiques including scrimshaw and whale craft, marine paintings, engravings and lithographs, log books, charts, antique photos, nautical instruments and more in the Cook Memorial Theater. A featured expert on the popular PBS series, Antiques Roadshow, Ron’s career in the antiques business spans four decades. He established Northeast Auctions in 1987, now ranked among the largest auction houses in the United States.

The public auction will consist of consignment and donated items only, with proceeds to benefit the New Bedford Whaling Museum. No items are from the Museum’s collections.

Approximately 150 lots will include many fine examples of scrimshaw, including whales’ teeth, whale bone busks engraved with various subjects, whale bone fids, a whale ivory pie crimper, fine inlaid sewing box from the Nye family, five canes including lady’s leg and fist examples, cribbage board, carved whale’s tooth amulet, lady’s leg pipe tamper, hand & cuff bodkin, whale bone clothes pin, large whale bone carved spoon and more. Auction listings and photos are online at www.auctionzip.com.

Preview of auction items in the Resource Center begins Friday, May 13 from noon to 5:00 p.m. and on Saturday, May 14 from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The public is invited to attend the preview and auction at no charge. Left bids will be accepted. No phone or online bidding. Payment: cash, check and major credit cards accepted. There is a 15% buyer’s premium and Massachusetts sales tax is applicable to buyers without a valid resale certificate.

The fee for Scrimshaw Weekend, including admission to the Museum, all open galleries, Scrimshaw & Marine Antiques Show, scheduled meals, all plenary sessions and refreshments: $335 (Museum members $295) before May 1. After May 1 the fee is $370 (Museum members $330). Tickets to Saturday’s banquet only: $75 each.

On Sunday, May 15, an optional all-day fieldtrip will head to Nantucket Island and its Whaling Museum for a “behind the scenes” tour of its outstanding scrimshaw collection, including the museum’s off-campus storage facility. A special visit to an extraordinary private whaling collection will include a reception hosted by the owners. The bus will leave at 7:30 a.m. from the New Bedford Whaling Museum, returning by 8:00 p.m. The price is $235 and includes luncheon at the famed Jared Coffin House, all motor coach and ferry transportation.

The New Bedford Whaling Museum gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Northeast Auctions, LLC of Portsmouth, NH, and the Maine Antique Digest, who have helped make Scrimshaw Weekend possible year after year.

To register, contact: Visitor Services, (508) 997-0046, ext. 100, or frontdesk@whalingmuseum.org

Erin McGough

Erin McGough has been appointed the new Registrar of the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Selected from a field of more than 130 candidates, Ms. McGough comes to the Whaling Museum from the Concord Museum, where she developed the Registrar’s office, creating systems and procedures that allowed the museum to obtain its accreditation. She replaces longtime Registrar Jean Banker who retired in June.

Ms. McGough holds a Master’s Degree in Art History and Museum Studies from Tufts University, a B.A. in Art History from the College of William and Mary and has extensive internship experience at museums including the Corcoran, the Smithsonian, and Harvard’s Peabody Museum.

In making the announcement, Dr. Greg Galer, Vice President of Collections and Exhibitions, noted “Erin will play an essential role in the operation of the Whaling Museum, managing the legal and intellectual control of the collection as well as its physical care, storage, security and climate control. Erin comes with an extensive skill set for this position, possessing a deep knowledge of collection databases and object loan protocols. She will be an important member of the Curatorial Department, with museum best-practices at the heart of all our programs. The Board of Trustees and staff are thrilled to welcome her aboard.”

Ms. McGough added, “I am honored to be working at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The collection is large, diverse, and interesting — certainly providing a Registrar with plenty of challenges. I look forward to working with the entirety of the museum’s staff, as we provide a satisfying visitor experience while maintaining professional standards of collections care.”

The workshop included forensic studies for dating paper, fiber analysis, watermark identification, and the forgery of works of art on paper. The instructor was Peter Bower, a paper historian and research fellow at the Tate Gallery, London, England.

WAAC Paper Services

]]> http://whalingmuseumblog.org/2010/06/10/paper/feed/ 0 whaleblog WAAC Paper Services http://whalingmuseumblog.org/2010/06/08/whaling/ http://whalingmuseumblog.org/2010/06/08/whaling/#comments Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:38:38 +0000 rochabob http://whalingmuseumblog.org/?p=2178 ]]> Later this month, a new proposal to suspend the moratorium on commercial whaling will be presented at the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission.  This proposal has created a great deal of controversy within the IWC and around the globe.

In light of this proposal, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society’s UK office has created a presentation using Shockwave software the tallies the commercial, scientific and subsistence harvests of whales in recent decades.

Whaling in the 21st Century and Before

This data, combined with the comprehensive Whaling Zones map in our new exhibit, The Hunt for Knowledge, gives a complete picture of who, what, where, why and how many.

For some, this is a complex issue, requiring a gathering of facts from all points of view.  For others, there’s no need for discussion; their minds are made up.  Whatever your point of view is, it’s good to be armed with the details.

From Boston.com, “Crossbow the right solution to free entangled whale”

Nice shot, Scott!

At the same time Robert shared an interesting online tool he had discovered through his subscription to the AIC News (July 2009, Douglas Nishimura, Image Permanence Institute). Listed under “New Publications”  is a website called Graphic Atlas . This is an online resource that offers print identification and characteristic exploration tools. It also contains additional pages dedicated to the history of printing technologies. The Image Permanence Institute at the Rochester Institute of Technology began initial development of this resource in 2006.

“We are currently working on both river kayaks constructed of caribou. It has been coated in the past with a yellow ochre paint along the seams.  A second repair coating, a white paint with a heavy resin content was also used liberally to solidify patches and small torn areas. “…

Flickr set of this Kayak Restoration Project

…”A later addition was a shellac based coating that appears to have been applied as a preservative.  This has discolored an orange brown color and attracted considerable dirt which is now well embedded into it. Fortunately, this disfiguring layer is more readily removed with an alcohol/water based cleaning agent. The skins are also brittle and weak, but not as sun damaged as the first kayak. Due to the thinness of the skins and the loss of elasaticity, the tears will be stabilized with simple backing supports of several laminated layers of a heavy weight Kozo, a long fiber Japanese paper made of mulberry fiber. We are not filling in the areas of loss to make them flush with the skins or undertaking a cosmetic repair to make them appear like a native repair, but are only stabilizing the damaged areas. The paper has two advantages.  One, it is a similar color, unlike a leather patch, and visually blends in to a better (not perfect) degree, and it has a similar tear strength to the embrittled skins, thus should the skins continue to shrink it is anticipated the paper will tear before the skins do, minimizing further damage to the skins.  We also found a 1962 World Fair sticker from Seattle inside.”