Although most scrimshaw pieces were intended as homecoming presents for loved ones, a whaleman might occasionally sell his work in a foreign port, if he needed cash. In his book The Yankee Whaler, Clifford Ashley describes 60 items he considered scrimshaw, ranging from bird cages and butter spreaders to picture frames and pipe tampers. Fakeshaw is molded plastic designed to replicate teeth, tusks, and other natural materials on which whalemen once practiced the art of scrimshaw. One can determine whether an object is plastic or scrimshaw by examining it under a blacklight. The appearance of genuine scrimshaw will be flourescent bright white under the light.
Most scholars describe it as carvings on whale teeth and baleen, done by whalemen at sea.
However, scrimshaw is still legitimately practiced today by artists who create beautiful objects from fossilized ivory and other materials. These twentieth- century scrimshanders do not attempt to sell their objects as the work of whalemen, nor do they imitate older styles. They create new art inspired by ancient roots. Go to Arctic Whaling or return to Home Port. Contact our Webmaster 1997, New Bedford Whaling Museum.