William McCloskey Fishing and World Fisheries Photographic Collection
name: label: Donor
content: McCloskey, William B., 1928-
place: label: Place
content: Alaska
label: Place
content: Brazil
label: Place
content: Canada
label: Place
content: Chile
label: Place
content: India
label: Place
content: Indonesia
label: Place
content: Japan
label: Place
content: Malaysia
label: Place
content: New England
label: Place
content: New Zealand
label: Place
content: Norway
label: Place
content: Peru
label: Place
content: Portugal
label: Place
content: Singapore
label: Place
content: Taiwan
label: Place
content: Vietnam
topic: label: Topic
content: Crabbing
label: Topic
content: Fisheries
label: Topic
content: Fisheries -- Equipment and supplies
label: Topic
content: Fishing
label: Topic
content: Fishing boats
label: Topic
content: Fur trade
label: Topic
content: Ocean
label: Topic
content: Rivers
label: Topic
content: Rivers -- Brazil
label: Topic
content: Rivers -- China
label: Topic
content: Sealing
label: Topic
content: Seals (Animals)
label: Topic
content: Trawlers (Vessels)
label: Topic
content: Whaling
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Collection donated to the Archives Center by William B. McCloskey in 2010.
creator: label: Donor
content: McCloskey, William B., 1928-
setName: label: See more items in
content: William McCloskey Fishing and World Fisheries Photographic Collection
abstract: label: Summary
content: Collection documents William McCloskey's photography aboard fishing, whaling, and sealing vessels all over the world.
bioghist: label: Biographical
content: William McCloskey (1928-) is an author and photographer of commerical fishing, fisheries and fishing boats. 

McCloskey's written works on the subject of fishing and fisheries are voluminous and include several books two non-fiction books about fishing, Fish Decks and Their Father's Work; three fishing-related novels, and articles in magazines, including Smithsonian, Atlantic, New York Times Magazine, Town and Country, Oceans, National and International Wildlife, National Fisherman, Pacific Fishing, Fishing News International (London), and Audubon; and newspaper articles in the Washington Post, New York Times, Baltimore Sun, Boston Globe, Anchorage News, and others.  His writings are based on seafaring experiences going back to the 1940s.  His photographs have appeared in his books, in magazines and newspapers, in textbooks, and in several museum exhibits.  

After a few years in college, while in his twenties, McCloskey worked as a merchant seaman, hoping to see the world.  He got a good start on this goal during this time, which was followed by two years in the U.S. Coast Guard.  He honed his writing skills while working as a reporter for Baltimore Sun,  then went on to successive jobs for Black and Decker, the U.S. Agency for International Development, Martin Marietta, and Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory  Starting in the 1970s, while employed with the APL, he spent as much time as could be arranged on fishing vessels.  McCloskey started writing on subjects relating to commercial fishing, particularly the political and environmental aspects.  

He retired in 1989 to devote himself entirely to his writing and photography interests.  His travels and photography have taken him to bodies of water around the globe, including those off the coast of the United States such as Alaska, and Japan, New Zealand, Canada, Norway, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Myanmar, Chile, Peru, the Caribbean, and Portugal.  In addition, there are photographs taken aboard fishing vessels on rivers and bays, including those in China, Brazil, the east and west coasts of the U.S., and New England.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 8 Cubic feet (34 boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1952-2005
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.1192
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Articles
label: Type
content: Field notes
label: Type
content: Photographs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is divided into three series.

Series 1: Photo Log Notebooks, 1975-2005

Series 2: Slides, 1975-2010

Series 3: Writings, 1976-1998
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Grace Boyle, intern; supervised by Alison Oswald, archivist, 2024.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Articles
label: Genre/Form
content: Field notes
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- Color transparencies -- 1950-2000
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- Color transparencies -- 2000-2010
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The collection consists primarily of McCloskey's slides taken on fishing, whaling, and sealing vessels all over the world.  He meticulously labeled, dated and inventoried each slide.  The slides show not just every aspect of the fishing activities; they also document crew, equipment, engines, local people in ports, processing of the fish, fishing villages, and fish markets.   Virtually every element of commercial fishing (as well as whaling and sealing) is covered.  Also included in the collection is a small amount of printed material, mostly articles written by McCloskey and his photo log notebooks which include information about the places he traveled to and photographed.