Hand lance for killing whale
date: label: date made
content: ca. 1876
notes: label: Description
content: This is a hand lance used by whalers in New Bedford, Massachusetts, around 1876. The blade is wide and short and is fluted on both sides. “T.S.” is stamped on both sides of the blade. This tool, also known as a “killing iron,” was used for killing a whale once it was harpooned. It was superseded by the advent of the explosive lance. New Bedford was one of the world’s leading areas for whaling during the nineteenth century, with the middle of the century seeing three-fifths of the U.S. whaling fleet registered to the city.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New England
topic: label: used
content: Whaling
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Fisheries
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: W. H. Cook & Co.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: AG.025611
label: catalog number
content: 025611
label: accession number
content: 4829
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Lance
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal, iron (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 68 1/2 in; 173.99 cm