Whaler's Explosive Lance
date: label: date made
content: late 1800s
label: patent date
content: 1879
label: explosive lances were invented
content: late 19th century
name: label: patentee
content: Pierce, Eben
label: manufacturer
content: Brown, Frank E.
notes: label: Description
content: Explosive lances were designed to kill a whale by exploding inside its body. Many different types were invented in the late 19th century. When they worked properly, they were extremely efficient.
label: Description
content: They could either be shot out of guns or set at the end of darting guns. These devices resembled harpoon handles, to which the explosive lances were fixed. Once a plunger touching the whale’s skin moved a specific length, it triggered an explosive charge that shot the lance into the whale’s body.
place: label: Place Made
content: United States: Massachusetts, New Bedford
topic: label: used
content: Whaling
label: related event
content: The Development of the Industrial United States
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Agriculture and Natural Resources
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content: Cultures & Communities
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content: Work
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content: Industry & Manufacturing
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content: Natural Resources
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content: Transportation
label: Exhibition
content: On the Water
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: F. Gilbert Hinsdale
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: AG.316544
label: catalog number
content: 316544
label: accession number
content: 066767
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Harpoon
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: brass (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 17 1/2 in; 44.45 cm