Whaler's Harpoon with Toggle Head
date: label: date made
content: 1882
name: label: maker
content: D. & D.
notes: label: Description
content: The first step in catching a whale was throwing at least two sharp harpoons into its back, to ensure that the whaleboat was securely fastened to its prey. Harpoon shafts were made of soft wrought iron, so that they would bend and not break off when twisted, which risked losing the wounded whale.
label: Description
content: A line at the bottom of the harpoon’s wooden handle attached it to the whaleboat. Once in the whale’s flesh, the sharp toggle tip swiveled sideways, making it harder for the tip of the weapon to pull out. Whales normally dove deep after the first prick, to try and escape the sharp jab from the surface of the ocean. This harpoon shaft was twisted by a descending whale.
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: Fisheries
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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
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content: On the Water exhibit
label: Exhibition
content: On the Water
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Brown, James Temple. The Whale Fishery and Its Appliances
label: Related Publication
content: National Museum of American History. On the Water exhibition website
label: Related Web Publication
content: http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Jonathan Bourne through J. T. Brown
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: AG.056237
label: catalog number
content: 056237
label: accession number
content: 012284
objectType: label: Object Name
content: harpoon
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: iron (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 4 3/4 in x 29 1/2 in x 5 1/4 in; 12.065 cm x 74.93 cm x 13.335 cm