Whaleman’s Pitch Dipper, 1882
notes: label: Description
content: This hand-made tool was used for holding the pitch (tar) used for paying (caulking) the deck seams on a wooden whaling ship. Made from a whelk shell attached to a short, wooden stick, the dipper was displayed at the 1883 International Fisheries Exhibition in London. The dipper was given to the exhibition by Lawrence & Co., a whaling, sealing, and commercial firm in New London, Connecticut.
label: Description
content: The United States’ portion of the display was organized by the U.S. Fish Commission and included a wealth of gear, models, photographs, fishery products, and everyday objects used by American fishermen. The international exhibition was on view between May 12 and November 1, during which a daily average of 18,545 people toured the buildings and grounds. When the exhibition closed, the collections that represented the United States were sent to the Smithsonian Institution and a catalog was published: <i>Descriptive Catalogues of the Collections Sent from the United States to the International Fisheries Exhibition, London, 1883, Constituting A Report Upon the American Section.</i> Prepared under the direction of G. Brown Goode, U.S. Commissioner, and a staff of associates. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1884.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Connecticut, New London
topic: label: used
content: Whaling
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Fisheries
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content: Work
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content: Industry & Manufacturing
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content: Natural Resources
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Brown, James Temple. The Whale Fishery and Its Appliances
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Lawrence & Co. through J. T. Brown
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: AG.056875
label: catalog number
content: 56875
label: accession number
content: 12328
objectType: label: Object Name
content: pitch dipper, whaleman's
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood, pine (handle material)
label: Physical Description
content: periwinkle shell (utensil material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 9 7/8 in; 25.0825 cm