In reading more of Hester Blum’s very interesting The View from the Masthead (2008), I came across another list of books a 19th-c whaler read. His name was James C. Osborn of Edgartown, Mass., second mate aboard the Charles W. Morgan whaling ship. From 1841–45, the ship whaled in the Pacific under Master Thomas A. Norton. [...]
library
Whalers, sailors, and libraries at sea [part 2]
Yesterday, I wrote about sailors who were also readers in the 19th century, and their economy of book exchanges at sea. Today, let’s look at what a few mariners were actually reading! Both lists were written by the masters of their ships, so presumably they would have been more educated and more privileged than the [...]
Whalers, sailors, and libraries at sea [part 1]
In the whaling days of Moby-Dick, splashy scenes like the above could be infrequent. Many long days could pass between whales, and indeed any long sea journey was marked by tedium. While ship-masters always had an unending list of chores for the sailors to complete aboard the ship, some of the men passed their free [...]
Project: Grandma’s letters
In cleaning my grandmother’s garage, my relatives found a cardboard box filled with love letters she wrote to my grandfather during their courtship and early days of their marriage (c. 1943-1950). He lovingly saved them all, numbered them in a certain order in his beautiful calligraphic numbers, and tied them into bundles. Often, she was [...]
Can you spot it? Gangsterland, Chicago edition
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has a really great collection of historical maps online (about 400 at this time). They’re great to browse through. One of today’s finds is (ready? full title:) “A Map of Chicago’s gangland from authentic sources: designed to inculcate the most important principles of piety and virtue in young persons, [...]
