Tooth decorated by Edward Burdett.

tooth

SCRIMSHAW & ALLIED ARTS - TEETH
marad; scrimshaw
Burdett, Edward
ivory
Overall: 5 1/2 x 3 1/8 x 1 5/8 in.

Scrimshaw tooth by Edward Burdett; obverse: broken edge (base) of tooth. Vertical vine along edge. Starboard view of whaling ship w/strip of blubber being raised from whale alongside. Lite smoke from trypot. Vessel hull is deeply scratched into tooth. Reef points & shading on sails. Dark dye gone from forward part of scene. In script below sea: "Wm Tell of New York a Cutting". Reverse: broken edge (base) of tooth. Vertical vine along edge. Port view of whaling ship, all sails set, bearing down on pod of whales in lower left foreground. 4 whales spouting, one, flukes up. Faintly etched in sky: "CARVE". 2 sea birds over ship. Detailed rigging, reef pts. & shading on sails. Hull of vessel deeply scratched into tooth. In script below sea: "Friends of New London Chaseing Whales".

1956.172