Rafael Osona's Annual Auction Catalog Rafael Osona Annual Auction 2018 | Page 27

59. IMPORTANT SHIP’S LOGBOOK: “JOURNAL OF A WHALING VOYAGE ON BOARD SHIP WABASH FROM
NEW LONDON TOWARD THE SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN, LUTHER FULLER, MASTER,” kept by First Mate
Thomas G. Nickerson from June 23, 1832 – April 11, 1833.
Thomas G. Nickerson (1805-1883) was cabin boy on the whaleship Essex, which was stove by a whale and sunk November 20 th ,
1820. Nickerson left the wreckage aboard Owen Chase’s whaleboat and was rescued after 89 days adrift at sea. He was one only
of eight survivors of the Essex. Nickerson and Chase’s later written accounts inspired Herman Melville to write Moby Dick. Af-
ter rescue, he returned to Nantucket and quickly returned to whaling, eventually working his way up the ranks to captain.
This journal was kept while Nickerson was first mate of the ship Wabash, which began whaling in 1828. As the ship returned
home to New London from its next voyage, in 1834, it was lost off Montauk Point, Long Island, carrying 1,100 barrels of whale
oil.
This leather-bound volume with marbleized cover boards contains a total of 78 pages. The log of daily entries, written in clear
and legible script, includes: weather observations; positions; 36 watercolor entries of American and other countries’ flags of ships
sighted flying their colors; 44 whale’s tail stamps indicating sighted whales; 22 full-body whale stamps of various species taken
by the ship, some with “chimney’s afire” spouting blood from their blowholes; and multiple watercolor landscape views of vari-
ous ports and harbors.
Other highlights in the log include: his wife’s name on the inside cover; Nickerson’s signature on the final entry; a full-page list of
whales taken with date, longitude and latitude, the number of barrels of produced, and the name of the whale totaling 22 whales,
1683 barrels, 4 sunk whales lost; and a complete list of officers and crew. The journal also contains later drawings and letters writ-
ten by Nickerson’s nephew Franklin R. Coffin, dated 1859.
Provenance: Descended in Family, Thomas G. Nickerson to Margaret B. (Drew) Nickerson, Franklin R. Coffin, Lydia B. Ray, Nantucket, Cur-
rier Estate, Portland, Connecticut.
Accompanied by 19th century Coffin and Currier Family Daughters of the American Revolution Genealogy record documents.
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