Bidspirit auction | Early 19th Century Stone Whaler

Early 19th Century Stone Whaler Scrimshaw Ditty Box - Unusual that is made of stone, not ivory or wood. . A whaler ditty box is a 19th-century sailor-made container, often featuring intricate scrimshaw, used for storing small personal items. . This one is understood to have been made by the Wife of Captain William Tolley Brookes aboard their Whaler, 'Active' in December, 1838. . It depicts images from the voyage of the Active from Great Britain to Indonesia and beyond. . The Scrimshaw underneath the lid of the ditty box shows how they caught 3 sperm whales on two days on Nov 25th & 26th of 1838 and they bear the initials of the Captain (WB) and his Wife (SB). . His wife is listed as passenger in the Crew Lists available when the ship left East India Dock on London on 29th May1838 bound for Timor, an island in Southeast Asia located at the southern edge of the Malay Archipelago, directly north of Australia . Active was a large ship rigged vessels at 461 ton and was the last whaleship commissioned for the firm of Green, Wigrams & Green. . William Tolley Brookes was a successful seaman in South Sea whaling. He was Master on at least five voyages. Brookes preferred the western route via Cape Horn when sailing to the Pacific, an unusual route for British whalemen during the years in which he commanded. . Brookes owned a fine collection of scrimshaw items. Much of the scrimshaw, the journals and two miniatures portraying Brookes are in the collection of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich