s Decorated whale's tooth (scrimshaw) by Frederick Myrick, USA, 1829 - Hull Museums Collections

Decorated whale's tooth (scrimshaw) by Frederick Myrick, USA, 1829

This whale tooth displays a curious poem that sums up the whaler’s approach to life:

“Death to the Living, Long Life to the killers,
Success to Sailors' Wives & Greasy Luck to the Whalers”.

This tooth is one of a famous series. They are by Frederick Myrick and show the Nantucket whale ship the Susan. There are at least seven known Susan teeth. Five of these are in Nantucket in the US.

The Susan was built in 1826 and was lost in the Arctic in 1853. This tooth depicts the Susan off the coast of Japan. Frederick Swain was the Master of the Susan.

One side of the tooth depicts a whaling ship hoisting blubber, with two whaleboats on the horizon. On other side of the tooth is a profile of a whaling ship with smoke. Three whaleboats are on horizon, whale profile, spouts and tail.

Scrimshaw is the folk art of the whaler. This is usually made with whalebone or teeth. A lot of scrimshaw is from the US, especially pieces made from the teeth of Sperm Whales.

This tooth is part of a collection that formerly belonged to Kathleen Eleanor Tizard. The collection was donated to Hull Museums by K.E.Tizard’s son in November 1999.

There are several inscriptions on this tooth. They are:

“Susan on the coast of Japan”.
“Death to the Living, Long Life to the killers, Success to Sailors' Wives & Greasy Luck to the Whalers”.
“E PLURIBUS UNUM”.
“Engraved by Frederick Myrick on board the ship Susan Ja.27 1829.”
“The Susan boiling and killing sperm whales”.
“The Ship Susan of Nantucket Frederick Swain Master”.