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A guide to the American Pacific Whaling Company photograph collection, 1915-1959
P14-004 (SAFR 24424)  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Publication and Use Rights
  • Processing Note
  • Preferred Citation
  • Acquisition Information
  • Historical or Biographical Note
  • Collection Scope and Content
  • Collection Arrangement

  • Title: American Pacific Whaling Company photograph collection
    Date: 1915-1959
    Date (bulk): circa 1915-1920
    Identifier/Call Number: P14-004 (SAFR 24424)
    Creator: American Pacific Whaling Co.
    Physical Description: 28 items.
    Repository: San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Historic Documents Department
    Building E, Fort Mason
    San Francisco, CA 94123
    Abstract: The American Pacific Whaling Company photograph collection, 1915-1959, bulk circa 1915-1920, (SAFR 24424, P14-004) is comprised mainly of photographs of whaling activities, some featuring American Pacific Whaling Company vessels, likely along the Pacific Coast of North America. The collection has been processed to the Collection level and is open for use.
    Physical Location: San Francisco Maritime NHP, Historic Documents Department
    Language(s): In English.

    Access

    This collection is open for use unless otherwise noted.

    Publication and Use Rights

    Some material may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the researcher's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.

    Processing Note

    The descriptions in this collection guide were compiled using the best available sources of information. Such sources include the creator's annotations or descriptions, collection accession files, primary and secondary source material and subject matter experts. While every effort was made to provide accurate information, in the event that you find any errors in this guide please contact the reference staff in order for us to evaulate and make corrections to this guide.
    Please cite the title and collection number in any correspondence with our staff.

    Preferred Citation

    [Item description], [Location within collection organization identified by Collection Number/Series Number/File Unit Number/Item Number], P14-004 (SAFR 24424), American Pacific Whaling Company photograph collection, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

    Acquisition Information

    SAFR-02283
    The collection was purchased by the Friends of the San Francisco Maritime Museum Library in 2014 and gifted to the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park library. The materials were transferred and accessioned into the Park's museum collection.

    Historical or Biographical Note

    The American Pacific Whaling Company was founded circa 1911 and was headquartered in Washington State. In 1918, the company became part of Consolidated Whaling Corporation, which also included the North Pacific Sea Products and Victoria Whaling Company. The company appears to have had whaling stations in Bay City (Grays Harbor), Washington; Akutan, Alaska; and Port Hobron, Alaska.

    Collection Scope and Content

    The American Pacific Whaling Company photograph collection, 1915-1959, bulk circa 1915-1920, (SAFR 24424, P14-004) is comprised mainly of photographs of whaling activities, some featuring American Pacific Whaling Company vessels, likely along the Pacific Coast of North America. The collection has been processed to the Collection level and is open for use.
    Contains photographs of catching and processing whales as well as novelty photographs of people posing with deceased whales, 1915-1959, bulk circa 1915-1920. There are 20 black-and-white photographic prints and 8 black-and-white photographic postcards. The twenty photographic prints are mounted on four sheets of black paper, which are likely pages cut out of a photograph album. The eight postcards are not mounted. The collection includes photographs of the American Pacific Whaling Company vessels PATERSON (built 1911; whale catcher), ABERDEEN (built 1912; whale catcher), MORAN (built 1911; whale catcher), and WESTPORT (built 1912; whale catcher), likely somewhere between Alaska and Oregon. Whalemen are shown lancing whales from whale catchers and flensing whales ashore. Some recreational photographs are of women and children, possibly families of the whalemen. Two postcards show whaling operations in Durban, South Africa, and one postcard features Jonah the Giant Whale, a finback caught in 1952 off Trondheim, Norway, that was embalmed and placed on a trailer for a European tour.

    Mounted Photographic Prints

    • Item 01. Family standing outside a wooden building, 1915 November 14. (1) black-and-white photographic print, 3.5 x 5.5 in.
    • Item 02. Man standing between two harpoons, circa 1915-1920. A coil of rope is at his feet. A Life preserver with the initials "A. P. W. Co." [American Pacific Whaling Company] printed on it is resting on top of a propeller next to the man. (1) black-and-white photographic print, 3.25 x 5.5 in.
    • Item 03. Woman and child on a beach, circa 1915-1920. (1) black-and-white photographic print, 3.25 x 5.5 in.
    • Item 04. Four children next to a tree stump, circa 1915-1920. (1) black-and-white photographic print, 3.25 x 5.5 in.
    • Items 05-07. One man and two women, circa 1915-1916. They are shown standing outside a building (Item 05) and seated in an automobile (Items 06-07). (3) black-and-white photographic prints, 3.25 x 5.5 in.
    • Item 08. American Pacific Whaling Company vessels MORAN (built 1911; whale catcher), ABERDEEN (built 1912; whale catcher), PATERSON (built 1911; whale catcher), and WESTPORT (built 1912; whale catcher) tied up, likely somewhere between Alaska and Oregon, circa 1915-1920. (1) black-and-white photographic print, 3.25 x 5.25 in.
    • Item 09. Group of buildings, circa 1915-1920. Possibly related to a whaling station, but could not be confirmed. (1) black-and-white photographic print, 3.25 x 5.5 in.
    • Item 10. Man standing on top of a deceased whale in the water, circa 1915-1920. (1) black-and-white photographic print, 3.25 x 5.5 in.
    • Items 11-13. Whales swimming, circa 1915-1920. (3) black-and-white photographic prints, 3.25 x 5.5 in., 1.25 x 2.5 in., and 3.25 x 5.25 in.
    • Item 14. Whale catcher, possibly an American Pacific Whaling Company vessel, with a deceased whale alongside, circa 1915-1920. (1) black-and-white photographic print, 1.75 x 2.75 in.
    • Item 15. View from aloft PATERSON (built 1911; whale catcher) showing men lancing a whale alongside the bow, circa 1915-1920. Captioned: "Lancing a whale from aboard whaler Patterson [sic]." Photographer's no. 61-3. (1) black-and-white photographic print, 3.5 x 5.5 in.
    • Item 16. View alongside a whale catcher showing men lancing a whale, circa 1915-1920. The harpoon is still stuck in the whale. (1) black-and-white photographic print, 3.5 x 5.5 in.
    • Item 17. Man inside the mouth of a deceased baleen whale hauled under a shed, circa 1915-1920. (1) black-and-white photographic print, 3.25 x 5.5 in.
    • Item 18. Ocean wave, circa 1915-1920. (1) black-and-white photographic print, 3 x 5 in.
    • Item 19. Men flensing a whale ashore under a shed, circa 1915-1925. (1) black-and-white photographic print, 3.25 x 5.5 in.
    • Item 20. Family of five standing next to a deceased whale under a shed, circa 1920-1930. (1) black-and-white photographic print, 3.25 x 5.5 in.

    Postcards

    • Item 21. Man aiming a harpoon gun aboard a whale catcher, circa 1920-1935. Photographer's no. 1. Possibly a Pacific Whaling Company photograph. (1) black-and-white photographic postcard, 3.5 x 5.5 in.
    • Item 22. Harpooned whale, circa 1920-1935. Photographer's no. 2. Possibly a Pacific Whaling Company photograph. (1) black-and-white photographic postcard, 3.5 x 5.5 in.
    • Item 23. People standing next to a whale that has been hauled ashore, circa 1915-1930. Correspondence on the verso reads, "Dear Uncle Eugene - You spoke of the whale. I went to see him and he was a monster. Wish you could have been here to see him. There were thousands of people visited [sic] here to see him." (1) black-and-white photographic postcard, 3.5 x 5.5 in.
    • Item 24. Deceased whale on a beach, circa 1915-1930. (1) black-and-white photographic postcard, 3.5 x 5.5 in.
    • Item 25. Group of 30-35 whalemen with tools standing next to a deceased whale ashore, circa 1915-1930. One man is standing on top of the whale. Captioned, "629. Wright whale taken at Kodiak Island (Ht. 15 ft., Length 65 ft., Approx. Wt. 250 tons)." Photographed by Sawyers. (1) black-and-white photographic postcard, 3.5 x 5.5 in.
    • Item 26. Crowd viewing Jonah the Giant Whale, an embalmed finback whale, circa 1952-1960. A man standing next to the whale is speaking to the crowd with his foot on top of a harpoon. (1) black-and-white photographic postcard, 3.5 x 5.5 in.
    • Item 27. Two deceased whales, one of which is being flensed, in Durban, South Africa, circa 1920-1940. Photographer's no. H. 6. (1) black-and-white photographic postcard, 3.5 x 5.5 in.
    • Item 28. Two deceased whales alongside a whale catcher at Durban, South Africa, circa 1920-1940. Photographer's no. H. 10. (1) black-and-white photographic postcard, 3.5 x 5.5 in.

    Collection Arrangement

    No arrangement due to the small size of the collection.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Whaling
    Whale catchers
    Whales
    American Pacific Whaling Co.
    Pacific Coast (North America)
    Black-and-white prints (photographs)
    Gelatin silver prints
    Photographic postcards