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Dr. Janet West

Emeritus Associate

Work centres on scrimshaw, the art of the whaleman

Biography

Career

Qualifications

Research

My main work now centres on scrimshaw, the art-form developed by those involved with the whaling industry, mainly in the days of sail and the hand-held harpoon. This is done in the context of the industry itself and the shipping of the period, and my interest extends to maritime art and crafts in general. I was the first person to have undertaken a chemical analysis of the most common type of plastic used for the many scrimshaw forgeries which have flooded the market since the 1970s. I pioneered the use of microscopy to investigate surface characteristics of decorated sperm whale teeth and other scrimshaw materials, and the engraving techniques of different scrimshanders, to assess age and authenticity. The identification of scrimshaw materials and the origins of the motifs used is also a major interest. My long-term research, on the SPRI collection of scrimshaw and on other notable examples continues and I have been working on an extensive publication on the SPRI collection of scrimshaw for some time The identity of most of the motifs was established by 2008 and a brief description of each now accompanies the images now on the SPRI website.

In 1991 I was affected by severe damage to my spinal sensory nerves which prevented my working for some years. A slow recovery followed but chronic pain still hampers my work.

Background

After reading natural sciences at Newnham College, Cambridge, followed by a Ph.D. and some years of post-doctoral research in plant biochemistry, I reverted to my early interest in ships and the sea: marine painting; ship models and all types of sailors' decorative work, particularly scrimshaw. Most, but not all the examples I documented were found amongst the collections in Maritime museums. My scientific training and curiosity as to how and from what materials various examples were constructed, soon led to the routine use of magnification and special illumination for examination and a number of ivories were identified in scrimshaw collections. In comparison with the USA, scrimshaw is largely a neglected subject in Britain, with very few publications, in spite of the fact that many examples of fine work are of British origin. This is particularly true of the SPRI collection of decorated Sperm whale teeth.

I also became aware of examples of fake scrimshaw being offered for sale, especially moulded polymer forgeries in the form of whale teeth, walrus tusks, etc. I wrote some of the first publications on fake scrimshaw. I have continued to publish articles on scrimshaw and related topics in a variety of journals. These included a survey of the major scrimshaw collections in Australia - the first publication on the subject outside the USA.

The book: "Scrimshaw: The Art of the Whaler", is illustrated mainly from the collection at the Hull Maritime Museum, the largest scrimshaw collection in Europe. I wrote it jointly with Arthur G. Credland (Keeper, Hull Maritime Museum) and it was published in 1995. Although now out of print alas, SPRI still has a few copies.

A major project was an analysis of the motifs and engraving techniques used by the famous Nantucket artist Frederick Myrick on 31 sperm whale teeth. It was a surprise to discover that his technique changed drastically between 1828 and 1829, when he dated his work. Myrick's scrimshaw work fetches exceptionally high prices at auction. This research was published in 1999. It was also the major contribution to Kendall Whaling Museum Monograph No. 14. A detailed account of the rig and rigging of the four whaling vessels that Myrick portrayed on his work was published in The American Neptune. This was the first time that scrimshaw images were found to be detailed and accurate enough to show how some early 19th century whaling vessels were actually rigged, in contrast with those portrayed by professional or semi-professional artists. Some rigging details were found to been illustrated only on scrimshaw.

I collaborated with my husband, Dr. Martin H. Evans, on "Maritime Museums: a guide to the collections and museum ships in Britain and Ireland", published by Chatham, London, 1995. A frequently updated version is available online.

Publications

Selected publications

External activities

I lecture on maritime subjects, mainly to maritime museums and marine societies, and respond to requests for information, mainly on maritime subjects and scrimshaw in particular,