Engraved whale bone busk with harbor view Possibly New Bedford Harbor, Bristol County, Massachusetts, circa 1845

Kristina Barbara Johnson, Princeton, New Jersey
Sotheby Parke-Bernet, "The Barbara Johnson Whaling Collection, Part IV," December 16-17, 1983, lot 610

"Hunt for the Whale," American Folk Art Museum, 1968
Old Barracks Association, Trenton, New Jersey, 1971
"Scrimshaw: The Sailor's Art," Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 1977
"Cross Currents: Faces, Figureheads, and Scrimshaw Fancies," American Folk Art Museum, 1984
"Perspectives: Setting the Scene in American Folk Art," New York, American Folk Art Museum, September 29, 2009-August 15, 2010
"Compass: Folk Art in Four Directions," New York, The South Street Seaport Museum, June 20-October 7, 2012

American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum, pp. 328-329, fig. 291

Busk slightly warped.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Bodice busks, or stays, made of whale skeletal bone or baleen were favored keepsakes for wives or ladyloves ashore. Scrimshaw busks probably evolved from the eighteenth-century maritime practice of chip-carving wooden busks, and their popularity endured in spite of changes in women's fashions.¹  The simple form was more suitable for a draftsman than a carver, and busks were often personalized with intimate sentiments or symbols of love.

The busk with ship and angel combines the patriotic with the romantic. Tender inscriptions, indicating the maker was on a voyage far from his sweetheart, appear alongside the classic American motifs of an eagle and draped flags in addition to what appears to be a warship. Most of the polychromed images were likely copied from published sources. The busk with harbor view displays a detailed, fanciful scene with Old Glory flying conspicuously and ships anchored in the harbor of a bustling port. The scrimshander's linear approach is appropriate to the form and adds appeal to the scene.  -K.R.M.

¹ Ibid., pp. 172 -73.