Contrary to the motto on its municipal seal, New Bedford was no longer the city that lit the world by the 1920s. America’s lamps mostly ran on electricity and kerosene. Whale byproducts still had some commercial uses: the oil served as a base for various face creams and machine lubricants, ambergris was a fixative in […]
whaling museum
Not your grandfather’s scrimshaw: Duke Riley engraves pollution scenes on ocean plastic
The New Bedford Whaling Museum’s scrimshaw collection, which includes hundreds of whalebone clocks, pie crimpers, musical instruments, canes and umbrellas, is advertised as the largest of its kind in the world. Naomi Slipp, the museum’s chief curator, said these items weren’t considered fine art when the museum’s founders began collecting them from locals in 1903, […]
New Bedford museum taking extra precautions as Mass. begins Phase 3 reopening
Massachusetts has moved into the third phase of reopening on Monday, allowing gyms, movie theaters, and museums to resume some operations. The New Bedford Whaling Museum will be opening this week with a new look, but they’re taking it slow.
Whaling Museum offers ‘museum from home’ with resources for parents, youth and more
The New Bedford Whaling Museum has repurposed its website to provide a ‘museum from home’ experience. But there’s far more than what you would see if you could visit the museum right now.
