Logbook of the Kathleen (Bark) out of New Bedford, mastered by Frederick Howland Smith on a whaling voyage in 1900, 1900

Logbook for the Whaling Bark Kathleen out of New Bedford, Massachusetts, 1900-1901. 64 pages, measuring 9" x 14.24". Captain's logbook for the whaling bark Kathleen's second to last voyage from June 19, 1900 to September 27, 1901 under the command of Captain Frederick Howland Smith. She sailed throughout the Atlantic and the log contains numerous entries recording the weather, latitude and longitude coordinates, encounters with other vessels, landmarks and whale sightings. It also includes a significant number of whale and tail stamps, a few of which have been hand-colored. The whale stamps were used to document when a whale was captured by the vessel with the tail delineating an encounter that resulted in an escape. These stamps also record how many barrels of oil were harvested from each whale. (This particular voyage collected a total of 950 barrels.) The occasional drawing in the margins illustrates notable landmarks and a May 4th sighting of the Great Comet of 1901 off the coast of Africa. A few noteworthy entries reflect the poor condition of the bark. Originally built in 1844, the Kathleen was overhauled in 1899, but Captain Smith makes clear that the repairs were not up to his expected standards. An entry on May 8, 1901 records the numerous repairs the crew carried out. "Employed fitting the Windlass Shaft in the Port and all loose all rotted out - have got it in good order again, every-thing about the Ship is in need of repair." Nearly a month later, Smith's June 3rd entry reflects his incredulity at the ship's state. "...Took out and sawed up for fire wood Larboard boats; forward Davitt put in another Old one. This beats all my experience for patch work." The voyage ended after the bark was damaged during a storm in early September 1901. She was disabled on her beam-ends for a number of days until hasty jury rigging permitted her to limp back to port. Smith's entries from this period record the harrowing event in surprising detail. On September 5, he writes, "...leave Ship to save the Boats during the night - it blew very heavy knowing the Ship down to much discomfort. On September 6th, he writes, "...the Ship nearly on her beam ends. I gave the order to cut to try and save life if possible. All three Topmasts went over the side together - eazing [sic] the Ship greatly. All day we lay with our decks flooded. Gang way board and bulwarks gone also Starboard Boat... A night long to be remembered. Two days and night without sleep and wet & hungry." By September 8th, the sea had calmed and Smith records his optimism, writing, "Wind and sea going down, begins to look more like living..." The final entry, dated September 27, 1901, documents their sighting of the Montauck and Block Island Lights. The Kathleen was quickly repaired and sailed from New Bedford under Captain Thomas H. Jenkins for its final voyage on October 22, 1901, carrying a number of the same crew. On March 17, 1902, she was stove by a whale and sunk off the coast of Brazil. As most of the men were occupying several smaller whaleboats around the Kathleen, their remaining occupants quickly cleared the ship with no loss of life. After a day at sea, they were picked up by a passing steamer and returned to Philadelphia. The story created a media sensation and sparked a number of books and articles. This lot includes four such issues: 1) Thomas H. Jenkins. Bark Kathleen Sunk by A Whale. New Bedford: H. S. Hutchinson & Company, [1902]. 40 pages. 2) Whale Fishery of New England. Boston: State Street Trust Company, [1915] 63 pages. 3) Benjamin Russell. Whale Ships and Whaling Scenes. Boston: Second-Bank State Street Trust Company, 1955. 76 pages. 4) Frederick Booth. "The Sinking of the Bark Kathleen." St. Nicholas Illustrated Magazine for Boys and Girls. June 1909 edition. Several related documents are also included and have been laid into the logbook. Condition: Spine perished. Boards weak but just holding. Early tape repair to gutters extends from the front pastedown to page 15. Entries remain bold and clear. Three pages contain later ink annotations, detailing the bark's final journey and its crew list. Provenance: Christie's, January 31, 2007, lot 76.