Nicholson Whaling Collection Logbooks

Collection — Container: Wh Folio Shelves

Identifier: 003-02-01

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection includes nearly 800 logbooks, documenting over 1,000 voyages and ranges from the 18th to the 20th century.

Dates

circa 1762-1931

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open to research.

Biographical / Historical

Logbooks acted as the official record of a whaling voyage and were frequently kept by the first mate or master. Typically logbooks will have an entry for nearly every day of the voyage, recording location, weather and any notable events, particularly the sighting and capture of whales. Stamps were used to indicate whales taken or sighted, and often a tally of whales taken was added to the end of the volume. Some logbooks, particularly those kept as less-official journals by someone other than the master or first mate, include drawings and watercolor paintings, poetry, and other artistic, literary, or personal additions.

Extent

650 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

Logbooks are stored in four sequences: Folio (the majority of the logbooks), double-folio (a small number of the largest volumes), quarto (small logbooks) and within manuscript boxes (particularly fragile volumes). With the exception of the volumes in manuscript boxes the logbooks are arranged by call number. Since this is essentially a Cutter number in most cases the logbooks are arranged by the name of the vessel followed by year of voyage.

Custodial History

Paul C. Nicholson bequeathed his collection of whaling materials, of which the logbooks were the most significant component, to the Providence Public Library in 1956. He had begun the collection in 1920, and by the time he donated it to the library it included hundreds of volumes. The donation included an endowment which has been used in the succeeding years to purchase additional logbooks for the collection.

Accruals

Additional accruals are expected.

Existence and Location of Copies

Digitized copies of most of the logbooks are available via the library's digital repository, ProvLibDigital. They are also linked from individual records in this guide. A portion of the collection is also available through the Internet Archive.

Related Materials

In addition to logbooks, the Nicholson Whaling Collection includes manuscripts, ephemera, photographs, artifacts and published books on the topic of whaling.