POLYCHROME SCRIMSHAW WHALE'S TOOTH BY EDWARD BURDETT Circa 1830-1833
Inscribed on lower edge "Engraved. by Edward Burdett. of Nantucket. onboard of The Ship Wm Tell." in script lettering. Obverse titled "Wm Thomson. Cutting. Boiling. And Fast. To A Whale." in serifed lettering. Depicts the American whaleship William Thomson flying a large and boldly rendered American flag off her stern. A whaleboat off her bow is in the process of capturing a surfaced sperm whale. Another American whaleship, identified as the Leonidus in script lettering, is depicted near the tip. Reverse titled "Pacific. Homeward Bound Full." in the same serifed lettering. Depicts the American whaleship Pacific flying a large American flag, an agent's red and blue "Pacific" flag off the foremast, a long and waving red and blue pennant off the midmast and a blue house flag off the stern mast. A coastal lighthouse and house is off the bow, and another hilly landmass is in the distance. The titles flank a cut-cornered rectangular cartouche inscribed "New Bedford Ships. S.N. Potter. Master." in the same serifed lettering as the titles. The tooth exhibits exceptional details throughout including a lookout in a mast, a rooster-form weather vane atop the lighthouse, smoke emanating from the house's chimney and the flurry of activity happening aboard the William Thomson. A red berry vine, typical of Burdett's work, wraps almost completely around the circumference of the base. Extensive use of red sealing wax in flags, whale and whale blubber. Ship hulls as well as the sperm whale, the whaleboat and assorted pennant and flags are carved in relief. Length 8".
From the inscription, we know the tooth presented here was created while Edward Burdett was onboard the ship William Tell , which left New York in November 1829 and returned to port in February 1833. It is likely the William Tell encountered the ships William Thomson , Leonidus and Pacific while in the Pacific whaling grounds. The William Thomson sailed from New Bedford in October 1830 and returned August 1834, therefore this tooth likely dates from 1830 to 1833. We believe the tooth was engraved by Burdett and given to the ship captain, Stephen Potter.

Edward Burdett was a pioneer of American scrimshaw, and in his short but prolific career he produced what are widely considered masterpieces of the genre. He was born on Nantucket in October 1805, the son of a merchant sea captain. His first whaling voyage was aboard the Foster from 1822 to 1824. In successive voyages he sailed aboard the William Tell and the Montano. In November 1833, while serving as first mate onboard the Montano, Burdett was entangled in line, dragged by a whale overboard, and drowned.

This tooth is remarkably similar to another Edward Burdett tooth sold at Eldred's Marine Sale, July 20, 2017, Lot #1, for the world-record price of $456,000. That tooth bears the same maker's inscription and also depicted the whaleship William Thomson, though it was seen "Homeward Bound", not involved in active whaling as depicted on this example.

Provenance:

Descended directly through the family of Captain Stephen Potter of the William Thompson . A letter from the family will accompany the tooth.
In our opinion this lot provides an exceptional opportunity to own a scrimshaw whale's tooth with an important provenance and excellent patina engraved by one of the masters of the craft.

Conditions of Sale

1. CORRECTNESS OF DESCRIPTION: Robert C. Eldred Co., Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Eldred's) has exercised reasonable care to catalog and describe correctly the property to be sold, but neither Eldred's nor its consignors warrant the correctness of description, attribution, authenticity, or condition of said property. No statements shall be deemed such a warranty or representation or an assumption of liability with respect thereto, but are to be construed as opinions only. Bidders are encouraged to personally examine all property to be sold prior to the beginning of the auction.

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16. These Conditions of Sale

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Because of the manner in which our online system processes and transmits left bids, Eldred's does not receive bid information until the exact moment of sale. Because the bidding console does not differentiate between left bids and live bids, the first bid accepted by the auctioneer is the winning bid, regardless of the time the bid was originally left.

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COLLECTION OF PURCHASES: Delivery or shipping arrangements must be made within seven (7) days from the close of the auction for all purchases. All items must be removed from Eldred's facilities within fourteen (14) days of the end of the auction. All items remaining after fourteen days may be subject to a $5/per item/per day storage fee. No items will be released unless storage fees are paid in full. Items remaining over thirty (30) days from the close of the auction may be sold for the buyer's account minus auction and storage fees.

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A 25% Buyer's Premium will be charged on successful bids. This is inclusive of the the 5% on-line auction fee. All purchases are subject to the Massachusetts sales tax (currently 6.25%) unless the purchaser possesses a Massachusetts sales tax exemption or resale number and registers that number with the company or has purchases shipped out of state (with the exception of Connecticut) directly from Eldred's by a bona fide shipping agent. Connecticut residents picking items up in our Mystic branch or having purchases shipped to their Connecticut address are responsible for CT state sales sax.

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