SEE PHOTO-----COMPLETE, ORIGINAL NEWSPAPER, the Harpers Weekly Illustrated Newspaper (NY) dated November 18, 1876, with fantastic AMERICAN WHALING and Whaling disaster history!  

Perfect for framing and display! 
 
In 1848, the first American whaleship, the barque Superior, entered the Bering Sea, and they were astounded at the huge population of bowhead and other whales. A maritime "gold rush" ensued; the following year, 154 ships joined the chase, and in 1850, 200 ships took 1,719 whales (another 348 were killed but not recovered). The year 1852 was the peak season, with 2,682 bowheads killed. Catches after that were extremely erratic, with none caught in 1855 or 1856; never again did the catch reach 600 animals in a season.

    In one of the more bizarre events in Alaska's whaling history, a Confederate Navy raider, the Shenandoah, extended the Civil War to the Arctic for seven days (from June 22-28, 1865) when she captured 24 American whaleships (all of whom were registered in New England states), burning 20 of them, and taking the crews prisoner and sending them to San Francisco.

    While whaling could be extremely profitable, it was also very dangerous; in September 1871, 32 of the 41 ships whaling in the Bering Sea were trapped by early ice, forcing 1,200 people, including some women and children, to flee in small boats across up to 60 miles of ice-choked seas to reach safety. All but one of the ships, the Minerva, were crushed by the ice and lost the following spring. Salvage crews were, however, able to save 1,300 barrels of oil and $10,000 worth of baleen from the wrecks; the local Eskimos salvaged a great deal of material from the wrecks, but some of them died after drinking from bottles they found in the ships' medicine chests. Five years later, another twelve whaleships were lost near Point Barrow; this time, 50 men died trying to escape.

    The efficiency of commercial whaling increased dramatically in 1880 with the arrival of the Mary and Helen, the first whaler equipped with both sails and a steam engine to operate off the Alaskan coast. Not being reliant on the vagaries of the wind, this type of ship could follow the whales closer, and stay on the hunting grounds longer.

    Venturing east of Point Barrow was considered to be particularly hazardous, as the short ice-free season would force the ship to winter over in the ice. By 1888, however, whale populations had dropped to the point where new hunting grounds were needed. That summer, the Pacific Steam Whaling Company (PSWC) sent the first whalers into Canadian waters. They returned the following summer to report that bowhead whales were "thick as bees" near what would soon become the primary whaling base of the Beaufort Sea, Herschel Island.
    In 1890, the PSWC sent the Grampus and the 90-foot Mary D.Hume to Herschel Island; two years later, the Mary D.Hume docked at San Francisco with a cargo of whale oil and baleen valued at $400,000; it remains the most valuable U.S. whaling cargo ever.

Very Good Condition. This listing includes the complete entire original newspaper. VINTAGE BOOKS AND FINE ART stands behind all of the items that we sell with a no questions asked, money back guarantee. Every item we sell is original printed on the date indicated at the beginning of its description, unless clearly stated as a reproduction in the header AND text body. U.S. buyers pay calculated priority postage which includes waterproof plastic and a heavy cardboard flat to protect your purchase from damage in the mail. International postage is quoted when we are informed as to where the package is to be sent. We do combine postage (to reduce postage costs) for multiple purchases sent in the same package. We accept payment by PAYPAL. We ship packages daily. This is truly a piece OF HISTORY that YOU CAN OWN!