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About

Explore American whaling voyages through the logbooks kept on board.

How it works

AI reads each scan twice, compares the readings, and maps the voyage. Entries are summarized in modern English; “Original text” opens the machine transcription.

Accuracy

Human review is limited, and AI can misread the logs. Positions marked “about” are estimated. Check the linked scans for important details.

Sources

The 31 logbooks come from the Providence Public Library's Nicholson Whaling Collection on the Internet Archive (CC BY 4.0):

  1. Packet 1822–23, Victory 1824–25, Galatea 1827–28 · scan
  2. Rosalie 1825–28 · scan
  3. George Porter 1830–31, George Porter 1831–32, George Porter 1832–33, Volant 1839–41 · scan
  4. Parker 1831–35 · scan
  5. Bengal 1832–35 · scan
  6. Addison 1834–37 · scan
  7. Edward Quesnel 1836–39 · scan
  8. Rowena 1841–43, Rowena 1843–46 · scan
  9. Jefferson 1841–44 · scan
  10. Draco 1843–47, Draco 1847–50 · scan
  11. Solon 1844, Edward 1844–45, Dunbarton 1846–48 · scan
  12. Charles Phelps 1844–47 · scan
  13. Indian Chief 1844–47 · scan
  14. Mary and Susan 1847–50 · scan
  15. Abigail 1847–52 · scan
  16. Nimrod 1848–51, Jireh Perry 1860–64 · scan
  17. Fortune 1850–54 · scan
  18. Pacific 1851–54, Lark 1850–53 · scan
  19. Elizabeth 1851–55 · scan
  20. Active 1852–56, Daniel Wood 1856–60, Mary 1861–65 · scan
  21. Altamaha 1861, Hopeton 1862, Solon 1863–65, Admiral Blake 1865–66 · scan
  22. Brewster 1863–65 · scan
  23. Abraham Barker 1866–70 · scan
  24. Golden City 1875–76 · scan
  25. E. H. Hatfield 1876, E. H. Hatfield 1876–78, E. H. Hatfield 1878 · scan
  26. Draco 1878–80, Attleboro 1880–83 · scan
  27. Pedro Varela 1881–83 · scan
  28. Beluga 1893 · scan
  29. Karluk 1904–06 · scan
  30. Pedro Varela 1917 · scan
  31. Gaspé 1922 · scan

Voyage details: American Offshore Whaling Voyages (Mystic Seaport Museum and New Bedford Whaling Museum, CC BY 4.0) and the logs. Map: Natural Earth (public domain) and MapLibre. Illustrations are AI-generated, not historical engravings.

Data and citation

Download the voyage index or daily entries at /data/voyages/<id>.json. Cite the voyage URL, logbook credit and access date.

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