Scrimshaw is ancient mariner’s art of decorating whalebone and ivory. Sailors would pass their idle hours inscribing their designs with a sharp knife. They would then rub ink into the lines and wipe away the excess. The result would be pictures of uncommon detail and beauty.
Because of the curvature of the whistles the designs don't photograph well. For that reason the designs are drawn in a flattened state, as a map would be, as opposed to a globe. Also realize that everything is hand-done, so individual pieces may vary slightly from the drawings. In most cases they will look much better than what you see here.
Please visit the scrimshaw designs by clicking on on of the links below:
