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ENG 339: Emerson to Dickinson (T. Helwig): The Whaling Industry and the Economics of Sperm Oil

Questions to Guide Research for Your Presentation

What was the American whaling industry like in the nineteenth century, and what was life like aboard a whaling vessel?
What made sperm oil a valuable commodity during the antebellum period? What role did sperm oil play in the industrial revolution?
What was the experience of the crew of the whaling ship the Essex, and how might it have influenced Melville’s novel?

Recommended by Dr. Helwig

DVD: Into the deep - America, whaling & the world
Call Number: On Reserve - Ask at Circulation Desk

Relevant Websites and Image Sources

Life Onboard a Whaleship
From the National Park Service
Life Aboard: Learn about the isolated society and daily life aboard a whaleship. Look at the holidays and festivities at sea and look at family life at sea.
From the New Bedford Whaling Museum

Journal Articles

Bison, Elephants, and Sperm Whales: Keystone Species in the Industrial Revolution
On the relationship between sperm oil and the Industrial Revolution
The City That Lit the World
On the relationship between sperm oil and the Industrial Revolution
1,000 FATHOMS DOWN
On the value of sperm oil

Encyclopedia Articles (Topic Overviews)

Whaling
From: Encyclopedia of the United States in the Nineteenth Century
Sperm Whales
From: Princeton Encyclopedia of Mammals
Marine Mammals: Sperm Whales and Beaked Whales
From: Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences

Primary Sources

Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-ship Essex, by Owen Chase
From Project Gutenberg
A history of the American whale fishery
From the Library of Congress

Wreck of the Whale Ship Essex: the Complete Illustrated Edition by Owen Chase; Gilbert King (Introduction by)
Call Number: Online
ISBN: 9780760348123