“The Whaling Interest,” Whalemen’s Shipping List and Merchants Transcript, New Bedford MA, July 2 1861

Whalers rapidly learned about kerosene and its potential impact on the whaling industry. This 1861 item in the whaling industry’s main newspaper, The Whalemen’s Shipping List, describes the outlook of the industry after the discovery of petroleum in Pennsylvania.

How did the whalling industry characterize this unfolding energy transition? How did whalers think about their future, and the future of whales?

Citation: 

“The Whaling Interest.” Whalemen’s Shipping List and Merchants Transcript, 2. New Bedford, MA, July 2, 1861.

Library Item date: 

1861