Whale Oil

[dumpicker]

Two bottles about 2 inches tall. Ezra Kelly Watch Oil. Bottle on left is corked and sealed, bottle on right has been used and changed color. Bottles were packed in wooden box , priced at 33 cents

 

[Ye Olde Prospector]

Very interesting bottles. What is the size of the bottles and are there any other marks on the base or elsewhere ? Look like they would be easily confused with ink bottles here in New England.

Cliff

 

[dumpicker]

Very interesting bottles. What is the size of the bottles and are there any other marks on the base or elsewhere ? Look like they would be easily confused with ink bottles here in New England.

Cliff

Ezra Kelly on bottom along with what looks like N 8 or N B . I think it is NB for New Bedford. bottles are small - 1 3/4 by 1 inch. opening is 5/16, smaller than ink bottle, you couldn't fit a pen it them but maybe a quill. They both have oil in them. Superfine Watch Oil - None genuine without signature. I suppose it could be spermacetti oil ( from the head of a sperm whale )

 

[Ye Olde Prospector]

Ezra Kelly on bottom along with what looks like N 8 or N B . I think it is NB for New Bedford. bottles are small - 1 3/4 by 1 inch. opening is 5/16, smaller than ink bottle, you couldn't fit a pen it them but maybe a quill. They both have oil in them. Superfine Watch Oil - None genuine without signature. I suppose it could be spermacetti oil ( from the head of a sperm whale )

Thank you for the reply, nice bottles.

 

[Bohdan]

Two bottles about 2 inches tall. Ezra Kelly Watch Oil. Bottle on left is corked and sealed, bottle on right has been used and changed color. Bottles were packed in wooden box , priced at 33 cents

Fantastic find!

 

[treasurekidd]

That's a fantastic find, and quite a piece of New Bedford whaling history. I've seen several Nye whale oil bottles from NB, but I've never seen Erza Kelly. Accord to this, it is most likely Blackfish (Pilot Whale) oil:

Artifact: Ezra Kelley Watch Oil

educators.mysticseaport.org

Here's a bit of background on Erza Kelly, middle column:

American Machinist

www.google.com

 

[Bohdan]

That's a fantastic find, and quite a piece of New Bedford whaling history. I've seen several Nye whale oil bottles from NB, but I've never seen Erza Kelly. Accord to this, it is most likely Blackfish (Pilot Whale) oil:

Artifact: Ezra Kelley Watch Oil

educators.mysticseaport.org

Here's a bit of background on Erza Kelly, middle column:

American Machinist

www.google.com

Well done !

 

[dumpicker]

Thanks for that info TreasureKid - Blackfish used to be harvested here on Cape Cod, they would be driven into shallow water and at low tide they would be stuck on the flats, beaten to death with huge bats and then the parts of their heads -called the melon - would be harvested. I believe other parts were also harvested and tried out for a lesser oil. Grizzley photo shows blackfish with the melons removed

 

[willong]

Wow! A lot of interesting historical information, not all of it pleasant, derived from a single bottle find posting.

 

[SPC]

Hi. Are any of these for sale? How Much with box? I fix watches & would love to try it. Do the bottles have pontils? Thank you for your consideration.