Whaling Log of the Ship Franklin, 1847-1850

Whaling log of the ship Franklin. (numerous blank pages throughout); pp.'s 1-7: chronometer readings and correction, list of whale oil "stowed in the hole," list of sperm oil sent home and sold on the voyage; pp.'s 8-229 incomplete account kept aboard the whaling ship Franklin, on a voyage from Sag Harbor, N.Y. to the South Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, 13 July 1847 - 29 March 1850, owned by Huntting Cooper, commanded by Captain Mercator Cooper, (first page torn out, account begins 22 July 1847 to 29 March 1850, last day of salvage operations after striking reef on Brazilian Coast); account contains many gaps: 17 May - 6 June 1848, 10 July - 8 August 1848, 13 September - 26 October 1848, 16 November - 1 December 1848, 12 February - 7 March 1849, 6 June - 16 June 1849, 16 October - 22 December 1849, 8 January - 10 March 1850, 27 March - 6 April 1850. Attached notice to back cover: "Important to Whalemen - by the decision of Judge Story, in the case of Jenkins vs. the owners of the ship Columbus, it is decided that if an officer or seaman does not render himself on board knowing that the ship is going to sail, he forfeits his lay or wages, although she did not remain 48 hours after he went on shore." Both Starbuck and Lund list the Franklin as a ship; Captain Mercator Cooper, keeper of log, calls it a bark. Starbuck states voyage ended in 1849; Lund correctly lists return as 1850. Name card found between pp.'s 111-112 (Mr. S.G. Henty, "Portland Bay, southeast of New Holland"); two illegible handwritten notes found between pp.'s 175-176, 207-208; sketch of couch; outline sketch of voyage, only Sag Harbor to Azores shown (probably done in 1930's - 1940's); inserted handwritten abstraction of certain highlights of voyage (probably done in 1930's - 1940's).