Grating The Nutmeg

  Whaling was big business. Connecticut and her sister New England states built ships, forged cast iron tools, produced wooden storage casks and outfitted sailors. Stonington, Mystic, New London, and New Haven were part of New England’s predominance in successful whaling. We’re going to get into the nitty gritty of the trade in this episode and hear about some of the striking artifacts from Mystic Seaport’s whaling collection - tools, ship logs, harpoons, blubber hooks and scrimshaw - that are on view. They speak to the staggering risks and rewards of the whaling industry that lit America’s lamps and greased its machines for over a century. We’re also going to talk about the largest whaling artifact of all - the Charles W. Morgan, the last American whaling ship in existence. It was considered “ancient” in the 1920s but has been faithfully restored.   This summer we are featuring two episodes on whaling. To get the big picture on whaling, we talked to one of our favorite guests, Eric Jay Dolin, in episode 211