Scrimshaw Busk with Engraving of Ships and Land

Object/Artifact

Historical Collection at the George Hail Free Library

Front of Item

Name/Title

Scrimshaw Busk with Engraving of Ships and Land

Entry/Object ID

2025.04.21.03

Description

Busks were used in women's clothing from the 1600s--1900s to provide a desirable shape. Many were made from whale baleen and sailors would sometimes carve them and give them to loved ones as gifts.

Use

Busks were used in women's clothing from the 1600s--1900s to provide a desirable shape. Many were made from whale baleen and sailors would sometimes carve them and give them to loved ones as gifts. Use A busk (also spelled busque) is a rigid element of a corset at the center front of the garment. Two types exist, one- and two-part busks. Single-piece busks were used in "stays" and bodices from the sixteenth to early nineteenth centuries and were intended to keep the front of the corset or bodice straight and upright. They were typically made of wood, ivory, or bone slipped into a pocket and tied in place with a lace called the busk point. These busks were often carved and decorated, or inscribed with messages, and were popular gifts from men to women during courtship. Busks made from whale baleen first appear in the wardrobe accounts of Elizabeth I in the 1580s. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busk_(corsetry)).

Context

Busk made from baleen

Made/Created

Time Period

19th Century

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Tertiary Object Term

Scrimshaw

Nomenclature Secondary Object Term

Busk

Nomenclature Secondary Object Term

Carving

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Garment, Foundation

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Sculpture

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Underwear

Nomenclature Class

Clothing

Nomenclature Class

Art

Nomenclature Category

Category 03: Personal Objects

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Getty AAT

Concept

busks, scrimshaws

Dimensions

Width

1-7/8 in

Length

15-1/4 in

Material

whale bone

Location

Cabinet

Display Case 6

Room

Charles Whipple Greene Historical Collection

Building

George Hail Free Library

Date

April 21, 2025

Condition

Overall Condition

Good

Exhibition

Scrimshaw

Research Notes

Research Type

Researcher

Notes

"For much of the 19th century, ladies’ fashion required very small waists. The most common way to achieve this was to wear a tightly laced corset, which could be adjusted according to the specific dress it accompanied. Like this example, many corsets were handmade to fit an individual, although they were also available in shops. One of the most intimate pieces of scrimshaw a whaleman could produce was a bone or baleen busk, or corset stiffener. These were carved and given to a crewman’s loved one, who then inserted it into a matching sleeve on her corset as a unique memento of her beloved’s feelings." (Source: https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_1341776).

Create Date

April 21, 2025

Update Date

July 24, 2025