Victualling

Victualling

This is one of the pieces in the Verdant Works Exhibition ‘The Arctic Whaling Year’, Autumn 2018.  Whaling ships setting off to the Arctic had to be self-sufficient in all they would need for the long summer whaling season. They took everything from harpoons, spare whaling boats and rope to extra clothing and canvas.  They also had to take a  lot of food.  In a time before preservation by canning or refrigeration, fresh food was only available for the very start of the voyage. Salt beef and dried vegetables, potatoes (and a surprising amount of alcohol) were the usual staples.  In later years they also had to have enough food to survive the harsh winter if they became trapped in the ice.

Victualling

Victualling

In the Archives at the University of Dundee there is a collection of whaling account documents with the invoice slips for the items bought for whaling voyages around 1830.  The text is from these accounts and the plan is of Dundee Docks.