Whale Fishery
Whaling Handbill Broadside, Philadelphia: c. 1800

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Whale Fishery
Whale Fishery

Detail of center.


Whale Fishery

Detail of bottom left.

Whale Fishery

Detail of top left.

 Whale Fishery

Full sheet.
Lawson (engraver)
Whale Fishery
Thomas Dobson, Philadelphia: Late 18th or Early 19th C.
Engraving in blue ink
14.75 x 11 inches, overall
12 x 7.5 inches, image
Sold, please inquire as to the availability of similar items.

Rare and unusual early American imprint maritime-themed advertising handbill titled "Whale Fishery." The design is in the rococo taste, comprised of three scenes vertically arranged, all enclosed by decorative scrolls.  The top and bottom vignettes are illustrations of whalers at work in the far northern seas, icebergs in the background. The top vignette shows the ship at anchor and the bottom vignette has two observers on the shore, one with a telescope, observing the harpooning of a whale. The central section (blank on this example) is flanked by a man in an apron smoking a pipe and a young man carrying a bag, possibly representing a fishmonger and a customer or sailor.  The bottom part of the oval of the central section forms the stern of a ship interwoven with two rococo stylized dolphins.

Trade-related engravings such as this one provided readymade broadside handbills to be imprinted with an individual vendor's name and advertisement.  Perhaps this was a proof copy, or printed as an example by Dobson as a sales sample for potential customers who might then wish to order it custom printed with their business information in the central section.

Thomas Dobson (1751-1823) was a Philadelphia printer and bookseller, best known for having published an 18-volume American Edition of the Encylopaedia completed in 1798, based on the Encyclopedia Britannica, at the time by far the largest book to have been published in America.  He also published the first American printings of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations (1788) and a Hebrew Bible.  Born in Scotland, he emigrated to Philadelphia in 1784 and started out as a bookseller, soon expanding into printing. He continued in business until 1822.

Full publication information: "Publish'd by T. Dobson No. 41 South 2 Street. Lawson Sc[ulpsit]."

References:

Green, James N. "The Rise of Book Publishing in America, 1782 to 1830." Wharton, University of Pennsylvania, Management Department. http://www-management.wharton.upenn.edu/raff/documents/Green_2.pdf (8 March 2013).

"Thomas Dobson (printer)." Wikipedia. 25 July 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Dobson_(printer) (8 March 2013).