Sep 19, 2023
Four scrimshawed whalebone and baleen busks, made by sailors for their sweethearts as love tokens, 19th century
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Four scrimshawed whalebone and baleen busks, made by sailors for their sweethearts as love tokens, 19th century
A FINE AND RARE 18TH CENTURY CONTINENTAL CHIP-CARVED STAY/BUSK LOVE TOKEN Intricately chip-carved sycamore stay or busk, likely naval - sailor made - with heart-shaped motifs throughout and sliding compartment to the inside for memento, inscribed: "Betsy Farewell may Joy your steps attend; And Smiling Fortune prove your Constant Friend; Without Regret you Heard my Last adieu.; Nor Felt For him who more than dies for you.; E. Fee Born; d Nov. 2nd, 1769". The interior of the compartment also bears very light uncut text: "Made by Randal (...) April 25, 1788" in identical script.
Canterbury Auction Galleries; June 23, 2010
12" length
Tokens of intimacy
Among the extraordinary items at the collection of objects at the Ryedale Folk Museum in North Yorkshire are collection of carved wooden or whalebone busks. In the 18th and 19th century these would have formed part of a woman’s stays.
These examples were carved and given to women as love tokens. The one on the top records a marriage, with the initials of the marriage partners. The one below that is thought to have been done by a professional carver for a sailor before he set sail.
The one in the middle here, of scrimshaw work, dating from the 1820s, is a more saucy, with images of Lady Godiva!
Scrimshaws in detail - Busks and Pie crimper made by Sailors for their loved ones and customers at home. Made of whalebone, abalone, wood and baleen, 19th century
A group of Whaler made scrimshaws, 19th century
A swift made in Nantucket, c. 1840- 50. Three busks, c. 1850, a pie crimper, c. 1860. One infant's jingle bell, teething ring, whistle toy, c. 1840 and a small scrimshawed whale tooth.
I bow my head before you, grand master of nautical knowledge. I read your post about the scrimshaws with excitement and now I have a question. What are these long narrow board-like things and what are they good for? i just can't imagine. Your most humble servant
.... ummm. yes .... thanks for your question.... ( had to read your introduction several times... I'm not the godfather of maritime history after all. )
To your question, I assume you mean the corset busks or a page turner but I didn't have that one in the post, so i guess you mean the busks. A busk or stay is most often a baleen or a piece of a whale's jaw and was made into this shape so that a lady could push it into the front of her corset to achieve a certain stiffness in the front.
The busk will be placed between the breast in large pocket in the front of these white cotton corset with silk trapunto work, c. 1825 (x)
Ivory Busk, French 17th century and walebone busk, 19th century (x) (x)
The shape and length of busks varied with the fashion in stays; however, they were commonly twenty-five to thirty-eight centimetres long (10 -15 inches), thicker at breast level and slimmer at waist level.
Walebone busks, 1830 and 19th century (x) (x)
Over the centuries, but probably from the 16/17th century onwards, they became a very personal love token that a man could make and give to his sweetheart.
Walebone busks, c. 1840 with a whaling scene (x) . A Walrus Ivory and Baleen busk, 19th century (x). Walebone busk, 1863 (x)
Because she would wear it on her body all day long. Therefore, the Sailors spent a lot of time and effort to make these banal pieces and to decorate them with elaborate ornaments. These could be figures, birds, patterns, but also entire landscapes and ships or whaling scenes.
I hope that will answer your question and i wish you a pleasant evening.
Three scrimshawed whale bone busks, made by sailors for they beloved ones at home or any other port, mid 19th century
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