John Boston Tooth

Date1866

MediumEngraved sperm whale ivory

Dimensions4 1/4 × 1 5/8 × 1 in. (10.8 × 4.1 × 2.5 cm)

Donor credit lineKendall Whaling Museum Collection Transfer

Object number2001.100.2214

Institutional Credit LineCourtesy of the New Bedford Whaling Museum

DescriptionMonochrome engraved with vignettes around entire circumference: nude and scantily-clad human, angelic, and cherubic figures; inscribed in Italian as if for presentation, "M.G.M. / di / Trieste / Nato del anno / 1837"; signed in a ribband "M John Boston / N 266 North". This scrimshaw was at one time latitudinally cut and a sawblade-wide section of the tooth removed from just below its equator -- evidently to excise some risque features of one or two of the female figures -- after which the tooth was securely reglued."
The inscription "N 266 North" refers to the address of a sailors' boarding house at No. 266 North Street, Boston, Massachusetts. Engraved by John Boston, an Azorian immigrant and Freemason living in Boston, for one M.G.M. (identity unknown); later altered (as described).Label TextPossibly John Boston (Azorean, 1837-fl. 1870), John Boston tooth, 1866. Engraved sperm whale ivory, 4 1/4 x 1 5/8 x 1 in., New Bedford Whaling Museum, 2001.100.2214.

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