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OA Public Domain

Vessel Thomas Corwin (United States Revenue Cutter)

Date1885

MediumAlbumen Print; Mounted

Object number1990.31

Institutional Credit LineCourtesy of the New Bedford Whaling Museum

DescriptionOverview: The New Bedford Whaling Museum's Corwin Collection consists of 53 photographs taken aboard the U.S. Revenue Marine Steamer Thomas Corwin during its summer 1885 cruise to the Arctic Sea. The collection is not attributed to a specific photographer; however, Charles D. Kennedy served as Third Lieutenant aboard the Corwin during her 1885 cruise and is credited with a number of photos taken aboard the U.S. Revenue Cutter Bear the following year, so it is possible that Kennedy took at least some of the photos in the Corwin collection. The majority of the photographs are landscapes documenting a variety of islands and ports in Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, and Siberia. In addition, the collection contains some photographs of native peoples; their dwellings; bidarras, a type of native boat; and American whaling vessels.

Context: The Thomas Corwin was commissioned a vessel of the United States Revenue Marine Service in 1877. She was based in San Francisco for the duration of her career in the Service. The Corwin spent summers in the Arctic Sea, both as a resource for and monitor of the American whaling and sealing industries. The 1885 cruise, during which the photos in the Corwin collection were taken, was the Corwin's last Arctic expedition while in the U.S. Revenue Marine Service. After brief service in the U.S. Navy during the Spanish-American War, she was sold into the merchant service in 1900.
The Corwin was under the command of Michael A. Healy during the summer of 1885. The steamer left San Francisco on April 29. In addition to its annual duties of providing rescue services to whaling vessels and monitoring trade in the Artic, the Corwin was charged with exploring the Kowak and Noätak Rivers. For this reason, the expedition included C.H. Townsend, a naturalist employed by the Smithsonian Institution. Townsend may have taken some of the photos in the Corwin collection.
The collection includes photographs of many ports visited by the Corwin, including Ounalaska, St. Michael's, Point Spencer, Port Clarence, and Point Barrow. There are also a number of photographs of small islands. The photographs of native peoples include several group portraits, dwellings, and men navigating bidarras, or small boats. There are only four photographs that include whaling vessels; one of these shows the wrecks of the Mabel and George and Susan.
Many of the photographs in the Corwin collection were included as engravings in the Report of the Cruise of the Revenue Marine Steamer Corwin in the Arctic Ocean in the Year 1885, presented to the U.S. House of Representatives and published in 1887.

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