Moby Dick
When Herman Melville published Moby-Dick; or, The Whale in 1851, the American whaling industry was near its peak. New England whaling ships sailed the world's oceans in pursuit of whales whose oil illuminated homes and fueled a growing industrial economy. Men from Sandwich were among those who ventured to sea, while the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company produced lamps that brought whale oil's light into homes.
Drawing on the Sandwich Historical Society's collections, this small display explores the real world behind Melville's fictional voyage, from the dangers faced by whaling crews to the many ways whale products became part of everyday American life.
On display at the Sandwich Glass Museum starting November 13 2026.
Boston & Sandwich Whale Oil Lamps, 1820s-1850s
Pages of the bark Ocean logbook., 1859-1861
Cased photograph of James Nye, a Sandwich Whaling captain, c. Late 1840s
