Scrimshaw Gallery - Miles Cortner

In the 1960s, Miles cut-down eighty-three (83) White Oak trees on his Connecticutt family property, then spent seven years building his 47-foot, 2-masted schooner, the Sea Swan.  In the 1970s, he and his wife began more than 20-years of sailing the seven seas.  To occasionally earn a bit of cash, Miles accepted scrimshaw commissions, usually ship portraits for well-to-do yacht and sailboat owners. Most of his scrimwork is still in the hands of the boat owners' families.

Miles (left) is shown scribing whale teeth, aboard Sea Swan (above).

Here are three completed scrimshawed whale teeth, and a fourth never finished.

This scrimshaw depicts "Sovereign of the Seas" built by Peter Pett at Woolwich in 1637 to the designs of his father, Phineas Pett.  She was believed to be the most powerful ship of her day, and was the prototype for all 100-gun English ships-of-the-line which followed, including Nelson's HMS Victory of a century later.  Tooth is 7.4-ounces & 4.37-inches.

Entitled "Longboats Away", this image depicts a New England whaling bark launching whale chasers, just as a mast is being raised for pursuing whales downwind.  Tooth is 6.0-inches & 14.4-ounces.

Entitled "Norse Dragon Boat", this image depicts a Viking longboat under full sail and oar.  Note the black dragon on the dark sail, and drummer beating time.  Tooth is 5.25-inches & 10.5-ounces

The 5.25-inch & 9.7-ounce whale tooth above, shows one process used to transfer an image from print to ivory. After polishing, the surface is completely black-inked & dried.  Then a grid is lightly etched through ink, and the basic outline of ship and foreground is penciled onto black, and then into ivory. A print of the copied original of Noah's Ark is to right. Miles never got around to finishing this tooth.

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