Michael Cohen, a longtime scrimshaw artist has recently updated his site. His work includes Ships, Mermaids, Native Americans, Fantasy, Wildlife, Pin-Ups and more. He works mainly on mammoth ivory and the detail is amazing. He was employed by the Alaska Silver and Ivory Company in Bellingham, Washington back in 1973 when there was a renewed interest in scrimshaw that lasted until the 1980’s, then became a freelance artist to this day.
Michael also does custom scrimshaw on request. Please visit the sites below for inquiries on custom scrimshaw.
The pricing for his work is a real bargain for collectors and non-collectors alike. You can see and purchase some of his work at this site:
http://lizsumner.com/mcscrimshaw/
Working in scrimshaw and other mediums, Michael’s main site is:
I have this beautiful buckle of mastodon ivory. It has a scrimshaw of a male native Eskimo face with a lot of feeling.
I am looking to find out who made this incredible piece of art. May I send you a photograph of it to see if it might be
something that you made?
Hi, and thanks for writing! Would you be able to send pictures to “questions@scrimshaw.com”? A close-up of any signature or initials would also be helpful, along with the city/state you had purchased it from or any other history of the piece. I’d be happy to put it up as a “mystery artist” to help you find who made it.
Andrew