From Florida we recently had an inquiry regarding two scrimshawed whale teeth, from what appears to be two different artists. John writes:
“… I came across your website looking for some info on two pieces of Scrimshaw Art that my father left for me when he died. I know nothing about the art, so I figured I should find an expert.
Is there anyway you can help me identify these two pieces? Artist, medium, worth?
I will eventually sell them in case you do that. Thanks in advance for any help you can lend me. …”
Below you can see the artwork and two drastically different teeth – one very pointy and one very rounded. Both could have been from the same whale, but it’s doubtful. The first tooth has the initials “E F” while the second has the interesting signature of a number and a seagull, which should lead us to at least the second artist quickly (we hope):
Any ideas? Feel free to comment below, we hope to find more information about the artist(s) if at all possible.