| Administrative History | The author of the diary is unknown, although from internal evidence he may have been a doctor or medical student. The date of the whaling- voyage described in the diary, and the name of the vessel, are not given; only the master's name, Captain Allan, is stated. From an examination of the days of the week and dates of the month mentioned in the text, however, the year would appear to be 1831. The ship was probably the Hercules, since a vessel of this name (master, Captain Allan) sailed from Aberdeen for the Davis Straits on 12 March in that year (see Aberdeen Journal, 16 March 1831), and subsequent intelligence of her voyage corresponds with entries in the diary (see Aberdeen Journal, 23 March, 6 April and 19 October 1831). |
| Description | Diary of a whaling voyage (March - October 1831) from Aberdeen via Lerwick (Shetland) to the Davis Straits, and back to Hoy and Bressey (Orkney), including detailed descriptions of marine and bird life, weather conditions, whaling procedures, shipboard customs and superstitions, hunting of seal, foxes and bears, and encounters with Eskimo, with pen and ink sketches of sailing ships, icebergs, coastlines and marine life. The volume contains 55 folios. |
| Copyright | Subject to the condition of the original, copies may be supplied for private research use only on receipt of a signed undertaking to comply with current copyright legislation. Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from the University Archivist and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. Where possible, assistance will be given in identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material. |