The Curiosity Cabinet:
With origins in the sixteenth century, curiosity cabinets grew from the collection of rare and strange objects and natural specimens during the Age of Exploration.
In the beginning, the term often referred to entire rooms rather than a piece of cabinetry. The practice of collecting objects and specimens from faraway places continued into the Early Modern period.
Here in Newburyport, the Marine Society through its many members from the late eighteenth century onward amassed quite a collection from around the globe, some of which served as the earliest objects in the Custom House collection.
Our Curiosity Cabinet features some of those objects, as well as others which have come into our collection from other sources.
The Curiosity Cabinet
With origins in the sixteenth century, curiosity cabinets grew from the collection of rare and strange objects and natural specimens during the Age of Exploration.
In the beginning, the term often referred to entire rooms rather than a piece of cabinetry. The practice of collecting objects and specimens from faraway places continued into the Early Modern period.
Here in Newburyport, the Marine Society through its many members from the late eighteenth century onward amassed quite a collection from around the globe, some of which served as the earliest objects in the Custom House collection.
Our Curiosity Cabinet features some of those objects, as well as others which have come into our collection from other sources.
Take a Closer Look
Here are some interesting finds in the CHMM cabinets. Click on items to learn more!
Scrimshaw
Maker Unknown
Whale Bone
19th Century
Scrimshaw is an artistic tradition in which bone is carved into, and dyed with ink. Although technically it can be made from any kind of bone, scrimshaw generally refers to carvings from whalebone and whale teeth. Traditional themes represent life aboard whaling vessels such as seen here, depicting a sperm whale breaching beneath a whaleboat.
Ship Apothecary Bottle
James Folsom
Boston, MA
Wood, Glass
c. 1860-1880
Boston Druggist and Apothecary James Folsom sold custom boxes for ships’ apothecaries. In his book The Mariner’s Medical Guide, he gives extensive lists of the type of materials available for inclusion in these bottles. Such contents included innocuous herbs and tinctures, but also narcotic derivatives, as well as mercury-based ointments and liquids for consumption and topical application.
CHMM Collection
Reale
Spanish
1721
2 Reales, one of the most heavily used denominations of the period.
Obverse: "PHILLIPUS * V *D * G"; "RS" ; "II J" - Crowned Spanish Coat of arms minted in Seville in 1721, "J" Assayers mark, "II" reales.
Reverse: "HISPANARIUM REX 1721"
Emblems of Castile and Leon with legend and date. Found at Salisbury Beach 1978.
CHMM 1997.6.1a
Albatross Skull
19th Century
Caught off the Cape of Good Hope
CHMM 1980.5.2a
U.S. Custom House Hydrometer
Glass, Paper, Mercury
19th Century
A hydrometer (hīdrŏm´ətər) is a device used to determine directly the specific gravity of a liquid. It consists of a stem, which has a calibrated scale for measurement, and a bulb that in this case is filled with mercury, which helps the hydrometer float upright in the cylinder. The level at which the hydrometer floats depends only on the density of the liquid, based on Archimedes principle of displacement. Within the stem is a scale so calibrated that the reading on it, level with the surface of the liquid in which the hydrometer is floating, indicates the number of times heavier or lighter the liquid is than water (i.e., the specific gravity) at ‘room temperature.’
A hydrometer can be calibrated to measure the density of a variety of different liquids. In the case of this hydrometer, it is calibrated to assess the level of alcohol in spirits being imported, for the purpose of taxation and quality control. On this hydrometer (or alcoholometer) the words US Custom House Hydrometer can be seen in script below the measurement scale on the stem.
CHMM 1984.16.1
Letter of Marque
1781
Paper and Ink
A letter of marque was a commission granted by the government to a privately owned vessel, which sanctioned them to engage and harass enemy vessels with the goal of disrupting enemy supply lines. This kind of document protected the crews of these vessels from punishment for piracy, and as a tradition goes as far back as the Middle Ages. The Continental Congress issued this privateer commission in February 1781 to the ship Minerva, owned by Nathaniel and John Tracy, and commanded by Moses Brown, of Newburyport.
CHMM 2013.1308.1
Equal Arm Balance Scale
L. Hanbersin, Pennsylvania
Wrought Iron
18th century
This type of large equal arm balance would have been used in market squares, and might be have used with pans, hanging platforms, or hooks in order to weigh goods. Each individual piece was hand wrought and assembled by a blacksmith with training in the making of scales. This design can be found as early as the beginning of the seventeenth century.
On Loan From Private Lender
Marine Sandglass
Early 19th Century
Glass, Wood, Sand
This sandglass measures half-hour intervals, making it likely a Watch Sandglass. It would have been used in the measurement of time for the purposes of navigation, and for changing watch every four hours. This sandglass was owned by Captain William Nichols, also known by the British as ‘The Holy Terror.’
CHMM 2015.9.5