#pie crimper

[ltwilliammowett]

Scrimshawed whale bone pie crimper in shape of a Unicorn, made by a sailor for a beloved person ashore or aboard, mid 19th century

Constructed from two sections of whale ivory with a baleen spacer. Well-formed head with inset baleen eyes and applied baleen ears and horn. Fluted wheel with a star-shaped hub supported by the unicorn's front legs. Elegantly formed rear legs and looping tail. c. 20cm long

[graveyardrabbit]

from the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Visitor Center

[focsle]

I never did a long thing about scrimshaw, so it’s time! At 1 am, apparently.

I think scrimshaw is one of the most fascinating material goods to emerge from the history of the American whaling industry (which is the context I’m discussing here, though of course the artform exists across numerous eras and cultures outside this brief blip of nautical history).

It’s one way to see amatuer art that usually doesn’t often survive in other forms. To see the art project of an ordinary man who was bored and needed something to do with his hands. Others were highly skilled craftsman, creating intricate engravings or mechanically expert tools. The most common scrimshaw was images etched on sperm whale teeth. Sometimes those images came from the maker’s own imagination and sometimes they were copied illustrations. Ships & whaling scenes, women, mythical figures, and patriotic symbols make up the bulk of the visual language in those pieces that survive.

But alongside the teeth were all a manner of carved items: canes, candle holders, pie crimpers, children’s toys, sewing boxes, yarn swifts, corset busks. So much bone fashioned into quiet little homegoods. And it’s that contradiction within scrimshaw that fascinates me. The brutality of the industry, this ivory from an animal that frankly died terribly, that’s then softened into a little domestic item. An object that could have hours to years of work put into it. Some were made to be sold but many were made as gifts. In the long stretches of boredom at sea, in the lull between back-breaking work and life-threatening terror, scrimshaw gives a window into where the minds of these men continually turned. It shows where their hearts were and what they were holding on to over all the years they spent adrift in saltwater and blood and oil. That’s the poetry I see in scrimshaw. Pain and love and longing and creativity and playfulness all bound together in these complicated little pieces that found their way out of the hands of their anonymous makers to preserve a small part of their story.

Some scrimshanders names are known. Frederick Myrick is one of the most well known American whalers, not so much for the scope of his life (of which little is known) but for his scrimshaw. Born in Nantucket in 1808, he first went whaling in 1825 on the Columbus and then again on the Susan 1826-29. In the last few months aboard the Susan, Myrick engraved over 30 sperm whale teeth, all depicting the ship he was on (though there are a handful that depict other vessels). He signed and dated nearly each one. These pieces are often referred to as ‘Susan’s Teeth’ now, and when one comes up at auction it’s not unusual for it to sell for six figures.

Many of the teeth Myrick scrimshawed included an inscribed couplet of his devising: A dark wish for luck that succinctly gets at the violent and unstable heart of American whaling.

“Death to the living, long life to the killers Success to sailor’s wives, and greasy luck to whalers”

Sometimes large scenes were etched on panbones as well.

Moving from scrimshaw on teeth and jawbones, pie crimpers are some of the more common sculptural items. Popular motifs included animals (dogs, snakes, and unicorns/hippocampus are big), body parts (mostly clenched fists or lady’s legs), and geometric designs.

Others were more mechanically complicated, such as automatons and children’s toys with moving parts and gears. Here’s one of a small rocking sailboat, perhaps made for someone’s child or younger sibling.

Sometimes a particular creative fellow created something more eccentric, like this wild writing desk kit fashioned out of a carved panbone and sperm whale teeth.

Another frequently scrimshawed object was a corset busk that would be slid into the front of the garment in order to maintain the posture. A rather private item compared to others. And one with a very on-the-nose message of wearing close to one’s heart the memory of someone who’d be gone for 3-4 years, who might never come home again. On some level, so many of these daily objects whispered ‘forget me not’, ‘think of me while I’m gone’. 

There’s something tender to all the various domestic items that were fashioned on the job so long and far from home, but it’s the yarn swifts that really captivate me. They were one of the most complicated pieces of scrimshaw to make, with over one hundred different pieces that would have to be carved. It could take someone the length of the voyage (2-4 years) to complete a single one. Unlike teeth which were comparatively very quick to make and were frequently intended to be sold, it’s very unlikely that a swift was made with the aim of selling it because of the significant labor that went into it. They were almost certainly all gifts, and very special ones at that. Every time I see one I can just feel the love towards its intended recipient radiating off of it.

Scrimshaw captures a specific snapshot of a moment in time. On a broader scale it’s a surviving reminder of a bloody industry that flared up and winked out, preserved in the form of a long-lost ship and the spout of a long-dead whale inked on a yellowing tooth. But that snapshot also reveals the emotional world of the men who were caught up in such an industry: what they valued, what they thought about, what they missed, and what they wanted to be remembered of them.

[nonasuch]

Trick or treat please? 🎃🎃🎃

Happy Halloween! Here’s an antique rabbit pie crimper.

[cosmicanger]

Scrimshawed whale bone pie crimper, mid 19th century

Scrimshawed by a sailor as a looped serpent with engraved scales, mouth and eyes for the beloved at home or aboard.

[thedurvin]

I like the idea of giving Zirc random objects throughout the game (such as the Pie Crimper won from the Drywall Witch) but then I have to figure out things for them all to do; on the one hand I don't want the game to get too complicated, but on the other hand it might be too funny to pass up. So. Why should this man have access to a Pie Crimper, and what else should he have?

(and should he get a special outfit with each)

Mega Man could get away with a lot of items that each shoot bullets in different directions but Zirc can't shoot; besides a wider or longer blade or one that sticks out of different spots I'm not sure what different shapes and arrays. I mean I guess he could get a gun at some point. I guess.

Elemental damage types are a thing, but then you have to make all the enemies strong/weak to them each, and then since it's not turn based you have to make it clear when looking at them what type they are, and that sounds contradicts the messy aesthetic I want. Also it's complicated and I don't want to.

If there's gonna be puzzles anyway I guess there could be a full inventory screen where he's gotta save up objects and use them as needed. Like a point-and-click puzzle adventure except with the clever dialog and plot replaced by shmup space battling? I guess it's an option. You collect various objects through the course of the game and can equip them at any time but they're hardly ever useful? Can't tell if that would be funny or annoying

Funniest option: characters keep trying to give him items but he won't put the knife down

A few options: pie crimper, broadsword, poison dagger, chainsaw, scissors, safety razor, mug/cup for carrying liquid, pizza cutter, hammer, drumstick (for drums), drumstick (Ren Faire turkey leg), fork, fork with a hot pepper on it, spork, chopsticks / tongs to grab enemies, spatula, potato masher, cheese grater, lighter, taser, spray bottle of holy water, fishing rod, frying pan, whisk, ping-pong paddle to reflect attacks, flashlight, air horn, lemon wedge, cigarette, stapler, highlighter, evil eyeball, magic crystal, weird rock, candle snuffer, nunchucks, fan, video game controller, handful of cash, power drill, screwdriver, toilet brush, vegetable peeler, fly swatter, steam iron, feather duster, squeegee, lint roller, salt shaker, bottle opener, corkscrew, curling iron, toothbrush, citrus zester, those strainer things they have in cocktail kits that I don't know what they're called, am I seriously trying to make a list of all the objects you can hold in your hand while lying in bed at 2am again wondering why I never get enough sleep,

[philamuseum]

Pi is an important concept in mathematics, and is generally expressed as 3.14 with an endless decimal continuation. If math’s not your thing, you can always celebrate with some rational baking skills. Happy Pi Day!

“Battery Whisk,” designed 1971 by Kenneth Grange for Kenwood 

“Spatula,” designed 1950 by Acton Bjørn and Sigvard Bernadotte 

"Pie Plate," c. 1850,  by Vickers' Pottery 

"Pie Crimper," c. 1800, American 

[goingtoweather]

[Video desc: Four images of scrimshaw artifacts: sperm whale teeth with whaling scenes etched on them, a sculpture of a woman at a spinning wheel, a pie crimper, and a corset busk. Transcript follows below.]

Animal death mention//

Another little section from my dry run of just talking through slides in preparation for a talk I gave on Going to Weather last week. Apologies for all the filler words and general muddling; I swear I'm a better speaker when I'm not just talking to myself! Here's the transcript:

"Some of the most common ones would be scenes etched on whale teeth like in the upper left corner there and sometimes they were whaling scenes, uh, sometimes they were copies of existing paintings or illustrations, but there are also others that are more, um, sculptural, right. So in the middle there is an automaton of this little woman at a spinning wheel, and it works, and so you turn a gear and all of her little wheels move and her thread moves. And a lot of the objects were really these, like, little homegoods. Right. So in the upper right corner, that’s a pie crimper. Uh people would make yarn swifts and needle cases and little cutlery boxes. Uh, down at the bottom, that is a busk that you’d put in the front of a corset, right, to maintain the posture.

And so that was another thing that really interested me, right, with this sort of folk art that we’re seeing that’s being made in the long stretches of boredom when one is not hunting a whale. And it’s this bone, right, this ivory, that was, you know, pulled from an animal that died horribly and is just sort of softened into this little domestic item—and that’s true of the entire industry, again, like, everything that’s happening here, the pain, the sort of loss of limb and life, all of that is in service to domestic items, homegoods, candles, oil, what have you.

But with the scrimshaw, I mean, sometimes—a lot of times—people are making them with the intention to sell them, but a lot of times they’re also being made for gifts. And so that’s something that really interested me about this, because it’s really giving a sense of like, what are people’s minds turning to in those long, sort of, stretches. What are they holding on to? And that’s sort of a narrative thesis that I really try to maintain throughout Going to Weather is, you know, in the midst in all this, throughout all of this, where are people’s hearts in this place? And what led them there, but what are they really holding onto throughout all of that. That’s…you know, the story that I see behind pieces like this."

[cicadianrhythm]

@xekstrin i am the evel knievel of whatever this is i just did

[lovemesomesurveys]

So the 90's were a crazy time for us growing up! Lets start with Music.. Were You A Fan Of? The Backstreet Boys The Spice Girls STEPS No Doubt N*Sync Oasis Weezer The Vengaboys TLC Destiny's Child Hanson FIVE Madonna B*Witched S Club 7 M2M 98 Degrees Ricky Martin Sonique Sugar Ray Billie Piper Vitamin C Play

What about 90's Movies.. Were you a Fan of...

Clueless Jurassic Park Pulp Fiction Titanic Home Alone The Lion King Pretty Woman 10 Things I Hate About You Empire Records Space Jam Dumb and Dumber Aladdin Wayne's World Ace Ventura American Pie Hocus Pocus Matilda She's All That Bring It On The Craft Cruel Intentions Never Been Kissed Jawbreaker Spice World Can'y Hardly Wait I Know What You Did Last Summer Romy and Michele's High School Reunion Drive Me Crazy

90's TOYS, Did you have or want these?

YoYo Play-Doh Super Soaker Betty Spaghetty Gameboy Colour Tamogotchi Bop It Furby Moon Shoes Hit Clips Mouse Trap Koosh Balls Sky Dancers Slammer Whammers Spice Girls Dolls Slime Etch a Sketch Easy Bake Oven Pokemon Trading Card Game Littlest Pet Shop Street Sharks Mighty Max Sylvian Families Beanie Babies Silly Putty Brain Warp Atari Jaguar Groovy Girls Nintendo 64 Magic Mitt Slinkies Polly Pocket Poo-Chi Rainbow Brite GakSplat Doodle Bear Skip It Trolls

How About 90's Fashion.. What did you think of...

Crop Tops I was just a kid in the 90s, that wasn’t my style. I also remember thinking I didn’t want to show my stomach. Studded Belts I had one in the 2000s. Scrunchies Loved ‘em. Still do. Butterfly Clips Loved those as well and still do. Chokers I don’t like things around my neck like that. Plaid, Pleated Mini Skirts Not my style, personally, but I liked some of the looks. Slip Dresses I didn’t wear stuff like that. Long, Leather Jacket Blazers Didn’t wear ‘em, but they’re cool. You look badass in a leather jacket haha. Chain Belts Not my thing. Boob Tubes Is that the same as a tube top? Not a fan. Hip Hugger Jeans Again, I didn’t wear that stuff as a kid but that was the popular style and I probably liked it when seeing celebrities wear them and whatnot. Camo Pants Nah. Mood Rings Those were cool. Scarf Tops Definitely not my style. Bandanas I didn’t wear them. Crushed Velvet Nah. Platform Sneakers I thought they were kinda cool. Spaghetti Straps Cute. Corsets Not my thing. Pedal Pushers I wore ‘em. Were you a fan of these 90's Television Shows Spongebob Square Pants Animaniacs Dexters Laboratory Hey Arnold Power Puff Girls Barbie Rocko's Modern Life Batman Ren and Stimpy Ed, Edd and Eddy Johnny Bravo Sesame Street Arthur Ducktales Doug Catdog Angry Beavers As Told By Ginger Tiny Toon Adventures Looney Tunes Aaahhh! Real Monsters Talespin Daria Beavis and Butthead The Wild Thornberrys King Of The Hill Futurama Digimon Pokemon Captain Planet The Simpsons Cow and Chicken Blinky Bill Rugrats Sylvester and Tweety Sonic The Hedgehog Dragontales Clifford The Dog Random 90's things. Thoughts on... Checkered Kitchenware Nostalgic Every restaurant had that it seemed. Cartoon Character Coffee Mugs and Cookie Jars Cute, I like stuff like that. Celestial Prints around the house Nah. Lava Lamps I had one; I thought they were cool. Candle Holders I don’t really have any thoughts on that. Coca Cola Tins Or that. Blonde Wood Furniture I don’t know what that is. Tape Decks Discmans to play music It was the cool thing at the time. Oversized Headphones They hurt my ears. Cd's (Singles) I loved CDs back in the day. Pastel coloured plates Cute. A fancy dish for the butter Nice. A Miracle Mop Elizabeth Taylors 'White Diamonds' in your mothers room I don’t think she wore that. Picture frames that were also photo albums Cool. a fancy decorative plate that sat in the kitchen and no one was to use it We didn’t have one. topiaries It’s pretty cool what you can make out of shrubs and trees. a basket for the mail Useful? crazy patterned bed sheets Fun. an ab isolater your parents kept in a spare room or the shed Didn’t have one. McDonalds collector cups and disney figurines Loved those. We still have a lot of ours. slime time on nickelodeon I always wanted to get slimed as a kid. MTV actually had music The good ol’ days. I loved watching TRL.

video hits on television Good times. bath oil beads Didn’t use ‘em. overalls and doc martens I liked overalls. super mario Loved Super Mario. Still do. bubble beeper I didn’t have one. nokia brick mobile phones Didn’t have one either. Man, we’ve come a long way with cellphones. pogos bangles I liked those. mary kate and ashley olsen I was a huge fan, I watched all their stuff and had all their movies on VHS. glow worms hair crimper machine It was cool at the time. I styled my hair for picture day in elementary school one year. hair straighteners Liked those as well. clarissa explains it all I liked it. barbie happy meal toys Those were fun to get. I was obsessed with Barbies. gel and glitter pens Loved those. animal shaped erasers Those and scented ones were fun to have. echo microphones puppy surprise (the dog toys that had puppies in its belly) I had one, such a freaky thing. Goosebumps novels I was obsessed with Goosebumps. My Little Pony Wasn’t into that. 

Baby Born Dolls I don’t think I had one. Barbie Dolls ObSESSED. I had to have everything and would play for hours and hours everyday. Crayola Mini Stampers Cool. Snake on mobile Nokias I think I might have played before. Carebears Cute, I liked Carebears. Still do. I find myself relating to Grumpy Bear nowadays, ha.

[ltwilliammowett]

A sailor made pie crimper in shape of a dog, for a beloved person aboard or ashore. Made of wood and glass, 19th century

[christophermasonnewyork]

Jagging wheels, aka Pie 🥧 Crimpers, 19th century, carved from whale ivory, used for crimping pastry. Exhibition on loan from the Nantucket Historical Association at the @thewintershownyc @parkavearmory Sailors whiled away their time carving between slaughtering whales 🐳 #whaleofatime #pie #pastry #crimpers #jaggingwheels #wheelsonthejagggoroundandround #proudmary #keeponturning (at Park Avenue Armory) https://www.instagram.com/p/BswehXRgyDa/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=15riy2zsq6ryq

[focsle]

[id in alt text]

In other news this auction catalogue page is looking like Berth, Blubber, and Beyond.

[nonasuch]

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween! Here’s an 1840s whale-shaped whalebone pie crimper.

[thedurvin]

I was being tempted to create LORE but instead actually it's a SURPRISE FARMING/COOKING LEVEL where Zirc gets stuck on the Drywall Planet trapped by the knife-proof Drywall Witch and the only way you can escape is to pick the right fruits to make a pie for the Witch's giant daughter Betsey; make the wrong one and you have to fight her (and then return to the Parlor), make the right one and go free. Not totally sure yet what right and wrong actually are; do each of the fruits give her a different ammo during the fights? And then you just have to give her enough of one that she explodes? Idk. Hell, maybe the whole thing is a side-mission where you win a special Pruning Knife or Pie Crimper or something

Ugh it's so tempting to worldbuild with this stupid game and come up with a reason why there's a gigantic creepy doll at the end of the Drywall Planet

[librarycompany]

Baking season is in full swing, and what would your pastries be without a little crimping? This 19th century pastry cutter is part of our arts & artifacts collection, and a necessary tool in 1866. Remember to avoid those soggy bottoms!

Lechner & Stump. Combination Pie Rimmer, Crimper, and Pastry Cutter. 1866.