Logbooks and diaries created by sailors and officers aboard wooden sailing ships offer perspectives on how life was lived while at sea in the early and middle years of the nineteenth century. Each volume is a unique manuscript, compiling multiple aspects of life at sea. Some reflect whaling voyages, with small images of a whale for each successful catch, while others record encounters with indigenous peoples, the boredom and stresses of being in a confined space for long stretches of time, or the death of a comrade at sea, an occurrence often outlined in black in a logbook or diary. Location at sea and the weather were common themes.
This exhibited was curated by Dr. Mark Hanna, Associate Professor, Department of History, UC San Diego. All materials are drawn from the Library’s Hill Collection of Pacific Voyages, the most extensive collection extant of early voyages of exploration and discovery to the Pacific.