Whaling
Unavoidable in any exhibition on the history on whales is whaling, which emerged in industrial form in the 1600s and continued for several centuries of almost indiscriminate slaughter.
Oil distilled from whale blubber was used to light maps, make soap and margarine, and even as transmission fluid in automobiles; many species were driven nearly to extinction, and the very geochemical flows of Earth's oceans altered, before the anti-whaling movement largely halted hunting in 1986.
Some commercial whaling continues in Norway, Iceland and -- under scientific guise -- Japan, as do subsistence hunts by aboriginal groups, but the scale of the kills is far smaller than just a century ago. As sorrowful as the history is, it's also a story of triumph.
"That these amazing creatures were endangered was a very important thing for the people of the world to recognize," said Flynn. "Now we have protection to ensure that subsequent generations of these creatures will be around to share the planet."
The logbook above contains an account of voyages between 1830 and 1833 by the William Rotch, a whaling ship that sailed out of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Below is the skull of a rough-toothed dolphin engraved by a sailor on a whaling voyage during the 18th or 19th century.
Images: AMNH/D. Finnin