That's How It Happened

1825-6 in Amer. Neptune (1952) XII. 104 All hands employed scrimshonting. 1850 N. KINGSLEY Diary 15 Dec. (1914) 161 There is plenty of time to tinker or read or do any kind of ‘Scrimshonging’ any-one feels disposed to do. 1851 H. MELVILLE Moby Dick I. 14, I found a number of young seamen..examining..divers specimens of scrimshander. Ibid. II. 128 Other like skrimshander articles. Ibid. II. xv. 128 The skrimshandering business. 1864 Hotten's Slang Dict., Scrimshaw, anything made by sailors for themselves in their leisure hours at sea is called Scrimshaw-work. 1883 CLARK RUSSELL Sailors' Lang., Scrimshandy, an Americanism signifying the objects in ivory or bone carved by whalemen during their long voyages. 1883 Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 198 Collection illustrating the games, amusements, literature, art-work of the fishermen; musical instruments, carvings (‘scrimshandy’), &c. Ibid. 207 Walrus tusks scrim-shawed, and frame made of walrus ivory. 1887 GOODE, etc. Fisheries of U.S. v. II. 231 Scrimshawing is..the art..of manufacturing useful and ornamental articles at sea. 1898 F. T. BULLEN Cruise of ‘Cachalot’ viii. 83 The great jaw~pans were sawn off, and placed at the disposal of anybody who wanted pieces of bone for ‘scrimshaw’, or carved work. Ibid. xxi. 258 Such pieces as were useful to the ‘scrimshoners’ for ornamenting their nicknacks. 1906 B. LUBBOCK Jack Derringer 171 Specimens of skrimshander, rare shells and Japanese nitchkies in cabinets. 1933 J. MASEFIELD Bird of Dawning 201 Narwhal's horns on which the scrimshaw worker was cutting crude designs of rope, sennits, ladies, hearts, arrows and clipper-ships. 1948 Atlantic Monthly Jan. 108/1 The Whaling Museum..displays a shelf of skrimshandering tools made by hand on the whaleship Awashonks. 1972 Times 16 Sept. 10/1 ‘Scrimshaw’ stoppers, worked by sailors on whalebone.