In 2019, the Nantucket Historical Association was one of seven museums to acquire portions of the Robert Hellman Whalecraft Collection, a private collection of tools, documents, models, and art related to whaling. Over many decades, Robert Hellman of New York and Nantucket collected and studied the tools and processes of nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century whale hunting. To preserve his intellectual legacy, his family has assembled an online catalog of the collection prior to its dispersal, complete with Hellman’s descriptions and historical notes. The NHA is pleased to provide researchers access to the family’s catalog here.
Explore the Robert Hellman Whaling and Whalecraft Collection