When Jeff Kappel’s father passed away this May just a few months shy of his 100th birthday, he was faced with the decision of rehoming his father’s extensive collection of Ships in a Bottle. 

​Jeff chose 19 items to donate to The Whaling Museum’s collection, saying “I want it seen. My father collected for years and loved sharing his collection with people, and I want to continue that.”
 
The craft of ship in a bottle is a finely crafted and challenging folk art. The earliest surviving models date to the late 1700’s. Popularized by both American and European mariners who needed to pass long hours at sea, the creator would use a discarded bottle, bits of wood and other materials to create a tiny yet accurate model of a sailing ship. With great patience for handiwork, the model was created with complete but collapsible rigging, which was inserted folded into the neck of a bottle, set into a painted diorama, and had the sails raised. Each ship in a bottle is unique, and was often created as a gift or souvenir. Retired seamen also maintained their skills by engaging in the hobby.
 
Lester Kappel spent a lifetime collecting ships in a bottle, some of which were loaned years ago to the Whaling Museum for a special exhibition about the craft.

A selection of ships in a bottle from this collection will be exhibited in the Museum’s craft workshop by September 2023 and will be on display thereafter.  Summer hours at the museum are Tue-Sun, 11-4pm. Beginning September 3rd, fall hours start and the Museum gallery hours change to Thu-Sun, 11-4pm.

The Whaling Museum’s current exhibition, “Whalers of the African Diaspora,” brings to light an important yet largely unrepresented aspect of Long Island’s history. The two-year special exhibition employs artifacts, videos, and art to explore the history of African American mariners and their contributions to the whaling industry.

The show was curated by Eastville Historical Society’s Dr. Georgette Grier-Key, whose scholarship seeks to preserve and celebrate Long Island’s BIPOC heritage. Asserting the whaling industry as one of the first true meritocracies, “Whalers of the African Diaspora”  provokes a dialogue about upward mobility in the power of oppression.

The exhibition is an immersive celebration of African American whalers, without which, the whaling industry would be at a disadvantage. Highlighting the pivotal voyages, inventions, and discoveries pioneered by Black whalers, the show strives to emphasize a previously overlooked, yet highly influential demographic.

Most importantly, “Whalers of the African Diaspora” shines a light on the discrimination that permeated the industry, despite the opportunities it offered. The inclusion of these details can be dark and uncomfortable, but their presence is a necessary step in confronting our past. Illustrating these notions are the show’s wide array of artifacts. Harpoons, letters, and footage of sea shanties create a fascinating narrative of life for African American whalers. The show does not shy away from the harsh realities of racism in Long Island, featuring accounts of prejudice aboard whaling ships and advertisements calling for the capture of those who fled enslavement. The show uses these items to bring a contemporary understanding to Long Island’s history, pertaining both to race and the whaling industry. The intersection of these two facets is an essential detail to acknowledge when considering the
trade’s impact on our region’s economy and culture. The raw nature of this exhibition is powerful, both in its ability to lay bare Long Island’s history, and to call attention to the significance of whaling as a transformative process.

At the center of the exhibition’s narrative is Pyrrhus Concer, an accomplished whaler from Long Island who became the first African American to visit Japan. Concer’s story exemplifies the powerful contributions of Black whalers, and the rare opportunities presented by the maritime industry. The formerly enslaved Concer began going on whaling voyages at the age of 18 and quickly rose to prominence among his peers. His extensive skills and experience allowed him to excel despite the discrimination prevalent in American society. On display in the museum are artifacts from Concer’s Southampton home, each fragment indicative of his life. House tools, medicine bottles, and porcelain shards paint a picture of Concer’s autonomy, health, and success. The inclusion of such objects is not only a testament to Concer’s outstanding skills, but an act of resistance against the oppressive
circumstances he was forced to overcome.