Fotherby, 'Narrative of a Voyage' - An illustrated page depicting the capture of a whale, one of twelve in a manuscript journal that recorded a voyage of seven whaling ships from London to Spitzbergen between May and August 1613 financed by the Muscovy Company. The journal included detailed descriptions of the geography, wildlife, and weather in this region north of the Arctic Circle. The watercolors portrayed the capture and processing of whales and other wildlife. The manuscript, one of the earliest in the Society’s collections, is attributed to Robert Fotherby (d. 1646), an English author and navigator, employed by the Muscovy Company from 1613 to 1615, and from 1615 to 1646 by the East India Company. Samuel Foster Haven prepared an introduction and notes to accompany a transcription of the manuscript for volume 4 of Transactions of the American Antiquarian Society (1860). Robert Fotherby, “Narrative of a Voyage to Spitzbergen in the Year 1613: At the Charge of the Fellowship of English Merchants for the Discovery of New Trades, Commonly Called the Muscovy Company. With a Description of the Country, and the Operations of the Whale-Fishery.” Gift of John Howland, 1814. [record or view the entire digitized journal here].
The Amerian Antiquarian Society, 1812-2012 - A View at the Bicentennial
A Love of Order and Antiquity - Samuel Foster Haven, 1838-81