At the age of nineteen, Robert F. Weir of West Point, New York, ran away to sea, where he spent the next ten years of his life. Assuming the pseudonym Robert Wallace, Weir sailed aboard the bark Clara Bell out of New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1855 for a voyage to the whaling grounds of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Upon the death of one of the Clara Bell‘s boatsteerers (harpooners), Weir was promoted to this position of great responsibility. Recording daily events aboard the Clara Bell over the course of nearly three years, from 1855 to 1858, Weir’s journal vividly relates the whaleman’s life, both in prose and in detailed hand-drawn illustrations.

This is a timeless account of life on a nineteenth-century whaler, from the misery of seasickness and the rigors of sea voyages; to the thrill and violence of whale hunts; to the sights, sounds, and foods of foreign cultures. The Weir journal is a staff favorite at Mystic Seaport Museum for its compelling story, beautiful illustrations, and immaculate penmanship.

Robert F. Weir (1836–1905), the son of a prominent American artist, earned his living in the various careers of seaman, naval officer, engineer, and freelance artist. His sailing career spanned the better part of a decade, first on whaling cruises and later as a junior engineering officer on the USS Richmond during the Civil War. During and shortly after the war, he pursued his own artistic talents, supplying illustrations to Harper’s Weekly, then made his career as a civil engineer in New York.

Andrew W. German is former director of the publications department at Mystic Seaport Museum and coauthor of multiple books on Mystic and whaling, including America and the Sea: A Maritime History and The Charles W. Morgan: The World’s Last Wooden Whaleship. He lives in Mystic, Connecticut.