Black Whalers contributed to the growth and prosperity of America from the 1790's to the 1920's, yet their story is little known. In conjunction with the Heritage Society and the Eastville Historical Society, both of Sag Harbor, the Sag Harbor Whaling Museum is proud to present this exhibition, the first of its kind in New York. Through this exhibition we have attempted to bring forth the history and highlights of Black Whalers in America.>

The museum's first acquisition in over a decade is the centerpiece of this historic show- an authentic "ditty bag" used by Sag Harbor Black Whaler Clayton King. These homemade bags were used by sailors to hold their sailmending tools. King's contained 13 tools and his name was hand stiched into the heavy sail cloth. Experience the lives of Black Whalers through reproduced photographs, original solar prints by Master printmaker Nicolette Jelen, and excerpts from the 1922 film Down to the Sea in Ships, which accurately recreates how these sailors captured whales.