Whaling

Whaling was a huge industry in the 19th century. There are many products that came from the whales today we don't need whale products because we can artificially manufacture many of the items.

Here's a list of some of the products gathered from the whaling industry:
From the blubber (fatty part of the whale) the seamen would boil it down and fill barrels of oil on board the ship. This oil was used for:
Lighting,
Lubrication,
Soap,
Paint,
Varnish,
From the sperm whale a pricey oil was obtain called Spermaceti. It was a highly prized oil, it was waxy and could be used to make candles. These candles burned with a very clear flame. It was also used in lamps. The Spermaceti oil was also refined for lubrication of precision machinery. And last but not least many perfumes were produced with some of this highly prized oil.

Whale bone also produced several products:
Scrimshaw is probably the best known. Jewelry, Sculptures, etc.
Corsets (the ribs of the corset) also collars this particular whale bone was called baleen and is what the whale uses to strain it's food out of the sea water. Other products from baleen were umbrella ribs, riding crops, buggy whips and hat brims.
Ivory for piano keys
Chess pieces
Walking sticks
inlays in furniture
Practical kitchen tools it has been said that the whale bone was the plastics of the household in the 19th century.

If you want to find more information on the Whaling industry you can go to New Bedford, Mass. and visit the Whaling Museum there.