This postcard dates to the 1910s and depicts Right Whaling, Head All Clear and Hoisting Aboard, New Bedford, Mass., as printed in the upper margin.
Process views such as this documented the technical stages of right whale processing alongside a vessel, emphasizing the labor and equipment required after the hunt. In the early twentieth century, publishers continued issuing detailed industrial whaling scenes that reinforced New Bedford’s identity as a historic center of the American whale fishery.
The image shows the severed head of a right whale being secured and hoisted alongside a ship’s hull, with crew members positioned on deck and on a projecting spar guiding the lift. Rigging, ropes, and tackle frame the composition, highlighting the mechanical effort involved in cutting in and raising the head aboard. The divided back carries Metropolitan News & Publishing Co., Boston, Mass., Made in Germany imprint and standard correspondence and address layout consistent with pre-First World War production.
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