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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Deb D., post: 10337922, member: 91560&quot;]Just sharing, but opinions appreciated.</p><p><br /></p><p>I bought this in the early 1970s at my parents urging. If I remember correctly, I paid between $100 and $200 for it. That was just before the embargo on ivory products went into effect. I learned of it from George Wood, a collector himself. He had a display of his pieces at a local museum and I attended. He was interested in purchasing it, too, but I beat him to the punch.</p><p><br /></p><p>It is not a typical scrimshaw theme. It depicts the American poet, John Greenleaf Whittier as a young man on one side and on the other are stanzas from his work &quot;The Eternal Goodness&quot;. Around top of the whale&#039;s tooth is a whaling scene and there&#039;s also a 5-pointed star inlaid with what looks like abalone and the name &quot;Sarah&quot; inscribed in the center. The letter &quot;D&quot; is also present, and I assume that was either the initial of the carver&#039;s first or last name. The tooth is mounted in a bronze or brass base.</p><p><br /></p><p>In 2007, curious as to its value, I took it to the Whaling museum in Mystic, CT as an overnight trip. While the curator was gracious, he indicated that professional ethics prevented him from assigning a value and added that the museum would gladly accept it as a donation. I have made that provision in my will.</p><p><br /></p><p>This story also has a sour note to it. After my mom passed in 2006, a woman from the same place I worked (different department, but close enough we had contact) would come to my house every weekend to help me go through things when she learned of my mom&#039;s passing. I think she was more treasure hunting than trying to be helpful. When she saw this, she went wild and asked me for it (her daughter&#039;s mane is Sarah). I didn&#039;t want to part with it knowing it was likely valuable. Then she tried a little arm twisting saying that she gave up her weekends and had to leave her family to come and help me, so I owed it to her. That didn&#039;t wash with me since I never asked her for help, it was her volition to come to my house. After that she stopped coming. When I asked he why, she replied &quot;We&#039;ve reached an area of diminishing returns.&quot; After I retired, she was still working and one day I received a call from her demanding it, but offered money. I still refused and she disconnected. However, ever once in a while I&#039;d get an email or phone call asking if we could get together for lunch. I suspect she would be dunning me for the scrimshaw, so I&#039;ve been putting her off. I also blocked her phone number.</p><p><br /></p><p>Anyway here are some pics:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]520055[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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