Call Number:

C0566

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division

Extent:

• 6 boxes
• 0.71 linear feet

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); F. Wallis Armstrong Collection, Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

1840-1890 (bulk) and 1797-1890 (inclusive)

Creator:

Armstrong, F. Wallis (Francis Wallis), 1907-1956

Form:

Drawings -- 19th century, Journals -- 19th century., Ship's papers -- 19th century., Ships' logs -- 19th century., and Whalers' writings, American -- 19th century.

Abstract:

Consists of manuscripts collected by F. Wallis Armstrong (Princeton Class of 1931) relating to whaling in the nineteenth century and the exploration of the Congo River in Africa (1879-1882).

A graduate of Princeton (Class of 1931), F. Wallis Armstrong, Jr., was the son of the founder of the Armstrong Advertising Company (Philadelphia) and a well-known racehorse owner.

The collection consists of manuscripts collected by Armstrong (Princeton Class of 1931) relating to whaling in the 19th century and the exploration of the Congo River in Africa (1879-1882). Included are four logbooks (1819-1886) kept by captains and seamen of the Adelia Chase, Essex, Stonington, and Sylph ships on whaling voyages out of New England to the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, recording accounts of cargos, numbers of whales killed and barrels of oil filled, weather, and other impressions of their travels. [The one on the Essex has been determined a forgery.] There are also several large shipping documents, including three certificates of safe passage signed by John Q. Adams, Andrew Jackson, and Martin Van Buren, and four wooden stamps of whales.

In addition, a private journal of Frank A. Mahoney recounts his travels and explorations on the Congo River from 1879 to 1882 as a seaman and officer in the employ of Henry M. Stanley, who at that time was working to establish the Congo Free State. Also present are Mahoney's article of agreement (1879) with Stanley, drawings of the Congo River area, and plans for buildings in Leopoldville designed by Mahoney.