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Remainder of Ship News.

16 December 1804, The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), page 3

…is a fish of very singular form, it is about four five inches in length, and nearly half an inch in diameter in the broadest part; the morse*; by the Seahorse Dryden means the hippopotamus. In 1800, Thomas Pennant offered a list of imports from the East Indies, and seahorse teeth were on the list. (Pennant, Thomas, The view of India extra Gangem, China, and Japan , v. 3., 282.  London, J. White, 1800: try Google Books and you will find it if you persevere.)  Those would have been hippo teeth, but then, just four years later, this appeared in The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 16 December 1804, on page 3 : Captain Rhodes has brought up several of the very curious tribe vulgarly denominated the sea-horse, nearly resembling that found at the Philippines in shape, but in other respects differing… the whole length of the animal not exceeding twelve or fourteen inches. That is no walrus or hippo!  So in 1804, 55 years before the OED has it, vulgar people are calling the fish a seahorse.  How forward of them, how vulgar! In February 1827, readers of the same newspaper could learn of traders who had settled at Natal in southern Africa, where Mr, Henry Nourse had bought " a…

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Latest India Extracts. MADRAS. G. O. BY GOVERNMENT, FORT ST. GEORGE, JUNE 13, 1826.

2 February 1827, The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), page 4

…In February 1827, readers of the same newspaper could learn of traders who had settled at Natal in southern Africa, where Mr, Henry Nourse had bought " a quantity of the tusks of the hippopotami, which had formerly been regarded by the Portuguese and natives as of very trifling value. The sale of Mr. Nourse's cargo, however, discovered that sea-horse ivory was worth half as much again as the tusks of the elephant, and since that time it has been in great demand, and better estimated by the Portuguese." …

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Parliamentary Intelligence. HOUSE OF LORDS, AUGUST 20.

1 January 1836, The Australian (Sydney, NSW : 1824 - 1848), page 4

…That's a hippopotamus, that is. Yet in 1835, when a Colonel Fairman was called before the Bar of the House of Commons , he was described as having "…a long pair of sandy coloured mustachios hanging down on each side of the mouth, giving his countenance, very much the appearance of that of a walrus, or sea-horse, in the books of birds and beasts."  Now the seahorse is a walrus again.…

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Odd Fellows' Column.

21 May 1838, The Sydney Monitor (NSW : 1828 - 1838), page 3

…down on each side of the mouth, giving his countenance, very much the appearance of that of a walrus, or sea-horse, in the books of birds and beasts."  Now the seahorse is a walrus again. Much of the seahorse ivory was used to make false teeth, even in 1860, but American dentists had investigated porcelain as far back as 1818, though in 1822, an anonymous Boston writer classed "the teeth and tusks of the hippopotamus or sea-horse" as the best of all.  By 1830, though, porcelain was making significant progress. Still, there were other ways the ivory could be used. The story of Henry Harrison , who appeared in a Sydney court in 1838 is best left in the words of the reporter, who called himself Sam Weller: Henry Harrison was placed at the bar, with a stick resembling a boa constrictor taking a snooze, with a sea-horse tooth top; this appendage was placed along side of him, and they were well matched. The charge was for flourishing said stick about his head in the streets, thereby placing in eminent peril the knowledge boxes of several of her Majesty's subjects; he was therefore secured. As there appeared to be a considerable question whether Henry had,…

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SHIP NEWS.

16 January 1841, The Sydney Herald (NSW : 1831 - 1842), page 2

…whether Henry had, or had not, been indulging in spirituous or vinous potations, and there being no fuddleometer at hand, he received the benefit of the doubt, and together with the dray-load of a walking stick, was allowed to depart; Henry, grasping his companion in his arms, dropped a tear upon the ivory nob, which had become somewhat sullied by a night's lodging in the watch-house, bowed and departed. There's what the world needs: more fuddleometers!  This is especially so as the assorted vessels called Seahorse which get in the scholar's way of sorting the seahorses were now joined by a steamer of that name which, in 1840, started out on the Gravesend–Australia run . This one is worth looking up, because there were a few adventures on her first voyage. A table of Chinese customs duties was published in the Southern Australian on February 9, 1844 .   It reveals some rather strange merchandise. This is a selection rather than a quote, mainly featuring those we might not see or know today and a few old friends: Assafoetida, Bees' wax, Betel Nut, Cochineal, Cow Bezoar, Cutch, Elephants' teeth (whole and broken), Fish maws, Flints, Horns (buffalo and bullock), Horns (Unicorn or Rhinoceros), Mother of Pearl, Putchuck, Rattans, Skins (cow, ox, sea otter, fox,…

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IMPORTS.

9 February 1844, Southern Australian (Adelaide, SA : 1838 - 1844), page 4

…Henry, grasping his companion in his arms, dropped a tear upon the ivory nob, which had become somewhat sullied by a night's lodging in the watch-house, bowed and departed. There's what the world needs: more fuddleometers!  This is especially so as the assorted vessels called Seahorse which get in the scholar's way of sorting the seahorses were now joined by a steamer of that name which, in 1840, started out on the Gravesend–Australia run . This one is worth looking up, because there were a few adventures on her first voyage. A table of Chinese customs duties was published in the Southern Australian on February 9, 1844 .   It reveals some rather strange merchandise. This is a selection rather than a quote, mainly featuring those we might not see or know today and a few old friends: Assafoetida, Bees' wax, Betel Nut, Cochineal, Cow Bezoar, Cutch, Elephants' teeth (whole and broken), Fish maws, Flints, Horns (buffalo and bullock), Horns (Unicorn or Rhinoceros), Mother of Pearl, Putchuck, Rattans, Skins (cow, ox, sea otter, fox, tiger, leopard, marten, land otter, racoon, shark, beaver, hare, rabin [sic— other versions of that time show "rabbit" here] , ermine), and Seahorse teeth. Blast!  Now I have a few more items for…

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CAPTAIN STURTS EXPEHITION.

9 September 1845, South Australian (Adelaide, SA : 1844 - 1851), page 4

…Elephants' teeth (whole and broken), Fish maws, Flints, Horns (buffalo and bullock), Horns (Unicorn or Rhinoceros), Mother of Pearl, Putchuck, Rattans, Skins (cow, ox, sea otter, fox, tiger, leopard, marten, land otter, racoon, shark, beaver, hare, rabin [sic— other versions of that time show "rabbit" here] , ermine), and Seahorse teeth. Blast!  Now I have a few more items for the to-do list!! Meanwhile, the seahorses had made it to central Australia by 1845, where Captain Charles Sturt had gone out, seeking a theoretical inland sea.  Sturt got on well with Aborigines, and when one man visited his camp, he tried to get information by showing his guest pictures from "Cuvier's Plates" , some of which the visitor seemed to know: He guessed the use of the boat the moment he saw it, and pointed to the north-west as the quarter in which we should go…He examined the sheep-netting, and putting his head to the meshes, intimated to us by signs that the fish we should find were too large to get through them. He recognised the turtle, the hippocampus, and several sea-fish, figured in, naming them respectively; but he put his fingers on all the others, and gave them a general name… From this, Sturt deduced that the man had been…

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Shipping Intelligence. HOBART TOWN. ARRIVALS.

27 January 1846, The Observer (Hobart, Tas. : 1845 - 1846), page 2

…his head to the meshes, intimated to us by signs that the fish we should find were too large to get through them. He recognised the turtle, the hippocampus, and several sea-fish, figured in, naming them respectively; but he put his fingers on all the others, and gave them a general name… From this, Sturt deduced that the man had been to a sea that contained seahorses, and not too far away, at that.  Hope springs eternal and all that: sadly, there was no Inland Sea to be found. The following year, the Navigator , from Boston reached Hobart, and the cargo included a cask sea-horse teeth .   Then following year, Mr. De La Hunt, Wholesale and Retail Chemist & Druggist of Hobart Town was offering for sale both seahorse teeth and dentists' gold , indicating what use the teeth might be put to. In 1849, the brig, William , 121 tons, from the Fiji Islands, reached Sydney on February 4 , and on February 6, Mr. Mort was offering for auction , 10 tuns of cocoanut oil, 11 pigskins, 2 cases of tortoiseshell and one bag of seahorse teeth which appear all to have arrived in the William . Ivory sales continued to boom in…

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Advertising

14 April 1847, Launceston Examiner (Tas. : 1842 - 1899), page 1

…the turtle, the hippocampus, and several sea-fish, figured in, naming them respectively; but he put his fingers on all the others, and gave them a general name… From this, Sturt deduced that the man had been to a sea that contained seahorses, and not too far away, at that.  Hope springs eternal and all that: sadly, there was no Inland Sea to be found. The following year, the Navigator , from Boston reached Hobart, and the cargo included a cask sea-horse teeth .   Then following year, Mr. De La Hunt, Wholesale and Retail Chemist & Druggist of Hobart Town was offering for sale both seahorse teeth and dentists' gold , indicating what use the teeth might be put to. In 1849, the brig, William , 121 tons, from the Fiji Islands, reached Sydney on February 4 , and on February 6, Mr. Mort was offering for auction , 10 tuns of cocoanut oil, 11 pigskins, 2 cases of tortoiseshell and one bag of seahorse teeth which appear all to have arrived in the William . Ivory sales continued to boom in London, and a sale in late 1882 saw good sales : There were offered 129 tons ivory, including 35 tons from Bombay, Zanzibar, and Mozambique, 46 tons from…

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SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. [From the Sydney Morning Herald.] ARRIVALS.

7 February 1849, The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW : 1843 - 1893), page 2

…the man had been to a sea that contained seahorses, and not too far away, at that.  Hope springs eternal and all that: sadly, there was no Inland Sea to be found. The following year, the Navigator , from Boston reached Hobart, and the cargo included a cask sea-horse teeth .   Then following year, Mr. De La Hunt, Wholesale and Retail Chemist & Druggist of Hobart Town was offering for sale both seahorse teeth and dentists' gold , indicating what use the teeth might be put to. In 1849, the brig, William , 121 tons, from the Fiji Islands, reached Sydney on February 4 , and on February 6, Mr. Mort was offering for auction , 10 tuns of cocoanut oil, 11 pigskins, 2 cases of tortoiseshell and one bag of seahorse teeth which appear all to have arrived in the William . Ivory sales continued to boom in London, and a sale in late 1882 saw good sales : There were offered 129 tons ivory, including 35 tons from Bombay, Zanzibar, and Mozambique, 46 tons from Egypt and Malta, 10 tons from the Cape, and 28½ tons from the West Coast of Africa, Lisbon, etc. There were also 3½ tons of sea-horse teeth,…

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Advertising

6 February 1849, The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), page 4

…far away, at that.  Hope springs eternal and all that: sadly, there was no Inland Sea to be found. The following year, the Navigator , from Boston reached Hobart, and the cargo included a cask sea-horse teeth .   Then following year, Mr. De La Hunt, Wholesale and Retail Chemist & Druggist of Hobart Town was offering for sale both seahorse teeth and dentists' gold , indicating what use the teeth might be put to. In 1849, the brig, William , 121 tons, from the Fiji Islands, reached Sydney on February 4 , and on February 6, Mr. Mort was offering for auction , 10 tuns of cocoanut oil, 11 pigskins, 2 cases of tortoiseshell and one bag of seahorse teeth which appear all to have arrived in the William . Ivory sales continued to boom in London, and a sale in late 1882 saw good sales : There were offered 129 tons ivory, including 35 tons from Bombay, Zanzibar, and Mozambique, 46 tons from Egypt and Malta, 10 tons from the Cape, and 28½ tons from the West Coast of Africa, Lisbon, etc. There were also 3½ tons of sea-horse teeth, 2¾ tons of mammoth, and 3¼ tons of cuttings and waste.…

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THE IVORY TRADE.

26 May 1883, The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), page 2

…La Hunt, Wholesale and Retail Chemist & Druggist of Hobart Town was offering for sale both seahorse teeth and dentists' gold , indicating what use the teeth might be put to. In 1849, the brig, William , 121 tons, from the Fiji Islands, reached Sydney on February 4 , and on February 6, Mr. Mort was offering for auction , 10 tuns of cocoanut oil, 11 pigskins, 2 cases of tortoiseshell and one bag of seahorse teeth which appear all to have arrived in the William . Ivory sales continued to boom in London, and a sale in late 1882 saw good sales : There were offered 129 tons ivory, including 35 tons from Bombay, Zanzibar, and Mozambique, 46 tons from Egypt and Malta, 10 tons from the Cape, and 28½ tons from the West Coast of Africa, Lisbon, etc. There were also 3½ tons of sea-horse teeth, 2¾ tons of mammoth, and 3¼ tons of cuttings and waste. Then followed some sums, showing that people were beginning to get a bit of biological understanding, something that might not have happened if Darwin hadn't printed his troublesome book: It is estimated that the 5,286 tons of ivory imported into Great Britain during the…