Many subscribers to this list know of my interest in modern Jonah stories,
esp that of James Bartley; I won't detail this further here. Many will also
know that one of the keynote speakers at our annual meeting this year was
Dr. Ray Gambell, OBE, retiring head of the International Whaling Commission.
I learned there that he has also written about the Bartley story,
independently of my work (and published after it, if I might say). He
pointed me to an interesting "reference" (why I enclose this in scare quotes
will be evident below) that neither he nor I thus far can confirm.
He showed me an article by one C.V. Tench, about whom I have learned
nothing at all, called "Swallowed by a Whale," published in *The Nautical
Magazine* (1962), 37-39. Tench supports the authenticity of the Bartley
story, citing a "rare old book" he claims to have seen, "of limited edition
and now out of print for half a century". No author is named, but the title
is given as *Whaling: Its Perils and Profits* (London: Allen and Unwin,
1900). There he claims to find "reproduced copies of the sworn statements
of the officers and crew members of the whaling ship concerned [which he
identifies as the "Star of the East," as per my article], and the statements
of eminent medical men, scientists and others who examined and questioned
the victim and interrogated his shipmates."
Anyone familiar with my story about the Bartley story (available on the ASA
webpage) will know that I looked long and hard for just such evidence when I
researched the story roughly ten years ago. I did not at that time find any
reference to this book, nor did I find any such evidence as described above,
though I searched for it in as many places as I thought appropriate.
Needless to say, if this book actually does exist it would be very
interesting to see a copy. However my strong hunch--and those familiar with
my story will realize that I had a lot of correct ones in my search for the
Bartley story--is that this entire article (by Tench) is itself a hoax, and
that the book he claims to have seen never existed.
To test this hypothesis, I have first investigated several electronic book
catalogs, including those of the Library of Congress and the British
Library, not to mention the Bodleian Library (Oxford). None has this title
or even a title that might have been confused with it. I also contacted
Allen and Unwin (now in Australia), to ask whether they have records of
printing such a book. They referred me to the British arm of HarperCollins,
who now own the rights to English imprints of Allen and Unwin; they have no
record of such a title. Ray Gambell had also tried (through whaling
scholars) to locate it, to no avail.
OK, this brings me now to the challenge, which takes two parts. First, I
offer a reward of $50 to the first person who can produce a copy of this
book for my examination. I think my money is safe, but I'll happily part
with it if and when I see the book. (At that time, incidentally, I'll
likely offer a good deal more than that to purchase it.) Second, I
challenge anyone to find other published references to this book. My hunch
says that any such references, which I would love to see, will cite the
information as given in Tench; that is, I am guessing there will be no such
references prior to 1962. I will reimburse expenses for copying and postage
to anyone who sends me copies of any other references to this book, and in
addition will pay $25 for the first two references anyone finds that cite
this work independently of (and prior to) Tench's 1962 "citation". Again, I
think my money is safe, though perhaps less so than in the first challenge.
Feel free to distirbute this offer as widely as you wish! The offer holds
indefinitely.
Happy whaling!
Edward B. Davis
Professor of the History of Science
Messiah College
Grantham, PA 17027
717-766-2511 (voice)
717-691-6002 (fax)
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