These
wonderful examples of artwork resulted from a study
undertaken in the 1880's by George Brown Goode, Deputy Commissioner
of the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries. The purpose
of this study was to capture the state of the American fisheries at
that time and to use the knowledge gained as a base line for future
studies. Goode admirably succeeded in this, but at the same time he
also captured an interesting segment of Nineteenth Century Americana
and helped describe a significant part of the marine environment.
The two atlases of illustrations had 532 etchings between them that
illustrated the various species of marine mammals, fish, and shellfish
that were considered to be of economic value at that time and also
illustrated the state of fishing vessels, fishing gear, fishing methods,
and fish processing. Many of these etchings are beautiful works of
art that transcend the original purpose of describing a species or
capturing the fishing technology of the times.
To view
more of these works, visit NOAA's
Photo Library, Historical Fisheries Collection.
