"A Medium in Which I Seek Relief": Manuscripts of American Sailors 1919-1940Main MenuIntroductionPublication IntroductionTranscriptionsThe SailorsBeginning of PathThe ShipsBeginning of PathContext & AnalysisBeginning of PathSources / CitationsBeginning of PathAnnie Tummino3ab49bb2dc491ebce8f162f5757538b6789c8434
Contrast to Age of Sail
12020-03-30T18:00:02-07:00Annie Tummino3ab49bb2dc491ebce8f162f5757538b6789c8434331953Noteplain2020-03-30T18:14:22-07:00Annie Tummino3ab49bb2dc491ebce8f162f5757538b6789c8434Quite a contrast to conditions during the age of sail, when, according to Melville, sailors had to bring their own cutlery and dishes, as poor Redburn discovers: "At eight o'clock the bell was struck, and we went to breakfast. And now some of the worst of my troubles began. For not having had any friend to tell me what I would want at sea, I had not provided myself, as I should have done, with a good many things that a sailor needs; and for my own part, it had never entered my mind, that sailors had no table to sit down to, no cloth, or napkins, or tumblers, and had to provide every thing themselves. But so it was."