Description:
Part of portfolio of 26 lithographs and accompanying book by Lawrance Thompson.
Text from accompanying book by Lawrance Thompson, 14: The Burning Harpoon:

As the silent harpoon burned there
like a serpent's tongue,
Starbuck grasped Ahab by the arm [and said],
"God, God is against thee, old man;
forbear!
'tis an ill voyage! ill begun, ill continued;
let me square the yards while we may, old man,
and make a fair wind of it homewards,
to go on a better voyage than this."
Overhearing Starbuck, the panic-stricken crew
instantly ran to the braces -
though not a sail was left aloft.
For the moment all the aghast mate's thoughts
seemed theirs; they raised a half mutinous cry...
But Ahab, snatching the burning harpoon,
waved it like a torch among them;
swearing to transfix with it
the first sailor that but cast loose a rope's end.
Petrified by his aspect,
and still more shrinking from the fiery dart
that he held,
the men fell back in dismay.

Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=MH+1971.164.14.I%28b%29.RII

Research on objects in the collections, including provenance, is ongoing and may be incomplete. If you have additional information or would like to learn more about a particular object, please email fc-museums-web@fivecolleges.edu.