Early Nantucket and Its Whale Houses

"This is the story of the rise of that unique nautical island people who were to become masters of the whaling capital of the world - Nantucket. It tells of the humble beginnings of those who pioneered 'with love and skillets' and were said to have salt water in their veins and whale oil in their joints; of their fishing and sheep-shearing economies; of their sailboat voyaging, their rain-barrel water supplies and space-saving furniture; and of their boast's crew cottages and homey lean-to dwellings. The book forms a record of the Nantucketers' 17th and early-18th century type of British civilization, medieval in some aspects, like town planning and building methods, which persisted in considerable degree down to the Victorian era."--Book jacket.