Vintage Boatswains call whistle with antique crucifix and watch chain necklace

One of the superstitions of the sea was that whistling was said to bring wind.  The first part of the superstition was that a sailor never whistled on watch for fear of bringing bad weather.  Whistling proved he didn't have enough to do and was being idle.  The gods of the wind and sea disliked idlers in their domain and the superstition was that these gods would provide the whistler with an abundance of labor in the form of a storm..  The only exception to this rule was the bosun's mate, who could whistle with impunity because he was the "policeman" or "master at arms."  (The crew also viewed him as an agent of the devil because he wielded the cat-o'-nine-tails, and would not hesitate to use it.) 

The second part of the whistling superstition concerned the practice among sailors in sailing-ship days of whistling for wind when the weather was calm. The Encyclopedia of Nautical Knowledge describes the process as follows: “plaintively entreating the winds for a breeze by whistling with the lips in a variety of soft continuous notes while facing the direction from which it was desired that the wind would increase or spring up. Earlier custom required that a group of men occupy a more prominent position, such as the poop, when thus engaged, especially during a lengthy spell of light airs and calms. 

First used by the english this whistle  was referred to as "The Call". This whistle has an old Crucifix attached so I would guess that this boatswain felt he needed a lot of faith to be in charge with  such a large responsibility.   The whistle measures 4 3/4" long and the watch chain measures 30" long. The antique crucifix measures 1 7/8" long.

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Please use this number when ordering ga444934

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