Transcribe Allen, J. A. Letter to Lucas, Frederic Augustus (1880-04-16)

nwh Apr. 16, 1880, My Dear Mr. Lucas -

       We have just

bought a whale, like the one you saw. It is 56 feet - long. It was taken yesterday from Boston, where it has been on exhibition, to Provincetown, where the blubber will be removed and the skeleton prepared for shipment, which I shall personally superintend. It will be ready for me to begin upon about the end of next week & I hope to have it ready to go to you about May 1st. We wish to have it properly cleaned & mounted.

       Now in reference to its preparation to

send to you how shall I proceed. I am informed that there are large rendering works at Provincetown where I can get the bones steamed & the oil & other obstructive matter easily removed. Will steaming injure the bones, or will this be a good method of doing the rough cleaning? I fear that otherwise they will be offensive on the