5 Comments
User's avatar
Bill Wheaton's avatar

Hello Adam-- Nice article and the recorded video and audio renditions of the shanties are super. My knowledge of sea shanties has grown immeasurably. I do not have Booble Alley in the Moby-Dick Gazetteer (yet). I think I assumed it was a generic term for red light district or something of the sort, so not mappable to a specific place. If your follow-up article can shed light on its location in Liverpool, then I will add it to the Gazetteer. Cheers- Bill

Expand full comment
Adam Mellion's avatar

Lots more info to come, though I can say now that it might be difficult to map precisely.

Expand full comment
Bill Wheaton's avatar

If you have sources indicating Melville would have been thinking of Liverpool, that would be good/close enough.

Expand full comment
Adam Mellion's avatar

Ah, well for that you can reference Melville himself. Not to get ahead the next post, but there's a whole chapter about it in Redburn: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8118/pg8118-images.html#chap39

Expand full comment
Bill Wheaton's avatar

I found a 'Gibralter St' near the docks on an 1836 map of Liverpool. Close enough. I'll put Booble Alley there. Here's a link to the map (Gibraltar St. goes north from the left end of Princess Dock) https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~21020~530112:Liverpool-?qvq=w4s:/where%2FLiverpool%2B(England);q:liverpool;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=4&trs=23

Expand full comment