Colored engraving of a whale's tail raised in the air, with a rowboat right underneath. The swirling waves and foam indicate that the whale is thrashing about, and it has a harpoon in its tail. The men in the boat look up at the approaching tail with expressions of fear and consternation, and one man is diving off the side into the sea in a bid for survival. A ship and a flock of birds are visible in the background.
