Sports & Leisure

Tennis Racket

The nation's passion for sports is obvious every day—at NASCAR races, kiddie soccer matches, and countless other contests. From a handball used by Abraham Lincoln to Chris Evert's tennis racket to a baseball signed by Jackie Robinson, the roughly 6.000 objects in the Museum's sports collections bear witness to the vital place of sports in the nation's history. Paper sports objects in the collections, such as souvenir programs and baseball cards, number in the hundreds of thousands.

Leisure collections encompass a different range of objects, including camping vehicles and gear, video games, playing cards, sportswear, exercise equipment, and Currier and Ives prints of fishing, hunting, and horseracing. Some 4,000 toys dating from the colonial period to the present are a special strength of the collections.

Topic: Military

Plate 76. A Fancy Group - Scene in Front of Petersburg

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by David Knox, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.The monotony of camp life was relieved by every variety of amusement that was known, or could be devised.
Description
Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by David Knox, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.
The monotony of camp life was relieved by every variety of amusement that was known, or could be devised. During the periods of inactivity, base ball, cricket, gymnastics, foot races, &c., were indulged in to a great extent, and on holidays horse races, foot races, and other games were allowed. Sometimes the men would put up a greased pole, with a prize on the top, for anyone who succeeded in climbing up to it, and not unfrequently a pig would be turned loose with a shaved and greased tail, for the men to catch. Any grip but a "tail hold" was illegitimate, but he who seized and held the pig by this appendage, carried it off in triumph to his mess.
Cock fighting, however, was quite unusual, and seldom permitted, except when some of the contrabands incited their captured Shanghais, or more ignoble fowls, to combat. Such displays were always ludicrous, and were generally exhibited for the amusement of the mess for whom the feathered bipeds were intended. Horses and mules perished by hundreds from ill-usage, but with thin exception it would be exceedingly difficult to cite an instance of cruelty to animals in the army. Fowls, dogs, kittens, and even wild animals, were made pets of, and were cared for most tenderly. Sometimes a regiment would adopt a dog, and woe to the individual who ventured to maltreat it. Several of the Western regiments carried pet bears with them, and one regiment was accompanied by a tame eagle in all its campaigns.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1864-08
maker
Gardner, Alexander
ID Number
1986.0711.0283.26
accession number
1986.0711
catalog number
1986.0711.0283.26

1942 Victory Bicycle

Soon after the United States entered World War II, the federal government decided that bicycles should be brought under consumer manufacturing guidelines so that they might support conservation efforts, local transportation, and the war production work force.
Description
Soon after the United States entered World War II, the federal government decided that bicycles should be brought under consumer manufacturing guidelines so that they might support conservation efforts, local transportation, and the war production work force. A series of orders reduced bicycle design to bare essentials, limited metal and rubber content, set output quotas, promoted the use of bicycles among adult civilians, allocated bicycles for military use, and suspended production of children's bicycles, which comprised 85 percent of the prewar market. These measures were designed to conserve rubber and metals needed for war materiel and complement gasoline and automobile tire rationing by providing an alternate form of transportation for war production workers and other workers.
In December 1941, the Office of Production Management and leading manufacturers developed specifications for a simplified bicycle dubbed the "Victory bicycle" by government and media. OPM reviewed several prototypes submitted for examination. Regulations finalized in March 1942 specified that bicycles would be lightweight - not more than 31 pounds, about two-thirds the weight of prewar bicycles - and they would be made of steel only, with no copper or nickel parts. Chrome plating was limited to a few small pieces of hardware. Handlebars and wheel rims would be painted instead of chrome plated, and most accessories (chain guard, basket, luggage rack, bell, whitewall tires) were eliminated. Tire size was limited to a width of 1.375 inches, narrower than balloon tires on prewar children's bikes. Production was set at 750,000 Victory bicycles per year by twelve manufacturers, approximately 40 percent of total prewar production but a significant increase in annual production of adult bicycles. The manufacture of all other types of civilian bicycles was halted.
As a prelude to rationing, the federal government imposed a freeze on bicycle sales and allocated almost 10,000 bikes to war production plants for use by workers and messengers. By July 1942 the Office of Price Administration estimated that 150,000 Victory bicycles and 90,000 prewar bikes were available for retail sale. OPA rationed new and prewar men's and women's bicycles. Any adult who was gainfully employed or contributed in some way to the war effort or public welfare could purchase a bicycle if she or he could cite a compelling reason, such as inadequate public transportation, excessive walking, or responsibility for a delivery service. In August 1942 eligibility was further restricted to persons in critical occupations, including physicians, nurses, druggists, ministers, school teachers, mail carriers, firefighters, police officers, construction workers, delivery personnel, public safety officers, and others. By the summer of 1942, American Bicyclist and Motorcyclist reported that thousands of war production workers were riding bicycles to their jobs, and new and used bikes were in great demand. Some companies owned fleets of bicycles for work-related uses such as reading electric meters.
Pauline Anderson of Norwalk, Connecticut was hired as a mathematics teacher at Norwalk High School in the fall of 1942 and purchased a Victory bicycle shortly thereafter. She lived with her parents, George and Flora Anderson, in a residential neighborhood two miles from downtown Norwalk. Pauline married Walter Dudding on November 26, 1942 but continued to live with her parents while her husband was serving in the Coast Guard. Mrs. Dudding rode the bicycle on errands and pleasure trips in the Norwalk area. It was a good form of supplemental transportation, but she didn't commute to work on the bike; she rode a bus or shared a ride with her father, who owned an automotive sales and repair shop in downtown Norwalk. The high school also was located downtown.
Pauline Dudding's bicycle has all the features of a 1942 Victory bicycle. The handlebars have black paint instead of chrome plating, and the wheel rims are painted a tan color. The frame is painted red, white and blue. In keeping with a War Production Board order, there is no nameplate or other brand identification other than the letter "H" (for Huffman) stamped on the bottom of the crankcase beside the serial number. In September 1942 the number of authorized Victory bicycle manufacturers was reduced from twelve to two, and the WPB decided that "no firm left in a business from which others are excluded shall be permitted to spread its name over the land and in foreign countries" (Wall Street Journal, September 3, 1942).
date made
1942
maker
Huffman Manufacturing Company
ID Number
2006.0183.01
accession number
2006.0183
catalog number
2006.0183.01

Plate 50. The Halt, scene near Culpeper

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H.
Description
Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.
"Cigars and cognac, with these we bivouac," says the old song, but as Cognac was, in the army, a questionable fluid, to say the least of it, and scarce at that, the lounger in the grass wisely contented himself with the pleasures of the weed. His good war-steed, in condition highly creditable to the groom, patiently accepts the opportunity to rest, evidently affording an object of critical admiration to his master, whose orderly meanwhile keeps an eye about the vicinity. There is nothing particular in the picture to account for this little halt, but those who recognize the officer, may possibly give a shrewd guess at his reasons. He is the Quartermaster of the Headquarters of the Army of the Potomac, and has doubtless ridden forward to the position selected for camp, to examine its capabilities, and await the arrival of his wagon-train, in order to personally superintend the pitching of the tents, and the parking of the wagons.
To still further satisfy curiosity, it may be mentioned that the reclining officer is Captain Harry Page, since Colonel and Chief Quartermaster of the Cavalry Corps, one of the most arduous posts of duty in the service, and one whose necessities during the severe campaigns up the Shenandoah Valley, and in the vicinity of Richmond, kept the young Colonel always upon his mettle.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1864-05
maker
Gardner, Alexander
ID Number
1986.0711.0334.50
accession number
1986.0711
catalog number
1986.0711.0334.50

Sailor's Embroidery

Sailors sometimes used their off-duty hours aboard ship to do hand crafts such as carving, knotting, and needlework. This sailor's silk embroidery on linen of patriotic symbols and Civil War-related scenes, was "Worked at sea by J. M. Adams" in the late 19th century.
Description
Sailors sometimes used their off-duty hours aboard ship to do hand crafts such as carving, knotting, and needlework. This sailor's silk embroidery on linen of patriotic symbols and Civil War-related scenes, was "Worked at sea by J. M. Adams" in the late 19th century. It is 20-1/2 inches long. The center vignette has "Liberty" seated on a wharf beside the "Mississippi River," looking at a three-masted ship flying the stars and stripes. She holds a pole topped with a liberty cap in her left hand and a shield decorated with stars, stripes, and the word "Liberty" in her right. An anchor and cannon balls are at her feet.
"United States of America" and "In God We Trust" are embroidered on the scene's circular frame. Atop the frame is an American eagle holding an "E Pluribus Unum" banner. A rising sun is behind the eagle, and a stars-and-stripes shield is at its feet. To the right and left of the eagle are rifles with bayonets and American flags. To the right of the frame is a sailor; at the left is a soldier in Zouave uniform. The corner vignettes depict: 1. The "Battle of Mill Creek," fought in Kentucky on January 19, 1862, ending in a Union victory and a Confederate retreat. It is based on an engraving published by Johnson, Fry & Co., New York, from a painting by Alonzo Chappel. 2.The "Death of Ellsworth" in Alexandria, Va. He was the first Union soldier killed in the Civil War. It is based on an illustration in Harper's Weekly of June 15, 1861, from a sketch by Francis Brownell, a young Zouave soldier who immediately avenged Colonel Ellsworth's death and became a national hero. 3. Monument in Charlestown, Mass; designed by Martin and Joseph Milmore. Dedicated in 187l, it reads, "Erected in memory of the heroes of Charlestown who fell in the late Civil War." 4. Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument on "Boston Common," Massachusetts. Designed by Martin Milmore and dedicated in 1877.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
late 19th Century
maker
Adams, J. M.
ID Number
TE.E388178
catalog number
E388178
accession number
182022

McClellan's Chess Set

Physical DescriptionWooden box covered with black paper. Inscribed on the cover “Geo. B.
Description
Physical Description
Wooden box covered with black paper. Inscribed on the cover “Geo. B. McClellan.” Paper label on the inside of cover bearing maker's name and address “Schuyler, Hartley & Graham, 19 Maiden Lane, New York.” One white pawn and one black knight are missing.
Specific History
Used by George McClellan during the Civil War.
date made
1860
user
McClellan, George B.
maker
Schuyler, Hartley & Graham
ID Number
AF.17501
catalog number
17501
accession number
61384

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