Miniature compass embedded in a nut from Mount Vernon, Mount Vernon, Virginia

Description
This nut is thought to have fallen from one of Mount Vernon’s buckeye trees. It has been fitted with a tiny compass and fixed with a ring so that it may be worn as a charm. As such, it is a transitional piece from traditional to commercial souvenir production, combining a nut from Mount Vernon with a compass from nowhere in particular.
Gift of Laura Wolcott Tuckerman (Mrs. Willard G. Treist), Ruth Hollingsworth Tuckerman, Margaret Cary Tuckerman, Elsie Tuckerman, and Alice Noel Tuckerman, 1961
Object Name
compass
compass, toy
associated person
Washington, George
Physical Description
nut (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 5/8 in; 1.5875 cm
associated place
United States: Virginia, Mount Vernon
ID Number
PL*234919.01
catalog number
234919.01
accession number
234919
subject
Government, Politics, and Reform
Souvenir Nation
See more items in
Political History: Political History, General History Collection
Souvenir Nation
Exhibition
Souvenir Nation
Data Source
National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center

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