Bone Dice

Description:

Gambling usually was banned aboard whaling ships, on the grounds that it could cause too much strife among the crew. But “bones” or dice were easily concealed from a ship’s officers, and crews found out-of-the-way places to spend their free time wagering their earnings, tobacco, or other assets.

Date Made: 1800s

Related Event: Expansion and Reform

Subject:

See more items in: Work and Industry: Fisheries, Popular Entertainment, Cultures & Communities, Work, Industry & Manufacturing, Sports & Leisure, Natural Resources, Transportation, On the Water exhibit, Art

Exhibition: On the Water

Exhibition Location: National Museum of American History

Related Web Publication: http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater

Related Publication: On the Water online exhibition

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: AG.024849.1Accession Number: 1875.4423Catalog Number: 24849.1

Object Name: dice, ivorydice, ivory (pair)

Physical Description: bone (overall material)Measurements: overall: 1/2 in x 1/2 in x 1/2 in; 1.27 cm x 1.27 cm x 1.27 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a6-d606-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_860555

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