Whalebone Thimble Eye

Description:

This rope-strapped thimble carved from whalebone would have had a light rope through the eye for rigging, perhaps on a whaleboat.

These miniature items also served as children’s toys or curiosities back home. Toys in the form of miniature working ship parts were easy and quick for sailors to carve, and they did not require much skill to make. They also served as potent reminders of where and what the men were doing during their long absences from their friends and families.

Date Made: 1800s

Subject: FishingRelated Event: Expansion and ReformCivil War and ReconstructionThe Development of the Industrial United States

Subject:

See more items in: Work and Industry: Fisheries, Cultures & Communities, Work, Industry & Manufacturing, Natural Resources, Transportation, 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

Credit Line: E.H. Cook

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: AG.025801Catalog Number: 025801Accession Number: 2009.0182

Object Name: thimble eye

Physical Description: rope (overall material)whalebone (overall material)Measurements: overall: 5 in x 3 in; 12.7 cm x 7.62 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a6-e87d-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_868262

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