Fishermen working trawl lines in the 19th century often suffered cuts and rope burns on their hands. They typically wore mittens or gloves to protect themselves when hauling the long lines aboard and removing the fish. These sturdy but soft rings, called nippers, are knitted of woolen yarn and stuffed with more wool. They would have fit around a fisherman’s palms, protecting his hands while his fingers remained free for tasks requiring dexterity.
These nippers were probably made in Gloucester, Mass., for use by local fishermen working on offshore schooners. The shallow, fertile banks stretching from Georges Bank east of Nantucket to the Grand Bank off Newfoundland, Canada, were prime fishing areas for Gloucestermen. Cod, haddock, and halibut were the principal species caught by fishermen working aboard schooners in these waters in the late 19th century.
These nippers were among the fishermen’s clothing, tools, and apparatus featured by the United States in the 1883 International Fisheries Exhibition in London.
This "Tom Mix" style cowboy hat made by the John B. Stetson Company dates from 1910 to 1930. The huge ten-gallon Stetson hat was Tom Mix's trademark. He was the top cowboy movie star of American silent films, known for his daring stunts and his equally famous elaborate cowboy outfits. More than any other star before 1930, Tom Mix had great influence on western wear.
Tom Mix was born on January 6, 1880 in Mix Run, Pennsylvania. His given name was Thomas Hezikiah Mix, but when he enlisted in the Army in April 1898, he listed his name as Thomas E. Mix. Mix appeared in over three hundred western films until his movie career ended when silent films were replaced by talking films. He then worked in rodeos and circuses until his death in 1940 from a freak automobile accident.
The average cowboy wore a hat called a "JB," which stood for John B. Stetson, a hatter who started his company in 1865. He built one of America's most well known and successful businesses and created hats that stood for innovation, quality, and durability. This cowboy hat is one of the styles that the John B. Stetson Company was known for producing. It is made of an off-white felt with a matching ribbon band and measures seven inches high by fourteen inches wide by eighteen inches deep.
A sample book of machine-made lace, French, 2nd half 19th century. From: J. Gaillard, Pere et Fils. Saint-Pierre-lez-Calais, France. Blue cloth covered volume, 19.25” L x 12” W x ¾” D; Embossed gold lettering and border on front cover. Interior of 26 blue paper leaves with pasted in samples of machine-made lace in various styles, sizes, mostly black or white. More than one sample per page; each paper leaf has samples on both sides. Each sample has a small paper tag in the upper right corner with a style number and price per yard. Exquisite examples of Leavers-machine made lace trimmings for apparel and furnishing uses. The U.S. Leavers lace industry grew after the tariff on imported Leavers machines was removed for several months by the Payne-Aldrich Tariff of 1909.
This Thai passport was seized in the well-publicized 1995 El Monte, Calif., sweatshop raid. The passport is part of a larger Smithsonian collection of artifacts documenting apparel industry sweatshops, focusing on the El Monte operation (72 workers were discovered working as slaves). With a legitimate U.S. visa, the passport looks official. In fact, the El Monte operators doctored a real passport, inserting a new photo into someone else's document, in order to smuggle workers into the country.
Recruited from Thailand, the El Monte workers were tricked into accepting employment by misrepresentations of their future working and living conditions. They were told they would sew in a clean factory, receive good pay, and have the weekends off. They were even shown photographs of company parties and outings to Disneyland. After signing contracts (indenture agreements) committing themselves to repay 120,000 baht (about $5,000 in 1997 dollars), they were smuggled into the United States on fraudulent passports.
On arrival, the sweatshop operators confiscated the passports and the workers were forced to sew 18 hours a day seven days a week. The debt, a guard force, and threats of physical harm to the workers and their families in Thailand discouraged them from escaping. Although the physical confinement of the work force was unusual, many aspects of the business, such as recruiting and smuggling workers, are relatively common. Less enslaving forms of debt peonage occur surprisingly often in some Asian immigrant communities.
Sweatshops occur in many sectors of manufacturing, but are most often associated with the garment industry. While garments are designed and marketed through big name companies, assembly is often left to contract and sub-contract operations. In these small shops, where profits are razor thin and competition is excessive, abuses are rampant.
Machinery noise on the fish deck can be deafening, and voices can get lost, no matter how loud. To make sure a message gets communicated and received, the deckhands carry radio microphones, and the fanny pack is the preferred way of keeping the instrument at hand but protected from water, dirt, and slime.
This black nylon fanny pack was worn by a deckhand working aboard the catcher-processor Alaska Ocean in the summer of 2007. He used the radio, along with a microphone clipped to his life vest for communicating with the wheelhouse and other deckhands.
The Alaska Ocean is a 376-foot-long vessel in the Seattle-based catcher-processor fleet. Workers catch, process, package, and freeze groundfish—mostly pollock and Pacific whiting—in the Bering Sea and in the waters off the coast of the Pacific Northwest.
A good, sharp knife is an essential tool for fishermen working on the fish deck of a catcher-processor. Aboard the Alaska Ocean, each deckhand carries a “Vicky,” shorthand for a Victorinox knife. This example is 7.5 inches long, including the handle. It is used for mending nets, cutting lines, and for general duties like cutting up cardboard for the on-board incinerator. The holder for this knife has weathered a lot of use, evidenced by the tape repairs.
In a June 2007 interview with deck boss Brent Walter (who was in his twelfth year working on the Alaska Ocean) and deckhands Ben Boyok and Matt Prebezac (who had been with the Alaska Ocean for seven years and two years, respectively), they agreed that net repair was the hardest part of the job. The main difficulty involves learning to conceptualize the repair. Because the net mesh is so huge, it takes time and experience to understand how to make the repair correctly. At the time, the Alaska Ocean was fishing in waters about 50 miles off the coast of Washington State and using a mid-water trawl. Repairs to the nets were minimal. The deckhands expected to do more net repair later in the season when the vessel moved to the Bering Sea, where the nets get torn from bottom-fishing.
The Alaska Ocean is a 376-foot-long vessel in the Seattle-based catcher-processor fleet. Workers catch, process, package, and freeze groundfish—mostly pollock and Pacific whiting—in the Bering Sea and in the waters off the coast of the Pacific Northwest.
This heavyweight, extra-large hooded sweatshirt was worn by one of the deck hands working aboard the Alaska Ocean catcher-processer in 2007. It features the logo of the Alaska Ship Supply store in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, a major commercial fishing port at the end of the Aleutian Chain. Although the Alaska Ocean’s home port is now Seattle (it was formerly Anacortes, Washington), Dutch Harbor serves as the vessel’s home base during the months it operates in the Bering Sea.
The 125-person crew of the Alaska Ocean is at sea for several weeks at a time, and they look forward to reaching Dutch Harbor where they unload the frozen fish products and resupply the ship. The captain and crew can take care of personal business while in port as well, and stores like Alaska Ship Supply cater to their needs by selling clothing, supplies, marine hardware, groceries, postage, and other items.
The Alaska Ocean is a 376-foot-long vessel in the Seattle-based catcher-processor fleet. Workers catch, process, package, and freeze groundfish—mostly pollock and Pacific whiting—in the Bering Sea and in the waters off the coast of the Pacific Northwest. The vessel can harvest about 325 metric tons of fish per day and can freeze over 250,000 pounds of fish product daily.
The process of setting and hauling in the huge nets aboard factory trawlers can be dangerous, and safety measures are followed to minimize the risk of injury or loss of life. When working on the fish deck, the deckhands wear personal flotation devices, or PFDs, over their clothing.
This vest is Type III, U.S. Coast Guard approved PFD, and is appropriate for calm waters, or where the chance for a quick rescue is high. It was worn in such conditions by a deckhand working aboard the catcher-processor Alaska Ocean in the North Pacific about 50 miles west of Seattle in June 2007.
Made of bright orange nylon, the vest has the required reflective panels and a battery-operated light to aid would-be rescuers. While the life vest would provide its wearer flotation, it would not protect a person overboard in cold or rough waters for long. The vessel carries immersion suits for everyone aboard and conducts regular safety drills at which people from all areas of the ship practice putting on the suits quickly.
The Alaska Ocean itself is a 376-foot-long vessel in the Seattle-based catcher-processor fleet. Workers catch, process, package, and freeze groundfish—mostly pollock and Pacific whiting—in the Bering Sea and in the waters off the coast of the Pacific Northwest.
Deckhands who work aboard factory trawlers in the Bering Sea and North Pacific are exposed to extremely cold, wet, and sometimes dangerous conditions. They wear protective gear such as hard hats, boots, and waterproof clothing, including heavy-duty vinyl work gloves.
These gloves, worn by a fisherman on the catcher-processor Alaska Ocean in 2007, are personalized with a phrase chosen by their owner, a common practice employed for identifying one’s own gear at a moment’s notice. The words “FISH ON ROCK,” appearing on both gloves, were this man's personal choice, their exact meaning known only to him.
While the sleeves of these gloves are long for tucking in the sleeves of other garments, the deck hands often fold the glove sleeves to fit around their wrists when working in relatively warm, dry conditions.
The Alaska Ocean is a 376-foot-long vessel in the Seattle-based catcher-processor fleet. Workers catch, process, package, and freeze groundfish—mostly pollock and Pacific whiting—in the Bering Sea and in the waters off the coast of the Pacific Northwest.
The brown cotton trousers shown here were made by Levi Strauss & Co. of San Francisco, California sometime during the two decades after the company's founding in 1873. Levi Strauss was a 24-year old, newly minted American citizen from Bavaria when he set sail for San Francisco in 1853 to open a branch of his brother's New York City dry-goods business. He prospered by supplying blankets, handkerchiefs, and clothing to merchants in the West for the next two decades. In 1872, he received a business proposition from Jacob Davis, a Latvian-born tailor in Reno, Nevada. Davis had invented a way to strengthen trousers by reinforcing their pocket openings with copper rivets in order to help a customer who complained about his constantly torn pockets. He asked Levi Strauss to join him in patenting the process; then they would go into business together to sell their patented riveted pants.
Patent number 139,121 was granted on 20 May 1873, and production began immediately. The printed leather label at the center back waistband of these "waist overalls," as they were known in the late nineteenth century, suggests that the product was instantly popular with hard-working men who needed indestructible trousers. The label proclaims "Levi Strauss & Co." of "14 & 16 Battery Street SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. " to be the "Sole Proprietors and Manufacturers" of "PATENT RIVETED DUCK & DENIM CLOTHING. . . EVERY PAIR GUARANTEED. None Genuine Unless Bearing This Label. Any infringement on this Patent will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. LABEL COPYRIGHTED."
The company's patent expired in 1890, but the popularity of their riveted trousers became an American legend. Iron-clad cotton "duck" canvas (mentioned on the label, and seen in this pair of pants) was gradually phased out in favor of flexible cotton denim, a fabric that was much like the twilled cotton "jean" that had long been used for men's work clothes. By 1960, Levi's had come to be called "jeans" in both corporate advertising and the public's imagination.
Made of a heavy cotton canvas known as "duck," the pants feature a pair of short tapered belts with a buckle to cinch the back waist yoke, and white top-stitching everywhere except along the outside leg seams below the two front pockets. A small watch pocket is set inside the right front pocket, and a single back patch pocket with Levi's now-famous double arcuate stitching is placed on the right hip. A printed leather label is centered on the back waistband.
The patented copper rivets that reinforced the upper corners of each pocket and the base of the fly set these trousers apart from all other work clothing of their day. Each rivet is inscribed "L. S. & CO. S. F. PAT. MAY 1873." The pants were fastened and supported by four-hole metal buttons; the two buttons hidden in the concealed fly are unmarked, but the rims of the one at the front waist, and the six suspender buttons around the waistband, are marked "LEVI STRAUSS & CO. S. F. CAL."
Scrimshaw known to have been made specifically for men is comparatively rare. This unfinished tooth was hollowed out at the back to carry a gentleman’s pocket watch inside, perhaps set on a wardrobe, a bureau or a dressing table overnight.
Patriotic imagery was very popular on American scrimshaw. At the top is a large eagle in flight clutching arrows and an olive branch; the hole for the watch is framed by a simple scalloped line. The space at the bottom was probably reserved for the owner’s initials or possibly a date, and the two holes were likely drilled for ivory buttons. The piece was unfinished when it was donated in 1875 by J. H. Clark of Newport, R.I.
Small clutch style purse with a long strap, faux-leather, black with shiny copper emblem with a crown and two lions on it, made by the Lillian Vernon Co.
For much of the nineteenth century, ladies' fashion required very small waists. The most common way to achieve this was to wear a tight laced corset, which could be adjusted according to the specific garment it accompanied. Like this example, many of them were handmade to fit an individual, although they were also available in shops.
One of the most intimate pieces of scrimshaw a whaleman could produce was a bone or baleen busk, or corset stiffener. These were carved and given to a crewman's loved one, who then inserted it into a matching sleeve on her corset as a unique memento of her beloved's feelings.
One side of this whalebone busk contains three cityscapes, two of which have busy ports with lots of shipping. The other side has eight vertical pictures, topped by a full frontal portrait of a beautiful young woman. She may represent the recipient of this busk. Below her is a city scene with multiple church steeples over a flag in a precinct. A multi-colored circular geometric pattern is at the center, above a garden scene over a delicate basket of flowers. Next is a three-masted warship, and at the bottom is a large rural villa overlooking a walled garden. Can these pictures be woven into a story?
Fish processors, laboratory staff, inspectors, supervisors, and others who work in the factory aboard the Alaska Ocean wear royal blue coveralls like these when on duty. These polyester coveralls are worn over other clothing to maintain standards of hygiene in the factory. Some processors change their coveralls several times during their daily 12-hour shift, which can extend to kicker shifts of an additional three hours. Because clean coveralls are always in demand, the factory’s laundry crew keeps the industrial washers and dryers running continuously. The coveralls, with the words Alaska Ocean emblazoned across the back, zip up the front and are typically worn tucked into boots.
The bony substance from the mouths of whales known as baleen is formed of keratin, like human hair and nails. It hangs in long, parallel sheets from the upper jaws of the blue, right, and minke whales, as well as other lesser-known species. Its hairy fringe filters food from seawater.
Dried out, baleen’s strength and flexibility made it ideal for buggy whips, corset busks, and umbrella ribs before the advent of plastic. A whale’s bone could actually be worth more than its oil. This man’s large umbrella has a wooden shaft, heavy hinged baleen ribs made in short sections, and an ivory handle. Marked “G. Hobbs, Barre,” it belonged to the donor’s grandfather, who lived in Barre, Massachusetts, until around the end of the Civil War.
Fish processors aboard trawlers like the Alaska Ocean wear waterproof pants over their coveralls and other clothing to protect themselves from the water and fish slime that are constant companions in the factory. This pair is dark blue, the same as those worn by deck hands. These pants are small and were worn by processor Thelma McFarland in the summer 2007 season.
These vinyl sleeves are worn from the wrist to just above the elbow by people working in the factory aboard the trawler Alaska Ocean. Worn tucked into work gloves, the sleeves help keep a worker’s forearms dry. The company supplies such sleeves, which are cleaned frequently and reused. An estimated 200 pairs of sleeves were stocked aboard the Alaska Ocean during the 2007 season. The Alaska Ocean operates in the North Pacific and the Bering Sea.
This vinyl bib apron was worn by fish processor Thelma McFarland over her coveralls and rain pants during her work shifts aboard the factory trawler Alaska Ocean in the summer of 2007. Processors like McFarland stand at long tables or conveyor belts and encounter considerable water and fish parts as they work. Processors typically wear aprons of one sort of another for protection.
Although the on-board laundry crew takes care of cleaning workers’ coveralls, rain pants, gloves, and plastic sleeves, each worker is responsible for cleaning his or her apron. McFarland, who is about 5 feet tall, adjusted her apron to suit her small frame by cutting off the lower portion. She also personalized it by writing her name in permanent marker across the bib.