Kard with sheath owned by Lt. Vernon O. Nicolls
date: label: Date
content: before 1800
name: label: Manufactured by
content: Unidentified
label: Owned by
content: Lieutenant Vernon O. Nicolls, American, 1909 - 2003
notes: label: Caption
content: Vernon Nicolls was born in Barbados in 1909 and immigrated to the U.S. in 1915. During World War II, while living in Brooklyn, Nicolls enlisted as a Private in the Army at Fort Jay on Governor's Island, New York, in 1942. After graduating from Officer Candidate School, Lieutenant Nicolls served in Italy with the 758th Tank Battalion, the Army's first African American armored unit. It is likely that he acquired this kard as a souvenir of his war service while stationed overseas.
label: Description
content: A metal kard (2014.142.5a) with a metal sheath (2014.142.5b) owned by Lt. Vernon O. Nicolls. The kard has a bronze color metal blade and metal wired-wrapped handle. The knife is barbed on the knife's spine, near the tip and is notched on the heel near the bolster. The blade has a floral pattern with a bird etched into both sides of the body of the blade and the numbers [179[2?] etched on the right side near the bolster. The pattern runs about a third of the length of the blade. The wired-wrapped handle has a spiral pattern that serves as a hand grip, and runs the full length of the handle. The butt of the handle is covered in a flower shaped plate that extends over the bottom of the handle. A small metal loop protrudes from the knife's butt that can extend out several millimeters and is held in place via a spring inside the handle. The sheath (2014.142.5b) is the same bronze color metal as the knife and is stamped with a stippled floral pattern on both sides that extends from the base of the sheath to almost the midpoint. The tip of the sheath has been reinforced with additional metal and there is rectangular loop on one side of the sheath.
place: label: Place purchased
content: Italy, Europe
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Military
label: Topic
content: World War II
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Weapons and Ammunition
label: Exhibition
content: Double Victory: The African American Military Experience
label: On View
content: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Community/Third Floor, 3 053
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Kay L. Nicolls
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2014.142.5ab
objectType: label: Type
content: knives (cutting tools)
label: Type
content: sheaths
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: No known copyright restrictions
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: metal
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (2014.142.5a): 11 13/16 × 7/8 × 7/8 in. (30 × 2.2 × 2.2 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (2014.142.5b): 8 × 1 1/16 × 1/2 in. (20.3 × 2.7 × 1.2 cm)