Plastic spoon utensil with elongated handle used by Herman Wallace
date: label: Date
content: after 1972
name: label: Manufactured by
content: Unidentified
label: Subject of
content: Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, American, founded 1835
notes: label: Caption
content: This spoon with an improvised elongated handle is evidence of the deprivation and physical severity of prison life and shows Wallace's ingenuity in devising innovative solutions to make his daily life slightly more comfortable.
label: Description
content: A repurposed plastic spoon created by Herman Wallace while incarcerated at Angola Prison. The white plastic spoon is elongated using the brown handle of another broken utensil, sewn together with wire. Small manufacturer’s engravings on the backs of the spoon read “U.S.A.” (white spoon) and “20 NIB” (brown handle).
place: label: Place used
content: Angola, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: American South
label: Topic
content: Cooking and dining
label: Topic
content: Men
label: Topic
content: Prisons
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Collection title
content: Herman Wallace Archival Collection
label: Classification
content: Tools and Equipment
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Maria Hinds
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: A2018.36.1.9
objectType: label: Type
content: spoons
label: Type
content: make-dos
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: plastic and metal wire
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 7 5/16 × 1 3/16 × 1/2 in. (18.5 × 3 × 1.3 cm)