Bone Seam Rubber, 19th Century
date: label: date made
content: 19th century
notes: label: Description
content: Seam rubbers were commonly made aboard whaling ships during leisure time. They were used by sail makers to smooth and flatten a seam in heavy sailcloth, so that it could be sewn. The handle of this example was turned on a lathe, and on the handle’s crossbar is a symbol (probably of ownership) in the form of a backwards “L”. The sharp end does not show any signs of wear, indicating that it was probably carved as a toy or souvenir rather than a working utensil in a sail maker’s tool kit.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Maritime
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content: Cultures & Communities
label: See more items in
content: Scrimshaw
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Arthur M. Greenwood
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: DL.388973
label: catalog number
content: 388973
label: accession number
content: 182022
objectType: label: Object Name
content: smoother, seam
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: bone (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 1/2 in x 1 1/4 in x 4 in; 1.27 cm x 3.175 cm x 10.16 cm