Fishermen’s Woolen Nippers
date: label: Date made
content: 1880s
label: used
content: late 19th century
label: on exhibit
content: 1883
notes: label: Description
content: 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.
label: Description
content: 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.
label: Description
content: These nippers were among the fishermen’s clothing, tools, and apparatus featured by the United States in the 1883 International Fisheries Exhibition in London.
place: label: Place Made
content: United States: Massachusetts, Gloucester
label: on exhibit
content: United Kingdom: England, London
topic: label: Subject
content: Fishing
label: related event
content: International Fisheries Exhibition
label: related event
content: The Development of the Industrial United States
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Fisheries
label: See more items in
content: Clothing & Accessories
label: See more items in
content: Work
label: See more items in
content: Industry & Manufacturing
label: See more items in
content: Textiles
label: Exhibition
content: On the Water
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: National Museum of American History. On the Water exhibition website
label: Related Web Publication
content: http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: U.S. Fish Commission
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: AG.102074
label: catalog number
content: 102074
label: accession number
content: 2009.0157
objectType: label: Object Name
content: nippers
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wool (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 5 in x 3 3/8 in x 1 3/4 in; 12.7 cm x 8.50011 cm x 4.50012 cm