Emergency Signaling Mirror (ESM/1), 1940s
name: label: maker
content: General Electric Company
notes: label: Description
content: Julia Child kept this signaling mirror in her kitchen junk drawer as a reminder of her service in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II. Such mirrors were issued to members of the military, merchant seamen, and others, like OSS personnel, serving abroad. Julia’s OSS duties took her to India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and China in 1944-45.
label: Description
content: This mirror is model 40653, manufactured by General Electric. Small and compact, it could be used to signal for assistance over a 10-mile distance. Instructions for using the mirror are provided on the device, which also includes a braided lanyard for wearing around the neck.
place: label: used
content: United States: Massachusetts, Cambridge
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Occupations
label: See more items in
content: Food
label: See more items in
content: FOOD: Transforming the American Table 1950-2000
label: See more items in
content: Julia Child's Kitchen
label: Exhibition
content: Food: Transforming the American Table
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Julia Child
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2001.0253.0236
label: catalog number
content: 2001.0253.0236
label: accession number
content: 2001.0253
objectType: label: Object Name
content: emergency signaling mirror
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: glass (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: black (back color)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 13 cm x 10 cm x 1 cm; 5 1/8 in x 3 15/16 in x 13/32 in