Cane with Scrimshaw Handle, 20th Century
date: label: date made
content: 20th century
notes: label: Description
content: The shaft of this heavy cane is made of clear oak, ending at the bottom in a brass ferrule covered with a rubber cushion. The ferrule is stamped “STONEHOUSE”. At the top is a brass handle with a scrimshawed ivory panel on each side. On one side, two sailing ships (probably whalers) are leaving a harbor with a distinctive lighthouse on the right. The presence of a covered walkway between the house and the tower suggests a colder winter climate, but precise identification of the lighthouse is difficult. The other side depicts a whaleboat on the ocean attached with a line to a sounding (diving) whale, with the mother whaleship in the middle background. The brass top of the cane is engraved in cursive with the name “Lawrence N. Ravick”. A man by that name was a lawyer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1925-1994).
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: associated place
content: United States: Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Maritime
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content: Cultures & Communities
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content: Scrimshaw
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Lawrence N. Ravick
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1994.0217.02
label: catalog number
content: 1994.0217.02
label: accession number
content: 1994.0217
objectType: label: Object Name
content: cane, walking
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: ivory, marine handle (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: wooden shaft (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: shaft: 90.7 cm x 2.5 cm; 35 11/16 in x 31/32 in
label: Measurements
content: handle: 9.7 cm; x 3 13/16 in