Tobacco knife
notes: label: Description
content: This tobacco knife was utilized in the cultivation of tobacco in Maryland. It has a wooden handle that is narrower in the center than at the ends. The knife blade is set into a split at one end, with two rivets holding it that are protected by metal plates on each side. The blade is made of a thin sheet of metal in the shape of a rough parallelogram with the outer and back edges shortened.
label: Description
content: This tobacco knife was donated by Frank Robinson, whose family owned and operated tobacco farms in Maryland. According to him, this knife was used on his family’s farm, Serenity Farm, in Charles County, Maryland. It was also possibly used earlier on the previous family farm, Ferndale Farm, in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Robinson’s family few 40-70 acres of Type 32 tobacco at the Serenity Farm each season, making spears like this one instrumental to such an effort.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: Location of Serenity Farm, where this tool was likely used
content: United States: Maryland, Charles
label: Location of Ferndale Farm, where this tool may have been used
content: United States: Maryland, Prince Georges
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Agriculture
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Franklin A. Robinson Jr.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2000.0009.11
label: accession number
content: 2000.0009
label: catalog number
content: 2000.0009.11
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Tobacco Knife
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 45.5 cm x 7 cm x 2.7 cm; 17 15/16 in x 2 3/4 in x 1 1/16 in