Miniature compass embedded in a nut from Mount Vernon, Mount Vernon, Virginia: Museum Object and Cultural History
Miniature compass embedded in a nut from Mount Vernon, Mount Vernon, Virginia: associated person: Washington, George. Object Name: compass. Object Name: compass, toy.
The object in the museum catalogue
This nut is thought to have fallen from one of Mount Vernon’s buckeye trees. It has been fitted with a tiny compass and fixed with a ring so that it may be worn as a charm. As such, it is a transitional piece from traditional to commercial souvenir production, combining a nut from Mount Vernon with a compass from nowhere in particular.
Gift of Laura Wolcott Tuckerman (Mrs. Willard G. Treist), Ruth Hollingsworth Tuckerman, Margaret Cary Tuckerman, Elsie Tuckerman, and Alice Noel Tuckerman, 1961
Materials, dates and provenance
- associated person: Washington, George
- Object Name: compass
- Object Name: compass, toy
- Physical Description: nut (overall material)
- Measurements: overall: 5/8 in; 1.5875 cm
- associated place: United States: Virginia, Mount Vernon
- ID Number: PL.234919.01
- catalog number: 234919.01
- accession number: 234919
- Credit Line: Mrs. E. Tuckerman Biays, Mrs. Draper L. Kauffman, Mrs. Robert G. Metters, Mrs. Willard Triest, and Mrs. Robert H. Williams
- Data Source: National Museum of American History
Sources and reuse
Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.
Sources
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