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Straight pin

Pins
Straight pin
Pins
Pins
Status
Not on view
Label Text

The Washingtons, like other eighteenth-century Americans, purchased straight pins imported from England. Expensive and difficult to produce, they came in a variety of sizes intended for different purposes. These four common or "middling" examples were used for fastening one's clothing or for sewing. In the eighteenth-century, women typically stored pins in cloth needle books and pin cushions, these pins were discovered in a snuff box believed to have been owned by Martha Washington.

See also snuff box, W-2776/A.

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Date1730-1830
Geography Probably made - England
Medium/TechniqueBrass, tin
DimensionsOverall (H x W x D): 1 1/4 in. x 1 1/16 in. x 1 1/16 in. (3.18 cm x 2.7 cm x 2.7 cm)
Credit LinePurchased by the A. Alfred Taubman Acquisition Endowment Fund and partial gift of an anonymous donor, 2004
Object numberW-2776/B.1
DescriptionBrass wire pin; wound-wire head attached to straight shank; tin coated.
Mount Vernon's object research is ongoing and information about this object is subject to change. For information on image use and reproductions, click here.
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