Fishing line
Label Text
This fishing line was found in a small tackle box believed to have belonged to George Washington. Washington enjoyed fishing both as a gentleman's contemplative recreation and as a practical means of securing provisions while on the frontier. His diary records successful catches of a dolphin and shark in Barbados, a legendary catfish in the Ohio Country, and trout and perch during the recess of the Constitutional Convention in the hot summer of 1787.
See also the tackle box, W-2201/A-B, and additional tackle, W-2201/D-Y.
Read MoreRead Less
Date1760-1800
Geography
Probably made -
England
Medium/TechniqueHorsehair, wood
DimensionsOverall (H x W x D): 1/4 in. x 3 in. x 2 3/8 in. (0.64 cm x 7.62 cm x 6.05 cm)
Credit LineGift of Camille E. Bryan, 1958
Object numberW-2201/C
DescriptionFishing line: Black, horsehair fishing line wrapped around a small piece of wood.Published ReferencesCarol Borchert Cadou, The George Washington Collection: Fine and Decorative Arts at Mount Vernon (New York: Hudson Hills Press, 2006), 205.
Commander Donald B. Leach, "George Washington: Waterman and Fisherman, 1760-1799," Yearbook: The Historical Society of Fairfax County, Virginia 28 (2001-2002): 10-11.
"Washington's Fishing Tackle," Forest and Stream (1 December 1906): 869.
F. L. Brockett, The Lodge of Washington: A History of the Alexandria Washington Lodge, No. 22, A. F. and A. M. of Alexandria, VA, 1783-1876 (Alexandria, Virginia: G. H. Ramey & Son, 1899), 156.
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.
There are no works to discover for this record.