Utensil

Object Name:

Utensil

Object ID:

1992.035

Date:

1849

Description:

Utensil. Folding knife, fork, and spoon set used in 1849 California gold rush by Albert W. Gale of Concord, NH. In original case. Knife blade 4" long, spoon 3.5" long and fork 3" long. Steel handle with wooden sides. Olive gray coating on back of spoon (flaking). In original black imitation leather carrying case, 5.5" long, 2" wide and 1.5" deep, with oval cross section. Remnants of paper label on outside of case, with pencil inscription, "carried to Cal. / by A. W. Gale in 1849." (hard to read)

.1 Knife/fork/spoon set
.2A Case bottom
.2B Removable case top (slides on and off)

Material:

Metal
Wood
Paper
Steel

Dimensions:

H-1.25 W-1.75 L-4.75 inches

Provenance:

Albert W. Gale was born in Haverhill, MA, and lived in Concord, NH, where he ran a saloon, restaurant, and fruit and confectionery shop from the 1860s until 1898. He died in 1909. He was an ancestor of the donor.

Credit Line:

Gift of Marion G. Stanford

People:

Gale, Albert W. (1827-1909)

Subjects:

Gold rushes, Gold mining, Gold miners