Manufactured by
Unidentified
Owned by
Lieutenant Nicolls, Vernon O., American, 1909 - 2003
Date
before 1800
Medium
metal
Dimensions
H x W x D (2014.142.5a): 11 13/16 × 7/8 × 7/8 in. (30 × 2.2 × 2.2 cm)
H x W x D (2014.142.5b): 8 × 1 1/16 × 1/2 in. (20.3 × 2.7 × 1.2 cm)
Caption
Vernon Nicolls was born in Barbados in 1909 and immigrated to the U.S. in 1915. During World War II, while living in Brooklyn, Nicolls enlisted as a Private in the Army at Fort Jay on Governor's Island, New York, in 1942. After graduating from Officer Candidate School, Lieutenant Nicolls served in Italy with the 758th Tank Battalion, the Army's first African American armored unit. It is likely that he acquired this kard as a souvenir of his war service while stationed overseas.
Description
A metal kard (2014.142.5a) with a metal sheath (2014.142.5b) owned by Lt. Vernon O. Nicolls. The kard has a bronze color metal blade and metal wired-wrapped handle. The knife is barbed on the knife's spine, near the tip and is notched on the heel near the bolster. The blade has a floral pattern with a bird etched into both sides of the body of the blade and the numbers [179[2?] etched on the right side near the bolster. The pattern runs about a third of the length of the blade. The wired-wrapped handle has a spiral pattern that serves as a hand grip, and runs the full length of the handle. The butt of the handle is covered in a flower shaped plate that extends over the bottom of the handle. A small metal loop protrudes from the knife's butt that can extend out several millimeters and is held in place via a spring inside the handle. The sheath (2014.142.5b) is the same bronze color metal as the knife and is stamped with a stippled floral pattern on both sides that extends from the base of the sheath to almost the midpoint. The tip of the sheath has been reinforced with additional metal and there is rectangular loop on one side of the sheath.
Place purchased
Italy, Europe
Classification
Weapons and Ammunition
Type
knives (cutting tools)
sheaths
Topic
Military
World War II
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Kay L. Nicolls
Object number
2014.142.5ab
Restrictions & Rights
No known copyright restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd528c34d9d-35b0-4897-81ab-3de72615e09a

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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