French
Cartridge Case Pencil, 1914
Brass , 7.9 x 1.3 cm (3 1/8 x 1/2 in.)
General admission for children 17 years and under is always free
This is a pencil fashioned out of a bullet cartridge from France. It is a little bit over three inches long and made of brass. It is composed of two pieces, the bullet or projectile on the top and the cartridge on the bottom. While the view is only from the outside, thus we cannot see the pencil itself, comparing this object to other contemporary examples, the pencil is attached to the projectile. To use it, one would pull the projectile from the cartridge; the cartridge is the cap of the pencil. The bottom is flat, circular, and stamped around the perimeter with: 14, S, S, and 7. The 14 is at the 12 o’clock position and the remaining letters and number are at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock respectively. The 14 represents the year it was made and the year the First World War began in France, 1914.
Macknight Room
Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.