Object Details
- Description
- Hand-held cargo hooks were the indispensable tools of longshoremen working on conventional (non-containerized) freighters. In the course of loading and discharging cargo they needed to grab, lift, and move various types and sizes of bags, boxes, and bales. The hooks, held firmly in a gloved hand, extended their reach and helped them lift heavy items. Most longshoremen owned several different types of hooks for moving different materials—from burlap sacks to wooden boxes—and altered the handles to suit their grip.
- Longshoreman Herb Mills used this small cargo hook for lifting burlap bags of coffee. Its wooden handle has been whittled to fit comfortably in the palm. The small, sharp iron hook fits through the entire diameter of the handle and is attached with a metal washer. One side of the handle is slightly rounded at an angle for a comfortable thumb grip. Mills used this hook during his career as a longshoreman in San Francisco. Mills was a member of Local 10 of the ILWU—the International Longshore and Warehouse Union—from 1963 to 1992.
- Credit Line
- Gift of Herb Mills
- ca 1960
- ID Number
- 2002.0026.06
- accession number
- 2002.0026
- catalog number
- 2002.0026.06
- Object Name
- Cargo Hook
- Physical Description
- iron (hook material)
- wood (handle material)
- Measurements
- overall: 3 1/4 in x 2 7/8 in x 1 1/2 in; 8.255 cm x 7.3025 cm x 3.81 cm
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Maritime
- Work
- America on the Move
- Transportation
- Exhibition
- America On The Move
- Exhibition Location
- National Museum of American History
- National Museum of American History
- Record ID
- nmah_1183724
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746aa-344a-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
