Antique Sailor Made Hardwood Fid with Carved Fist pewter hung side by side on

hung side by side on a white wall

I'd guess that the arm once fit inside some sort of extension

but this one I like for the back of the card as well as the front

with plenty of wear and corner folds on a couple

with an alphabet running A to R (clearly there was never more than that) and then this terrific monogram MAM at center

Antique Sailor Made Hardwood Fid with Carved Fist pewter hung side by side onThis is a wonderful antique folk art sailor's fid carved of hardwood. I purchased it from a dealer specializing in antique nautical items, who I believed had just brought it in, and as I carried it to the front of the (excellent) antique co op where I found it, one person after the next enthusiastically admired it. Fids, or marlinspikes, vary in size but are always conical and tapering in form; they were essential tools used by sailors for a variety