Sam Houston
Whittled Heart

Public Domain

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Maker Sam Houston (American, 1793–1863)American, 1793–1863

CultureAmerican

Titles

Whittled Heart

Datec. 1854

Made inTexas, United States

MediumWood

Dimensions1 × 11/16 × 3/16 in. (2.5 × 1.8 × 0.5 cm)

Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Duncan W. Corbett

Object numberB.2024.2

Current Location

Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens

Texas Room

On view

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Department

Bayou Bend

Object Type

WOOD OBJECTS

DescriptionBiographies of Sam Houston indicate that his hobby or habit of whittling began in his youth and was well known in his lifetime. Accounts of his term as a United States senator mention that he whittled while in the Senate chamber and that he would whittle while seated in church listening to sermons. Indeed, an historical marker in Huntsville, Texas, placed as part of the celebration of the bicentennial of Houston’s birth in 1993 commemorates the “Sam Houston Whittling Site” near the intersection of University Avenue and 12th Street. The marker notes that Houston made “small objects such as crosses, hearts, decorative buttons, bobbins, and miniature shuttles.” An account in the 1962 biography Sam Houston: American Giant addresses the heart-shaped tokens that he made: “Offering one of these souvenirs to a lady, he would say with a gallant bow, ‘Madam, permit me to present you with my heart.’“ Other Sam Houston-whittled objects in museum collections include tatting shuttles and a cross (San Jacinto Museum of History). Given the anonymity of such objects, strong historical provenance documentation is critical to establishing a firm attribution to Houston. This example was presented to an ancestor of the donor in 1854.
ProvenanceSam Houston (1793–1863); given to Nancy Pope (later Minor Wilson, 1824–1898), Nelson County, Kentucky; given to her niece Nancy Wilson Duncan Corbett (1877–1964), Bay City, Texas, 1897; given to her son, Duncan Corbett (1915–1993), Bay City; given to his son Duncan W. Corbett, Houston; given to MFAH, 2024.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Pencil inscription on one side: Gen. Sam / Houston / 185[4]

[none]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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Sam Houston

Signature of Sam Houston (1793–1863)

before 1863

Ink on paper

B.61.48

Jinbako

early 20th century

Wood, lacquer, gold powder, mother-of-pearl, wool, mica, steel, brass, silver, bone, feather, paper, ink, gilt, silvered and brocaded paper, silk wrapping cloths

2012.416.1-.11