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This segmented fish, which moves as if alive, is actually a tiny parlor sewing kit containing needles and thread. This kit was not for heavy mending, but for dainty work to pass the time. The kit fits into a hand-carved wooden case that is lined with silk.

The sewing kit comes from the parsonage of Ove Jakob Hjort and his family. Hjort was a young Norwegian pastor who came from Christiana (Oslo) in 1862 to serve the Lutheran congregations of East and West Paint Creek in Waterville, Iowa.

Inscription: P.W. M.A. 1790 stamped on the wooden case.