Freakatorium: The Collection of Johnny Fox

Longfellow’s Mansion Floor Nail. Massachusetts, ca. 1760. 1 ¾” iron flooring nail mounted on a card bearing Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Desiderata,” and on verso an old inscription in faded ink, reading “this nail came from the Old Prairie Mansion in Cambridge, Henry Longfellow’s home – given by the Housekeeper. Obtained when the home was being repaired.” Very good. The Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site is now a historic site located at 105 Brattle Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was the home of noted American Henry Wadsworth Longfellow for almost 50 years, and had previously served as the headquarters of General George Washington from 1775 to 1776.