Some Interesting Shoemakers’ Tools
Excerpted from The Chronicle Vol. 13 No. 4, December 1960 by Robert Mitchell The shoemaker’s bench shown in figure I came from the Shaker Colony in New Lebanon, New York. It is fully equipped...
Category: Chronicle
Central New Jersey Chairmaking of the Nineteenth Century
Excerpted from The Chronicle Volume 3 Nos. 6 & 7, January & April 1946 by Wm. H. MacDonald Chairmaking in small shops in central New Jersey reached its peak shortly after the middle of...
Hearth Ovens
Excerpted from The Chronicle Vol. 14 No. 4, December 1961 by Ruth Lessey TIN ovens were legion during the days of fireplace cooking. They were of many types and many sizes from the large...
Eel Tongs – A Forgotten Tool
Excerpted from The Chronicle Volume 28, No. 1, March 1975 by Norman R. Ball Probable identification of one of the “Whatsits” items in the September 197 4 issue of the Chronicle has been supplied...
The Transformation of the Blacksmith: The Chesebro Blacksmith Shop, 1914-1920
Excerpted from The Chronicle, Volume 54, No. 1, March 2001 by Trevor Jones In July 1914, the Chesebro Brothers’ blacksmith shop in Saunemin, Illinois, burned down in a spectacular fire that consumed both the...
Mechanical Kitchenalia: Parers
Excerpted from The Chronicle Volume 59 No. 4, December 2006 by Ken Turner Most of us in the tool world know that over the years, hand tools evolved or were displaced by various mechanical...
Nickel-plated Backsaws
Excerpted from The Chronicle Vol. 62 No. 2, June 2009 by Phil Baker Many years ago a Disston & Sons, circa 1873, came my way (Figure 1). At first glance, this saw did not...
The Barbells of Old South
Excerpted from The Chronicle Vol. 55 no. 4, December 2002 The Barbells of Old South: The Extraordinary Early, Pressed-Glass Doorknobs of Old South Meeting House by Franklin Pierce Hall In the winter of 1999,...
An Ingenious Fly Trap
Excerpted from The Chronicle Vol. II No. 6, September 1938 by Lawrence B. Romaine “The Edson Revolving Fly Trap, Patent Applied for. Hudson, Mass. The Edson Manufacturing Company, Sole Manufacturers, Boston Office, 53 High...
Ohio’s Sandstone: Once the Source of the World’s Finest Grinding Stones
Excerpted from The Chronicle Vol. 60 No. 1, March 2007 by Dana Martin Batory In our small village of Crestline, Ohio, a friend once kept in front of his antique shop a foot-powered grinding...