The first yearly antique tool auctions bring tool collectors out of their winter hibernation as surely as the vernal equinox marks the coming of Spring. One of the highlights of this “Rite of Spring” is Martin Donnelly’s “Live Free or Die” spring tool auction.  This long-standing tradition rekindles friendships young and old, provides a chance […]

Leonard Bailey appears to have begun experimenting with  and manufacturing vertical post planes sometime in 1860. These planes are called “vertical post” planes because of the two vertically positioned threaded rods located behind the rocking frog. The rocking frog is held in place by a pin that is inserted through the sidewalls of the plane […]

The Blacksmith Interest Group (BIG) of EAIA held a regional meeting at the reconstructed Moses Wilder Blacksmith shop in Bolton, Massachusetts on July 28th. The purpose of the meeting was to provide hands-on demonstrations and give participants an opportunity to try basic blacksmithing using coal forges. There were 30 participants which was the number that […]

The Lehigh Valley was a great place to celebrate the Early American Industry Association’s 85th Anniversary during our 2018 Annual Meeting!  Beautiful weather, fantastic historic sites and museums to visit, great workshops, ,demonstrations,tool trading, and member displays. All done while we enjoyed lots of learning, friendship and fun in and around Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.  Watch the […]

Justus A. Traut, worked for the Stanley Rule & Level Company for over 50 years, and churned out patent after patent from the time his first patent was issued on June 20th, 1865, until November 3, 1908, when his last patent was issued posthumously, almost eight months after his death.[1] Traut was just one of […]

Brown’s 51st International Antique Tool Auction was held on October 28th, 2017, at the Radisson Hotel in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.  There was active bidding in the room as well as from absentee bidders.  The prices realized that are listed in this post include a 13% buyer’s premium. Prices shown below enclosed in square brackets are […]

Our Purpose:  The Early American Industries Association Preserves and Presents Historic Trades, Crafts, and Tools and Interprets Their Impact on Our Lives  The Early American Industries Association was founded in 1933 in the midst of the Great Depression.  The following is a summary of the early history of our organization. Loring McMillen who was Vice-President […]

The Stanley Rule & Level Company was always interested in providing its customers with the tools they wanted.  They were very adept at bringing to market variations of their tools to satisfy the demands of as many workmen as possible.  They listened to their customers and often incorporated their suggestions into the tools they produced.  […]

EAIA’s  2016 Annual Meeting at Pleasant Hill Shaker Village on May 18th thru may 21st, 2016 promises to be a meeting filled with Shaker culture, architecture, crafts, and history.  If you haven’t signed up yet, there’s still time to join us at this beautiful venue just a short distance from Lexington, Kentucky in the heart […]