The Fascinating World
of Early Tools and Trades

Selections from The Chronicle

Fifty-five fascinating and informative articles on early tools and trades, selected from several thousand published in the journal of the Early American Industries Association over the past 60 years. Some written by experts, others the first hand accounts of early craftsmen, pioneers, and travelers, they cover a wide variety of subjects including: •Lumber rafting down the Delaware in 1896 •America's largest tool store -- Hammacher Schlemmer in 1900 •How tinsmiths used their tools •The bygone cobbler and clogmaker •Cutting, hewing and squaring a beam •Blacksmiths' hammer signals •Traditional soapmaking on the frontier •Making horsehair sieves •The many uses of horn •Education of apprentices in New England •Household irons, spinning wheels and the hay burner •Nail making in early Virginia •Making barrels by hand •Harvesting ice-from nature to the consumer •Old time fences, gathering sawdust, and the charcoal burner •Building a New England home in 1831 •Another tool classification: early burglar tools •The wooden leg of Gouverneur Morris...and many more.

407 pages. Fully illustrated and indexed. 6-1/8 x 9-1/4. Hard cover. Was $24.95, Now $18.95. (1991) ISBN 187933500X

“Hard to put down…a wonderful book for a glimpse of how things used to be done, as well as an invaluable reference work.” —Woodworker Magazine

“Just the book for a cold winter’s night.” —Washington Post