The extensive probate inventory of the joiner Charles Plumley (d. 1708, Philadelphia) is well known to furniture historians. A transcription can be found in Benno M. Forman, American Seating Furniture, 1630–1730 [New York: W. W. Norton, 1988], app. 1. He was in the middle of his career when he died and the inventory is a snapshot of a working … Continue reading To a “Dott bitt”
Tools
The Dominy Craftsmen of East Hampton
Winterthur Museum in Delaware has an online digital collection database. Click here to access it. In the tab “Tools” you’ll find many of the Dominy family woodworking tools illustrated in Charles Hummel’s “With Hammer in Hand: The Dominy Craftsmen of East Hampton, New York”, Charlottesville, 1968. Even if you own Hummel’s book, the new color … Continue reading The Dominy Craftsmen of East Hampton
Dealing with Drawers
In January 2009, Christie’s, New York, sold a small spice box described in their catalogue as a Chippendale Walnut Spice Cabinet, Probably Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1740-1780. Christie’s was not familiar with aspects of design and construction that could be found in work documented to John Head’s shop and missed an opportunity to attribute the spice … Continue reading Dealing with Drawers
James Bacon Addis, Prize Medal Carving Tools
James Bacon Addis (1829-1889) was the younger brother, by 18 years, of Samuel Joseph Addis. He was a third generation carving tool maker – his father, Joseph James Addis (1792-1858), was master to his older brother and his grandfather, Samuel Bayton Addis (1768-1832), had worked in the trade since the 1780s. He might have been … Continue reading James Bacon Addis, Prize Medal Carving Tools
The Addis Family, the Herring Brothers, and Ward & Payne
If you’re a carver, woodworker, or interested in the history of edge-tools you will recognize some or all of the names in the title of this post. “ADDIS” in one form or another was imprinted on edge-tools produced in England, primarily woodcarving tools, for well over a century. Many of the carving tools made by … Continue reading The Addis Family, the Herring Brothers, and Ward & Payne
In Proportion to the Trouble 