The Classic Period of American Toolmaking 1827-1930
H.G. Brack
1st edition, 2009
Discusses toolmaking industries after the U. S. Colonial Period, covering the origins of U.S. toolmaking in English and Continental traditions; the poorly documented, often unacknowledged work of New England shipsmiths, blacksmiths, and toolmakers; and the mass production toolmaking techniques of the American factory system. Includes an index of important U. S. hand tool manufacturers and extensive bibliographies.
Softcover, 8" x 10"
$15.00
Available on Amazon.com
Hand Tools in History Publication Series Summary
The Classic Period of Am erican Toolmaking 1827-1930 considers the wide variety of toolmaking industries that arose after the colonial period and its robust tradition of edge toolmaking. It discusses the origins of the florescence of American toolmaking not only in English and continental traditions, which produced gorgeous hand tools in the 18th and 19th centuries, but also in the poorly documented and often unacknowledged work of New England shipsmiths, blacksmiths, and toolmakers. This volume explicates the success of the innovative American factory system, illustrated by an ever-expanding repertoire of iron- and steelmaking strategies and the widening variety of tools produced by this factory system. It traces the vigorous growth of an American hand toolmaking industry that was based on a rapidly expanding economy, the rich natural resources of North America, and continuous westward expansion until the late 19th century. It also includes a company by company synopsis of America’s most important edge toolmak ers working before 1900, an extensive bibliography of sources that deal with the Industrial Revolution in America, special topic bibliographies on a variety of trades, and a timeline of the most important developments in this toolmaking florescence.