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The two carpenters in this very large ca. 1890
tintype, which measures 6" by 8", surround a portable bench. The image
is obviously for show as no carpenter could accomplish much work with that
many tools on such a small bench. It's interesting to note the manner of
dress for each. Can you imagine some Joe Meatball carpenter of today showing
up at your door dressed in that garb? You'd think it was Halloween and
probably offer them a snack treat, or something like that. |
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This ca. 1860 ambrotype, of the standard size
2 3/4" by 3 1/4", is stunning for the detail and the pose of the proud
sitter, er, stander. The man is obviously a cabinetmaker, judging from
the tools he's accumulated within the cabinet he's standing over. In the
cabinet is an ivory tipped plough plane and an ebony Ultimatum brace, both
of which are tools that the average tradesman of the day could only dream
of owning. This photograph is featured in Sandor Nagyszalanczy's must-have
book,
The Art Of Fine Tools.
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Another ambrotype, ca. 1855. But, it's not just
another
ambrotype. This is an ambrotype of an inventor with two of his patent models,
one of which is a scroll sawing machine, with the other a hand-cranked
tablesaw that for all the world looks like an hourglass. The image alone
is enough to make it the envy of photograph collectors as it's an out of
the ordinary pose that's typically some shrivelled up toothless man. The
gentleman in this image is actually identifiable through his models. He's
T.T.Prosser, of Oconomowock, Wisconsin and he was granted a patent on July
29, 1856 for the very model he's grasping. Mucho gracias, Dr.B for selling
me this fine image! |
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The three guys in this ca. 1855 ambrotype appear
to have just found their way out of the Ozarks and took up the trade of
wagon wheel making (called wheelwrights) after having been rejected as
stunt doubles for the movie Deliverance. Each man is holding tools used
in the trade: the man on the left is holding a bruzz (an extra long mortice
chisel) over a wheel hub and a mallet; the man in the middle is holding
a pair of dividers and a hammer; and the man on the right is holding a
drawknife and what looks to be a jig for holding the spokes. The men appear
to have come right from the shop as their aprons are covered in the grime
one would expect to see from such a rugged trade. |
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A very simple ca. 1875 tinype of an old gentleman,
who undoubtably was a common carpenter, is contained within a boldly scrolled
frame. The old dubber, probably slowing down in his old age when this photograph
was taken, posses stiffly with his framing square and a chalk line reel,
but nary a smile can be seen on his face as his teeth are long gone, either
from the heartbreak of periodontal disease or from taking one too many
2X4's to the mug. |
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Another tintype, ca. 1880, but of two ruffians
what probably were timberframers. The gent on the left is wielding a carpenter's
adze (wouldn't wanted to have made his acquaintance as he stumbled out
from the local saloon after pounding down XXX rye) while the fellow on
the left is holding a try square and a back saw (turned on its edge). The
two are probably brothers and each have the common treatment of coloring
the cheeks red in an attempt to make the image more lifelike. |
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This early 1900's cabinet card shows another
glimpse of the timberframer and his tools. Here, even the company dog is
in on the action and is forefront sitting on a massive timber cutoff.
The fellow on the right is sitting on a Millers Falls boring machine, the
tool of choice even by timberframers of today to bore out the large mortices
that are integral to a frame's construction. The young guy on the left
is holding a large rip saw, and, if you look closely, he is wearing some
shin guards that were probably used to protect himself from the bloody
mess that usually results when a razor sharp adze meets human flesh. The
guy in the back is just standing there, doing nothing, which is still a
common practice by many tradesmen of today. That, or he's on workman's
comp. |
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This ca. 1910 fellow strikes an unnatural pose
next to his tool chest. The guy is obviously not dressed in the typical
workman's outfit of the day, but appears to be in his best Sunday Go To
Jesus Worship threads. Perhaps he was on his way to hear the Good Word
of God, when a passerby with a camera asked him to sit with hammer in hand.
The guy is definitely your run of the mill carpenter as the tool chest,
and its contents, make that trade unmistakable. A hewing axe is to his
right, a splitting axe to his far left, and a load of mistreated tools
fill the void in between. His chest is unusual in that the saws are stored
in the cover of the chest; normally, saws are stored in the lower section,
toward the front. The image certainly leaves the viewer in a quandry over
whether this guy was better as a suit wearer than he was as a carpenter. |
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Here we have an action shot of yesteryear's juniors
busy learning the trade of manual arts in a schoolroom setting. The photograph
dates to ca. 1920, and shows the lads busy planing and sawing with their
instructor to the left. There are many tools propped on the bench that
indicate this was a staged photo-shoot. See that punk to the right of the
photograph? Notice how all the others are busy focusing on the work at
hand while he isn't? He's the little brat that broke that #602C you found
and he's sneering at you. Go ahead and swear at him, if it makes you feel
better. |
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Another tintype that probably dates from around
1890. What's obvious from the image is that the guy is crosscutting a board
on a chair. What isn't obvious is that his wife is outside the camera's
range ready to bust him in the head with a rolling pin for using her fancy
dining room chair. The matrimonial dangers of sawing aside, the guy also
exhibits the bodily ravages of sawing that are with us still today - he's
missing the tip of his first finger. One only hopes that his loss occured
from a powered saw and not from a handsaw, for if the latter, what an insensitive
lummox he must have been not to notice the pain of the handsaw lopping
his finger off with each successive stroke. |
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This cabinet card, over-exposed as it is, is
of a shop that had the modern ammenities that made carpentry more efficient,
provided one's body could manage the daily workout from powering the tools.
The fellow at the center of the image is sitting on a Barnes Velocipede
scroll saw. He must have been in good physical condition as he's also puffing
on a cigar. In front of him is a Barnes hand-powered tablesaw, and to the
right of that is a simple boring machine. This photograph, dated April
8, 1897, clearly shows that these guys did architectural work as there
are window frames, brackets, gable fretwork, porch post turnings, and the
like all around them. |
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Lest I be accused of being a sexist pig, here's
a token image of a dame. While not technically a photograph - it's an advertising
card for Coe's Wrenches, the most popular wrench ever made - it does have
a photographic look about it. In what must have been considered risque
for the day, the stunning lass is popping out of a target in an effort
to sell the product. Luckily today we have babes in bikinis popping out
of cakes for our yucks. Cheesecake definitely has evolved a long way since
this one was handed out to testosterone-rich mechanics, eh? |