An Interesting Trunk Project for Columbia SHP

     Followers of my blog know that I've had a long association with Columbia State Historic Park, here in Northern California. Earlier this year, I was approached with an interesting project by Amber Cantisano, one of the interpreters in the Park. Before I get into explaining the project, a little background is in order. Next to the iconic Wells Fargo building in Columbia, stands a deep, open building that has served a variety of businesses over its long history. For about the last 50 years its been a Stage Depot display for luggage and baggage, supposedly reflective of the Park's interpretive period of 1850-1870. For all those decades, dozens of original 19th century trunks and chests have sat in a state of neglect and continual ruin until many have been reduced to relics.

Columbia's Wells Fargo Building with
Stage Depot to the Right

Older Image Courtesy www.malakoff.com

     Earlier this year, Park staff began removing the original trunks to better storage, while curator Thonni Morikawa and Amber continued the planning of an updated interpretive display to replace them. This new display would be more in keeping with the Park's mission to better teach California history and would include appropriate text panels and graphics. My part in all this would be to build four replica trunks, based on originals salvaged from the old display. Three of the four picked by Thonni were good examples of mid-19th century styles and one was definitely early 19th century. My replicas would become key elements in the new display, eliminating the angst caused by the loss of original artifacts. What made this project a curious depature from my normal work was that the trunks would only be used as props and never be opened. In other words, non-funtional but pretty cool to look at.

Jenny Lind Trunk Form (upper right) Covered in Leather
Two Lower Trunk Forms in Unpainted Canvas
Hair on Hide Covered Trunk (upper left) Near Completion

Photos Lindy Miller 2012

     After gathering the data from the original trunks, I began by building the hollow forms for each trunk from one inch, number two pine. A careful layout on paper allowed me to project where thicknesses in the pine planks needed to be, in order to sculpt the profiles of the original trunks. A lot of planing and rasping brought out the curves and angles that lead to solid but graceful forms. Two of the mid-century trunks were similar and would eventually be covered in painted canvas. The Jenny Lind style trunk would get a covering of tooled, vegetable tanned leather and the fourth, earlier cylinder trunk, was destined to wear unborn calf hide, or as they call it, "slunk".

Progress on Coverings and Hardware
Hair on Hide Trunk Completed

     Although these replicas were only props, I was intent on sweating the details that characterize period trunks. In most surviving examples, the straps and protective flaps are missing and we are left with only remnant clues as to their original design. With a little detective work and research, I gleened enough information to confidently craft my facsimiles.




Hidden Details on Canvas Covered Example
Awaiting the Final Brass Tacks


      Finding all of the appropriate materials is always a challenge but I was pretty lucky to find close matches from online vendors. A good source for solid brass tacks is Crazy Crow Trading Post and they have a selection of sizes. The Jenny Lind style of tack is less common but I found two sources for two varietys. Van Dykes Restorers offers a large cast iron Jenny Lind style tack, that comes from India and the Furniture Restoration Center of Oregon has a smaller version but still a good style. For iron roller buckles, I used Blockade Runner Sutlery of Tennessee. All of the leather came from an online auction.




All Four Trunks Completed and
Ready for Delivery


     All of the locking mechanisms were crafted from scratch, using brass and steel and although based on the original versions, they didn't need to be functional. Some of the original trunk's leather handles and straps had hand stitched detail which I copied in my replicas as faithful as possible. Embossing the leather was an interesting exercise. I ended up making a tooling wheel - roller thingy , using a strip of embossed brass wrapped around a wooden cylinder. That, plus an embossing plate made from some of the same brass strip, gave me the tools neccessary to stamp the veg.- tanned covering for the Jenny Lind trunk with decorative panel designs.




Closer views of the Hide Covered Versions


     To allow for display options, I made sure that the trunks were complete and authentically styled from all sides, including the bottoms. All in all an interesting project with its own challenges but well worth it and I got to help improve the interpretation of our local history.

The Trunks in Their New Home
But Not the Final Display

Eureka Moments Revisited, Part 6, "A Pocket Full of Rocks."

     During the California Gold Rush, some hopeful argonauts would brag about returning home with a "pocket full of rocks". This saying suggests a clothing pocket stuffed with nuggets but it might be the archaic use of the word "pocket", defined as a bag or poke.




The Routine Ritual of Weighing the Gold Dust
(and other pursuits)
note the gold bag on the table
Image Courtesy artknowledgenews.com


     After the precious dust, flakes and nuggets were wrestled from the earth, miners were faced with the problem of how to safely store their reward. Back in March of 2011, I posted on Gold Porters (vests) but barely touched on the leather bag or poke, used for storing raw gold. In this post, I will explore the subject a little more and talk about the replica bags, I've made.

     Very little has been written about this simple leather bag, so I'm left to my own speculations and conclusions. By studying surviving examples, I began to see similar features, but no two are exactly alike. There were commercially made versions and they may have been standardized (one example is featured in this post), but the evidence suggests that many were homemade.

Original Gold Bags
One in the Foreground Has a Name and Number
Image Source Unknown

    The basic form is an elongated  tube with a rounded bottom. Many are made of one piece of leather with a side seam that continues down one side and around the bottom. Some examples have a separate, second piece for the bottom. Most all have welted seams, with a strip of leather sandwiched between the two sewn sides. I'm no expert when it comes to leather identification but soft buckskin seems to have been a popular choice. From photos of originals and the few that I've had the chance to study, it appears that the flesh side of the leather was turned to the outside and the smoother, hair side ended up on the inside. This makes perfect sense, as you wouldn't want your gold dust clinging to rough side of the leather. Finally, the string ties used to close the bag, were occasionally attached at the side seam during construction and located near the opening of the bag.

An Original Gold Bag with Evidence of Wax Seals
Source, Online Auction

     An interesting clue as to how these bags were used, is the telltale bits of sealing wax that seem to decorate many original bags. After the bag was tied shut and weighed, sealing wax would be dripped on the string ties to deter tampering during shipment. In the example shown, the seals were probably intended to identify the handlers prior to or during shipping as they are not near where the ties would be. You will also see original bags with a name, location and the amount of gold, written on the outside in ink (see "California's Best", Brad & Brian Whitherell, pg. 115 for several examples).

Unused Original Gold Bag
Manufactured for and Sold by
John C. Morrison Jr. & Co. S.F. Cal.
Circa Mid-1850's
Source, Online Auction

     Not long ago, a facinating gold bag appeared on an online auction. It turned up far away from the California gold fields and in unused condition. What made this bag interesting to me, was how well it was marked.
Near the open end of the bag, is the stamp of John C. Morrison, Jr. & Co.  Mr. Morrison is listed as an "importer" in the San Francisco directory of 1852-1853, but at a different address than the stamp. Since the label claims "Manufactured expressly for", the bag might have been discovered near it's orignal source and never actually made the trip West.

Close-up of Original Label
on the Morrison Bag

     After I made my replica of the Morrison bag, I tried a little experiment to simulate the printed label found on the original. Using Microsoft Word, I composed a facsimile of the label with similar typefaces and shrunk it to size. My wife then reversed the image on her computer. I printed this final example on our copier, with the ink set to dark. With the printed label face down on the finished bag, I pressed the back side of the paper with a hot iron for a few seconds, to transfer the image to the leather. I think it worked quite nicely as an impression of the original.

    A little trick I learned while making my replica bags, (purists, please forgive me) is to carefully apply Aleene's Tacky Glue to hold the layers of leather together at the seam, before punching the holes and hand sewing with waxed linen thread. The object is to use only enough glue along the outer edge of the three layers to hold them until they're secured with a tight, overcast stitch. Once the bag is turned to the outside, you can carefully trim the welt back with sharp scissors and hopefully no glue will show.

My Replica Bags
Photo Lindy Miller 2012

    Of the three replica bags in the picture, my favorite is the J. App & Co. from Jamestown. The original is on display at the Museum in Columbia State Historic Park and secured in a case.  I could only guess the dimensions but still managed to pull off a decent replica. I love the hand lettering and how it dissapears into the seam. To me, this suggests that the bag was most likely locally made as the inking was done before the seam was stitched.

     It's hard to imagine how many "rocks" it would take to fill one of these large "pockets", let alone the amount of labor to dig them up. Just routine business in Gold Rush California.

Eureka Moments Revisited Part 5, A Gold Rush Shopping Spree

     Sometime around 2000 (the exact date escapes me) Columbia State Historic Park was contacted by an out-of-state bookdealer who had a treasure to sell.  In the pursuit of primary resources for Gold Rush material culture, it's hard to imagine anything better than the written accounts of what merchants sold to miners and that's what the dealer had.  He offered original California Gold Rush daily ledger books for  1853-'55 from the "Vanderwerker and Jacobs Store" in the neighboring town of Springfield. What an opportunity ! There was, of course, a scramble at the Park for money (these things don't come cheap) but with the help of the docents' cooperating association, the ledgers were purchased.



The Gold Rush Town of Springfield
Early 1850's
Image Collection of Matthew R. Isenburg



     Soon after they arrived, I had the opportunity to view them and I was immediately swept up in the chance to read a first-hand record of the raw consumerism, birthed by the Gold Rush. One immediate challenge was trying to read all of the different hands. There were obviously several clerks keeping accounts. More importantly though, I began to wonder how to turn this information into something useful. I was starting to feel overwhelmed as I pondered the commitment it would take to transcribe the books, but what the heck, who else would do this ?  I asked Ranger Sherrin Grout if there was any chance I could secure copies of the books. I was blown away by her generous offer to do it for me. So, with copies of the ledgers in hand my work began.

A Page From My Copy of the Original Ledger Book
Photo Lindy Miller 2012

     This post is a little different for my blog. It's mostly data with little to no illustrations as I didn't feel compelled to jazz it up with pictures. I hope the curious reader will still find it interesting and let their imagination provide the visuals. I decided to explore the earliest ledger of 1853 and felt that by organizing the purchases into catagories, complete with tallies as to their frequency, it might give us insight into the miner's buying patterns. Most established Gold Rush communities had many general merchandise stores, so at best this is a sampling and not conclusive. The lists start with a category title, followed by the top ten items in that category. Behind each item is a number that represents the number of sales of that item for the year. Next, you will occasionally see in brackets additional descriptions of the item from the ledgers. These additons were random and infrequent but still important clues to the products. I have carefully listed the items as they were written with no interpretation on my part. So, let's begin with.....

CATEGORY
  
Item      # of Sales      Description


FOOD

Sugar  130  ( crushed, mat )
Butter  120  (with keg)
Flour  92  (sack, barrel, can, buckwheat, rye)
Potatoes  88
Pork  60
Beans  59  (sack)
Ham  56
Apples  42  (can)
Meal  33  (corn)
Molasses  33

SPICES, CONDIMENTS & FOOD ADDITIVES

Vinegar  43  (bottle)
Saleratus  37
Syrup  24
Pepper  26  (box, can, paper)
Cream of Tartar  9  (box)
Cinnamon  8  (box)
Peppersauce  7
Nutmeg  7
Cloves  6  (ground)
Mustard  5 (bottle )

DRINK & TOBACCO

Tea  79  (paper of)
Tobacco  78  (plug, paper of, box of)
Brandy  63
Coffee  55  (ground)
Whiskey  30  (bottle)
Gin  27
Cigars  9
Wine  4  (port)
Claret  4
Liquor   2

CLOTHING

Shirt  82  (hickory, twilled over-, red, grey woolen, white, wool, red wool, grey wool, blue wool )
Pants  56  (kersey, cotton, superior, S.G., grey, grey wollen, fancy, linen)
Boots  44
Socks  60  (cotton hose, cotton, wool)
Shoes  36
Hat  20   (panama)
Handkerchief  15  (pocket, cotton)
Drawers  9
Suspenders  6
Undershirt  5

TEXTILES & NOTIONS

Muslin  25  (brown, bleached)
Duck  23
Calico  12
Drill  12
Thread  10  (spool, hank, linen)
Flannel  6  (red)
Oilcloth  4
Ticking  4
Satinett  3
Neddles  3  (and palm)

HARDWARE, TOOLS, MINING TOOLS ETC.

Shovel  30
Hoe  20  (flat tom, improved tom)
Pail  19  (bucket, tin, water)
Pick  11
Hammer  8  (sledge)
Axe Helve  7
Butts  6
Saw  6  (crosscut, wood)
Pick Handle  7  (helve)
Gold Blower  5

BUILDING MATERIALS

Nails  104  (wrought)
Tacks  29  (paper of)
Lumber  29  (flooring, boards, joice, ribs)
Rope   14 (barrel of, manilla)
Twine  11  (ball of)
Shingles  5
Paint  3  (black)
Blind Fastenings  1
Pickets  1
Posts  1

HOUSEWARES

Candles  104  (box of)
Plates  35  (soup, dining, large, pie, tea)
Matches  23  (box of)
Broom  16
Blankets  15  (pair of, grey)
Knife  13  (chopping, pocket)
Spoon  11  (table, tea)
Knives and Forks  10
Cups  5
Quilts  4  (Maryland, bed)

MEDICINES ETC.

Oil  12   (can of, Carter)
Camphor  6
Sulphur  5
Sarsaparilla  4
Turpentine & Whiskey  3
Cassia   3
Turpentine  2  (spirits of)
Seidlitz Powder  2  (box of)
Camphor & Turpentine  1
Pain Killer  1  (bottle)

NOTE:  Apparently, some of the customers were making up their own "home remedies". Turpentine combined with Whiskey is a purgative and Camphor mixed with Turpentine is a pesticide or inhalent for lung congestion. Further down the list was Whiskey and Camphor, which apparently made a passable liniment or could be injested for pneumonia. Scarey eh ?

PERSONAL

Soap  52  (shaving, bar, box of, cake of)
Paper  21  (letter, writing, wrapping)
Ink  7  (bottle of)
Cards  5  (playing, pack of)
Brush  5  (shaving, tooth)
Pens  4  (box of)
Book   4 (pocket, blank, memo)
Purse  2
Shoe Blacking  1
Razor  1

       This is where I decided to stop for this post. The list of items in each category goes on and on. The categories I left out were Gunpowder and related items and Animals and Feed. I hope the sampling gives the reader at least a sense of what was available in these mining towns. It created more questions than answers for me but that's the beauty of it. I'm still researching the data and thinking of other ways to oganize it, like how many pounds of something sold in a year.

     There were groupings of items that don't show up in the above lists that tell the story of the entrepreneurs who started a ranch or boarding house or bought the tools to ply a trade like carpentry. There it is in black and white, the story of men trying to make it in this crazy place called California, not that long ago.

Eureka Moments Revisited Part 4, Levis in the Gold Rush, Myth or Fact ?

    The California Gold Rush produced enough wealth to finance countless business ventures but very few survived to the present day. One of the survivors of that turbulent time is the world renown Levi Strauss & Co. What this post will explore, is the truth behind the persistent story that Levi Strauss sewed blue jean trousers for miners, in the early days of the Gold Rush.

     During my first year of volunteering at Columbia State Historic Park, I was told by the docent in charge of men's costumes, that it was a "fact" that Levi Strauss had personally made canvas trousers for miners from the sailcloth of abandoned ships in San Francisco harbor. He explained that the reason the fabric was dyed blue, was because Levi wanted to hide the fact that the canvas was soiled. Over the years, I have heard many tales of the origins of blue jeans, some even from teachers, who I know have access to accurate information. I've read skewed examples of the story in history books and cringed when I heard "talking head" historians tell their version, in several documentary films. The thing that makes me crazy is that there is an element of truth in some of the "tales" but the actual story is far more interesting. Today's Levi Strauss & Co. has made every effort to tell the true history but the myths continue. I will try to shed some light on this story and then show and tell how I made my own pair of "early" Levis that I use to teach with.




Levis Strauss
Gold Rush Merchant
image courtesy abcpedia.us


    The story starts in 1853, with the arrival in San Francisco of a Bavarian immigrant named Levi Strauss. Levi was acting on behalf of his family's New York dry goods company, J. Strauss Brother & Co., with the intention of starting a new business in the boom or bust "City by the Bay". Dry Goods merchants typically sold fabric and ready-made clothing as their staples and Levi was no exception. He immediately began wholesaling to other merchants who could barely keep up with the needs of their consumers, namely miners. So, here is your first element of truth. A miner could have purchased a pair of typical, strudy work trousers from his local merchant that might have been from Levis's wholesale warehouse, but they would have been made elsewhere, most likely back East. Nothing remarkable here, just the business of business. So what was the big deal that starts the ball rolling towards the birth of the iconic blue-jean ? Well, that isn't until 1873, long after the gold-crazed rush had settled down a bit.

Illustration from the Original
1873 Davis Patent

     A Reno Nevada tailor named Jacob Davis was a good customer of Levi Strauss in the early 1870's. Jacob purchased his fabric from Levi to make his stock-in-trade clothing, some of which was for laborers and Comstock miners. A woman customer had requested that Jacob come up with a way to make sturdier trousers for her husband. Jacob hit on the idea of riveting the seams of his trousers, at their stress points, to improve their longevity. It was so successful that he could barely keep up with the demand for his "new" riveted trousers or waist overalls as they were called. Sensing that his idea might get away, Jacob approached his old business associate Levi Strauss, with the thought of having him help patent this revolutionary concept. Levi knew a good thing when he saw it and the rest is history. Jacob ended up with job at Levi's, producing the new trousers that would soon take the world by storm. The only reason they used blue denim jean, was because it was a favorite fabric choice for work-wear, nothing more. So, what did these first Blue Jeans look like ?

Oldest Pair of Levis, Held by
Lynn Downey, L.S. & Co. Historian
image courtesy fashioncraz.com

      Unfortunately, Levi Strauss & Co. lost all of their early records in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, but on occasion, rare historical material relating to the company, will surface. In the recent past, L. S. & Co. was lucky enough to purchase what they believe is the earliest surviving pair of  jeans, dated circa 1879. When I studied the pictures of those trousers, I discovered that this earliest survivor shares a lot with its modern 501 cousin. The single back pocket,  belted-back and lack of belt loops are the most obvious differences.

My Replica
Images Lindy Miller 2012

     For my replica, I chose to use Past Patterns #710 Union Issue Trowsers pattern to start with. I had to alter the pattern's side pocket design to duplicate the traditional scooping front pockets of the original trousers. My modern 501 jeans gave me just the clues I needed to amend the pattern. A medium weight, 100% cotton denim was easy enough to locate as it's still a common staple in the fabric world. I used the smallest, 2 piece, solid copper rivets I could find and brass 4 hole buttons, which I modified with the addition of a rim and depressed center. I found it was easy to use an awl to open a hole for the rivets, rather than punching one. After wearing the trousers off and on for a year, they've started to look the part of a survivor. It's not a perfect replica as I'm not trying to deceive anyone. The reason I created this replica was to use it as a visual aid while teaching a "truer" version of one of the greatest success stories that ever came out of Gold Rush California.

Replica Rear View

     If you wish more information on the history of the Levi Strauss & Co., I would suggest you visit their website or purchase a copy of  " Images of America, Levi Strauss & Co.", by Lynn Downey, Arcadia Publishing 2007.

Historic Costume Recreations Revisited or A Suspended Project Revived

     I think it's safe to say that people involved in historical crafts, normally have a backlog of projects. It's also a fact that once in awhile a "future" project slips through the cracks. That is exactly what happened to this undertaking, until recently rediscovered.

The original pattern from
Godey's Lady's Magazine, April 1864
Photos Lindy Miller 2012

    Many years ago, someone gave me a pattern for men's crocheted suspenders from the April 1864 issue of Godey's Lady's Magazine. At one point, I made the effort to chase down silk yarn (Empire Silk, Karabella Yarns) and even dyed white yarn to create the "maize" color required. My wife is a great knitter, but since she doesn't crochet, I had to find someone to take this on. Apparently, I wasn't very successful, as the yarn and pattern ended up in a bag, buried and forgotten for almost a decade. Now rediscovered, the project finally got rolling again thanks to the unknown talent of my wife's friend Connie. I knew Connie was a stellar seamstress but I didn't know she crocheted. Yeah !!

Crocheted Strips Completed
 Calf and Kid Ends with Holes Punched
Ready for Stiching

     Once the crocheted strips were completed, I dampened and blocked them to shrink their width slightly. One of the great things about this pattern was the illustration that accompanied it. I've been collecting and studying 19th Century suspenders for years and felt confident to interpret what original examples might have looked like. There certainly is some latitude here, as this pattern was intended for home use. For the leather fittings, I chose a light weight, vegetable tanned calf for the top, and white kid for the underside.

Ends Showing Linen Canvas Extension
and Kid Backside

     When you study the illustration, it appears that the buttonholes were bound. From what I've found, bound button holes seem to appear on nicer versions of suspenders. Since the instructions suggest, " .....a little elasticity is desirable." in the crochet work, I feel that the extender section on the back, must have been  a simple section of canvas, rather than an elastic tape. When you look at it, there appears to be a seam in the middle.

Nelson Goodyear's Patented 1849
Elastic Cord Suspender Ends
Note the Bound Buttonholes

    A "little elasticity" is a good thing in suspenders, so I thought I would augment the crochet with a little elastic cord on the front attachment, courtesy of Nelson Goodyear's patent of 1849.  For the buckle I chose the ubiquitous Hartshorn style, patented in 1855. All of the leather was saddle-stitched with a waxed linen thread and I decided to go ahead and bind the buttonholes with kid, which gave them a nice finished look.

One Side Completed and One
On the Way

     I think they turned out swell, with more than a little help from our friend. Thanks Connie !! You made it happen. Now I have to keep my eye's peeled for more "buried" projects.

Eureka Moments Revisited Part 3, A Divine Project or "The Lord's Cradle"

     Not that Lord !, I'm talking about Israel Shipman Pelton Lord. Way back in 1999, I purchased a copy of the book, "At the Extremity of Civilizaton", An Illinois Physician's Journey to California in 1849, from the author Necia Dixon Liles. Necia promised a good read and I was not dissapointed. The book is described as a "Meticulously Descriptive Diary of an Illinois Physician's Journey in 1849 Along the Oregon Trail to the Goldmines and Cholera of California, Thence in Two Years to Return by Boat Via Panama by Israel Shipman Pelton Lord."

     Descriptive far beyond the usual journal, Lord's account holds details about his experiences that minutia junkies like myself feast on. One of the many delights in this book was Lord's description of a typical Cradle or Rocker, as used in the Gold Rush. In an earlier post, I had mentioned that I used this description to create authentic replica cradles for years, when I had an interpretive carpenter's shop in Columbia State Historic Park. All of the examples I once crafted are long gone but just recently, some pending projects had steered me towards creating one more. I thought it would be fun to share this classic cradle with the reader.

 Detail From an Original Gold Rush Daguerreotype
Showing a Carpenter's Shop in Jacksonville
Image Source Online Auction

     Let's start with Lord's description, from page 221, dated Thursday, March 14, 1850. " Many attempts have been made to improve upon the common rocker, or cradle, for separating the gold from the earth; and in my opinion all have most signally failed. The form is very similar to that of the article of the same name, used to rock children in, and here occasionally put to that use. Think of a cradle worth $55. The common size is four feet long, from sixteen to twenty inches wide on the top, and from six to eight inches deep. The bottom is laid down - from nine to twelve inches broad; next a piece five or six inches wide stands off on each side at an angle of 45 degrees; and then two pieces of like width perpendicular above them, forming  a trough with five unequal sides. These top pieces, at a point about two-fifths from one end, are slanted off, at about the same angle, towards each end; thus making the longest end, or foot of the cradle, the shallowest.

My Version of Lord's Cradle
Note the removeable handle
and reenforced corners, both period details
Photos Lindy Miller 2012

     But this figure is only to lessen the weight, and make it a little more ship-shape. The short end, or head, slopes, perhaps, an inch and a half, and the long one, or foot, over two inches. A piece is next nailed across each end to close it up, the foot having an opening one and a half inches above the bottom, and two inches or less wide, extending to within an inch and a half of the sides of the cradle. A cleat an inch and a half wide is nailed across the bottom at the junction of the two sections and the cradle, and another, midway between that and the foot. In each side (inside) of the head section, is nailed a thin strip of wood, slanting from near the top downwards towards the head, to within two or three inches of the bottom. On this is placed a thin frame, like the screens in a fanning mill, with a piece across the middle, on which is stretched a piece of strong cotton or linen cloth. This reaches to within two or three inches of the head.

Riddle Box lifted to reveal Apron ("cloth plane")

      A box five or six inches deep, and tapering toward the head to four, covering the whole upper section, with the bottom of sheet iron or zinc, punched with holes about two inches apart, and from one half to three-fourths of an inch in diameter, is hung to the head of the cradle by a couple of common three-inch butts. A handle is screwed to the side, and a couple of short rockers, with a short iron pin in the middle of the bottom of each, and the animal is ready to go. It is placed by the water, on a slight frame of two side pieces and two end ones,in the middle of each of which is a hole for the pin in the rocker to play in. These keep the cradle in its place.

Apron removed to show "thin strips of wood"
for support

     Two lazy men sometimes work it, but usually one man is sufficient. He stands or sits with the left hand on the handle, which stands out more or less from the cradle, and in his right which is toward the head, a tin dipper holding two or three quarts. About a pail full of earth is thrown into the box, and the cradler begins to rock backwards and forward, constantly throwing on water, until all is washed that will go through the holes in the metal bottom. The remainder is thrown out, by quickly raising the end of the box, and then the process is repeated.

Underside, showing "rockers", "iron pin(s)",
 bedpiece ("slight frame") and plugs for the drain holes

     Whatever goes through the holes is washed down the inclined cloth-plane, which lies under-and drops into the bottom of the cradle at the very head. From this point it is washed, dashing from side to side, traversing the whole length of the cradle, the bottom of which inclines toward the foot about four and a half inches, tumbling and rolling and whriling over the cleats, and finally rushes out at the opening in the foot.

     Some of the gold usually stays on the cloth plane, unless it is very tensly stretched on the frame - most of the remainder is found in the upper section of the cradle, and some reaches the space between the first and second cleats - seldom lower. When the half day's or day's work is done the cloth is cleaned off into a pan, and the earth and gold in the upper section, and between the first and second cleats of the lower, are put back into the box and run through again.  What remains in the same section is drawn off through holes in the bottom (which at other times are kept plugged) into the pan with what was taken from the cloth and "panned out", such is the term used."

      So, there you have it. During the period, cradles could be as different as the men who built them but they usually followed a similar pattern. I've always liked this particular cradle for many reasons, not the least being that it's extremely effective at processing material and it's just a great looking example, "ship-shape", as Lord put it. For those who are curious, I used full dimension, rough cut pine for most of the construction and cut-nails from Tremont Nail . All the steel is uplated and when I used screws, I removed their plating to keep it reasonably authentic. Rock on !!

Further Digging Into Our Colonial Past, Uncovers a Truly "American" Clay Pipe

      While I was researching 17th Century clay pipes for an earlier post, I came across a style of pipe that I had never seen before. It wasn't at all like the common Dutch or English, white (ball) clay variety, with their bulbous, tiny bowls. This completely different style of pipe is known to archaeologists as a Chesapeake or Colono Pipe. You will sometimes see them identified as Local Pipes, Terra-cotta Pipes, Virginia Pipes or even just Red or Brown Pipes. The evidence suggests that they were produced by local craftsman during most of the 17th Century but apparently fell out of favor by the 18th Century.

A Classic But Plain Chesapeake Pipe
from Emmanuel Drew, 1650-1669
Image Courtesy losttowns.com

     For decades there's been an ongoing debate as to who actually produced these pipes. Strong cases have been made for a probable Native American origin. Other scholars contend that the West African style designs, found on some versions, point to enslaved or indentured African craftsman. This discussion took on a new dimension when it was discovered that an Englishman named Emmanuel Drue, was making his own version of Chesapeake pipes at Swan Cove Maryland. This discovery suggested the possibility that a variety of people were producing this style of pipe at the same time, for personal or local consumption. It now appears that there may have been some sort of "cultural fusion" going on in the early colonies, as these groups freely borrowed from each other in the expression of their craft.

Chesapeake Pipe Fragments Showing Typical Decorations
Image Source Unknown




     What made these pipes interesting to me, is that with the "blending" of cultural influences, in their form and decorations, they became distinctively "American". I think that is worth celebrating, and for me, what better way than to create a replica. There was only one problem, I knew nothing about how to make a clay pipe. Now that this project is behind me and I know a little bit more, I would like to share what I learned with the reader. What the heck, you might want to try it yourself.  I found it a very rewarding and successful project.

An Original Brass Pipe Mold
 19th Century
Note the Bowl Shaper and Vent Wire
Image Courtesy pijpenkabinet

     The first thing I decided, was that I wanted to press solid clay in a mold, rather than pour liquid clay slip into a mold. I felt that this would make a sturdier product and be closer to the way many originals were made. It appears that most original molds were made of cast metal although I did find some primitve wooden ones. I chose to make my mold out of plaster-of-paris, poured around a wooden model of the intended pipe. I also had to plan out how the bowl's interior would be shaped during the clay molding process and how the wire would be inserted for the vent hole. Many clues as to how this was accomplished came from watching a youtube of the last Dutch clay pipe maker at work. He made it look so easy but I knew better.




One of Drue's Pipes
Showing the Use of Rouletting
Wheel
Image Courtesy chipstone.org


     I decided to use the pipes of Emmanuel Drue as my inspiration, mostly because of a fascinating article by Al Luckenbach about the discovery of Mr. Drue and the importance of his work ( Ceramics in America 2004, "The Swan Cove Kiln: Chesapeake Tobacco Pipe Production, Circa 1650-1669 "). Plus, I really loved the way he decorated his pipes using rouletting wheels and custom made stamps. I felt that with enough effort, I could replicate the look and feel of his pipes.

Another of Drue's Pipes
Showing His Custom Stamps
Image Courtesy chipstone.org 

     After crafting the wooden model for the pipe, I sealed it with beeswax, which hopefully would act as a mold release. When designing  the two-part plaster mold, I took into account the usual indentations that key the two halves together. In addition, I thought it best to include two stable dowel slides to guide the halves during the pressing of the clay. Next, I shaped the bowl's interior forming tool of wood and sized it to allow for a fairly thin walled bowl. The depth of the tool was critical as it has to connect with the vent wire, when inserted in the clay. The vent wire had to be thought out as well, as the clay shrinks a little when drying and a little more during firing in the kiln. I used a 1/8" brass rod for the venting wire and gave it a stop collar to maintain its proper depth, when inserted.

My Pipe Factory
Showing from the bottom up,
 Pipe Pattern, Paper Template, 2 Piece Mold,
Bowl Shaper, Vent Wire, Knife, Stamps and Rouletting Wheel
Photos Lindy Miller 2012

     After the plaster mold dried for several days, I bravely began experimenting with the clay and immediately found that there is no substitute for time and patience. The clay I used was Rustone from Columbus Clay in Ohio. It has great modeling properties and fires to a nice terra-cotta color at cone 6. One of earliest challenges after hand rolling out the basic clay form, was carefully piercing the soft clay stem with the vent wire. You have to do it without poking it out the side. I kept thinking of the Dutch pipe maker when he was a beginner, not how skilled he was after thousands of pipes.

Step #1
Rolling Out the Clay
Note the Inserted Bowl Shaper

          I found that by inserting the bowl tool first and then removing it, I could at least see the end of the wire poking into what would become the inside bottom of the finished bowl. All of this is before you go near the plaster mold. Once the vent wire was is in place and the bowl tool removed, I trimmed the clay to a proper length. Next came bending the soft clay into the proper angle and laying it all into one half of the plaster mold.

Step #2
Inserting the Vent Wire



     Once that was accomplished, I lined up the other half of the plaster mold on the wooden dowels and pressed the two halves together. You have to press pretty hard but also keep in mind that the mold is only fragile plaster. In the original process, with metal molds, they used a leverage press or a vise. Once the mold was closed as far as possible, I inserted the bowl tool once more but only to the allowable depth. A few turns of the tool and it was removed.

Step #3
Clay Form is Layed in Mold Half

       Next came checking the vent wire, to see if it was visible at the bottom of the bowl. If all was well, I gently pulled the mold halves apart and released the pipe from one half of the mold. After trimming off the flashing around the pipe outline, I gently lifted it out of the mold, using a finger in the bowl and the end of the vent wire for support. What comes next is more than a little tricky. You have to pull out the vent wire from the soft clay without making a mess of the whole thing. This took practice and produced a number of failed attempts but hey.....that's half the fun. It's only clay you know. You roll it up and try again.

Step #4
After the Pressing
Ready for Trimming and Removal



     After the blank clay pipes were air dried for a couple of hours, I carefully picked them up and began the decorating process. Yeah !! Now we're into the fun stuff, right ? Maybe. This was also the best time to clean-up any left over flashing and check for cosmetic problems. To recreate something approximating the original rouletting tools, I used old clock gears that I was lucky to have. After stacking three gears together, I soldered them into a single tool. For the stamps, I carved the ends of dowels to match a negative of the original designs. By experimenting with their impression, I finally came up with something close to Drue's originals. I found out that it took a direct and slightly firm hand to stamp and roll out the designs in the soft clay. By inserting the bowl tool back into the pipe for support, I could decorate the outside of the bowl without collapsing it. I learned all of this the hard way.

The Fruit of My Labor
Note the Stamped Designs


       Once all the finished pipes were dry enough, they were fired in our kiln to turn into what I think are reasonable replicas of an obscure but important piece of Americana. A little bit of recreated history from the forgotten century of our great nation's past.

Lots of Fruit !!