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THE MECHANICK' S ADVISER
for the week of December 20 - 26
Apothecary —Background
research
for a podcast for PPLV is in progress,
as is the
Winter Training class preparation.
Armoury:
Blacksmith —
They are making claw hammers and chisels for the Carpenters, and mattocks for a Great Hopes
Agricultural program. The sign bracket for the Pitt Store is being complete, and cooking forks for Prentis Store are being
forged. The apprentice is working on an iron rim lock and box iron as fmal projects.
Tin Shop —They are completing lanterns for lighting in the new Trades shops, and a lanthorn for the Museum of the
American Revolution. They are also making funnels and soldier' s tin cups.
A Christmas
Note —
coal in their Christmas
Ken Schwarz pointed out that a lump of coal IS a gift to a Blacksmith, so they HOPE to find
stockings!
Artificer' s Shop —They are filling a variety of work orders from various Colonial Williamsburg departments.
Please be advised that work requests must be summited by email to jhowlett@cwf. org and copied to smonaco @cwf.org.
Basketmaker —
They are making baskets for Prentis Store for Christmas sales.
Bindery — They continue to work on a music book and binding law books for the Capitol.
Brickmaker — The Brickyard
is closed for the season.
However, on days when the weather is favorable,
they will open the Brickyard and work on dismantling the clamp. Just look for the flag.
Cabinetmaker —
Work continues on two pedestal music stands, a decorated tea caddy, a wing chair, and a spinet.
Candlemaker —
Work continues on creating job descriptions for Junior Interpreter and Volunteer positions, and on
shop interpretation and training. Several people have expressed interest in the new program, and ideas for voluntary cross
training and temporary duty assignments are being floated across departmental lines.
Joe Beatty provided documentary evidence of the career of Morto Brien in Williamsburg, including the location
of his workshop. The evidence only raises more questions, such as whether Mr. Brien was a Patriot or some kind of
Loyalist spy. More on that as the investigation proceeds....
Carpenters —
They are building a shed and making shingles.
Coopers —
Here is a picture of a current project Jon Hallman is working on for the Woodworking Symposium this
January. This is a collaborative piece with the Cabinetmakers. The Cabinetmakers are making the stand as Jon is making
the mahogany oval wine cooler. This is a replica of the original that is on display in the dining room at the Governor' s
Palace. You will also notice Jon had two little friends helping him.
Volume
1, issue
16
�Foodways —
They will be working on some more decorative foods to represent the kinds of things found at a
holiday ball.
Great Hopes
Plantation —
Farming: Cotton picking is over, and they have grubbed out all of the plants and plowed the ground. Given the warm
weather, they decided to plant clover as a cover crop. Remarkably, it came up well, and they look forward to the nitrogenbuilding benefit of this plant. They are bringing in soil and compost to fill low spots in the fields. Woodworking projects
continue including benches and a chicken brooder. They have sweated the tobacco and will tie the leaves into " hands" in
the next two weeks.
Domestic Arts:
Stef Dunn, Great Hopes'
Domestic
Arts Specialist,
cooked with chef Travis Brust for the Committee
100 composed of the top 100 CEOs in the country. She used a period recipe in contrast to modern versions of CW' s chefs.
This and other initiatives
are
part of their link to the " Farm to Table"
Movement
that provides
relevance
to guests'
modern lives and experiences.
After
all, what Great Hopes does in farming and gardening
is the original farm to table! They look forward to more collaborations with CW' s restaurants and taverns in the coming
year. They are working hard to bring loads of compost and manure into both the Kitchen and Slave gardens in the coming
weeks to enhance the soil and prepare the ground for early planting of greens and other vegetables in March.
Gun Shop /Foundry —
The Gunsmiths continue stocking the rifle. The work on the cased pair of pistols continues.
The Founders continue work on the pewter stuffing spoons and counterfeit coins.
Historic
Garden —
Winterizing has begun. They have begun to make hoops and structures to put canvas over the
broccoli and the artichokes when it gets cold. They are also starting to think about the hotbeds and what might go in them
when they start them the second week of January. Lots of tidying up and making sure the garden stays clean.
Joiners — Design
work continues on the gazebo for the Woodworking Conference, and a new cutting bench for the
Artificer' s Shop is underway.
Volume
1, issue
16
�Millinery — Here is a picture of the completed wedding gown that was
made during the program " Dressing the Fashionable Bride: A Gown in
Three Days ", held Dec 8th through
the 10th.
Printers — The pressmen will finish the Beggar' s Opera playbill, to be
followed by blank Tobacco Crop notes and Transfer notes to be sold in the
Post Office.
Silversmith —
They are working on various sorts of spoons ( including mote spoons), salt shovels, Gurney Bowls
and a fluted bowl, a pair of patty pans, a pair of raised beakers, trade silver jewelry, rings, and letter charms, a 1 2- inch
Montieth (particularly, raising the body and the base), and ladles.
Please note that at any given time, not all of these items will be being worked on, but all will be available to be seen and
discussed with anyone who is interested.
Tailors — As
is the tradition of the trade, they are taking a Christmas Holiday. Otherwise, when here, they will be
sewing on breeches.
Wheelwright — They
continue to repair the ox cart. Two new Apprentices began work at the shop on December
14th:
Victoria Tolson —
She formerly worked in the Brickyard and was an intern at Great Hopes.
Biology and Anthropology from the University of Ohio.
She has degrees in
She enjoys weaving as a hobby.
Aaron Walker —
He formerly worked on the Washington Tent project. He has a degree in History from St.
Mary' s College in Maryland. He is an avid rock climber.
Welcome
to them both!!
Wigmaker — Debbie
was in Germany.
is still working on her reproduction of an
18th-
century bob wig that she had studied while she
It has a hand - knotted base, ( which is pretty impressive - only a handful of the wigs that are currently in
circulation or on display have this particular base.) She currently has the base covered and is working on weaving the hair
to then be sewn on to the base, row by row. Pictures are below:
Volume
1, issue
16
�Terry is still working on a handmade wig to be worn by Richard Schumann ( Patrick Henry).
She has completed
the base and the outlining. This week and next week, she will be working on weaving the hair and sewing the wefts to the
base. Betty will be creating a " half wig" for Katharine Pittman, who will be portraying a " young Martha Washington."
All Wig Shop Staff will be working on taking care of the ( elevated) traffic flow of production and street wigs.
With the Holiday programs running, and all of the Fall programs closing and associated wigs being returned, they are
pretty busy at the back up shop. Their big production- at the moment- is the " Harlequin' s Holiday" that will start this
week! Tom Hammond and Jessica have drawn up sketches for the characters wigs, so that the Wigmakers would have
designs to work from.
Here are their " Styles of the Week"
Windmill — Steve
railings for the ladder.
for you!
is working on hand
General maintenance
including cleaning, tarring the exterior parts of
the windshaft, and greasing moving parts will also be done.
Volume
1, issue
16
�We
wish everyone
a
very
Merry
Christmas! !
Volume
1, issue
16
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Mechanick's Adviser
Description
An account of the resource
The Mechanick’s Adviser is a weekly newsletter produced by the Colonial Williamsburg Department of Historic Trades and Skills beginning in September 2015 and continuing to the present. The word “mechanick” is an alternative spelling of “mechanic” and is used here in the more archaic sense meaning a skilled tradesperson or artisan. Some weeks the newsletter was not produced and there is a significant months-long gap in the 2020 newsletters reflecting the pandemic-related limitations and closures of the department. The newsletter relates employee news and the current work projects and research of the various trades’ shops belonging to the department as well as other groups described as “skills” including military, music, and dance programs.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Mechanick's Adviser. Volume 1, issue 16, for the week of December 20-26
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Department of Historic Trades and Skills
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-12