James
I will send it too you but since I picked it up off the net I'm not sure how much clearer it will be.
I think sometimes we get an over romantic vision of 18th century gunmakers/craftsmen.The idea that the gunsmith went into the woods and harvested his gunstock and made every part of the rifle right down to the last screw.The reality is he used imported items when available just the same as we do today.Read through these advertisements from the Pennsylvania Gazette compliments of Eric Kettenburg.They just scratch the surface but give an idea of the volume of good being imported.Gun mounts,sheet iron,assorted wood screws,iron,steel,tools.........
August 26, 1772
The Pennsylvania Gazette
BENJAMIN POULTNEY,
Has imported in the Chalkley, and other vessels from Bristol, a neat assortment of IRONMONGERY, which he has for sale, wholesale and retail, at his ironmongery store, at the sign of the Crown and Anvil, in Market street, about Fourth street, and opposite the sign of the Conestogoe Waggon, where such persons as will please to favour him with their custom, may be supplied with the following articles, at the very lowest prices, and of the best qualities, viz. ANVILS, vizes, beak irons, sledge and hand hammers, mill and crosscut saws, Stedmanrefined and common steel plate, hand, pannel, and tennant ditto; sash, dovetail, compass, and woodcutters saws; 24 and 26 inch common iron ditto; flat, half round, 3 square, and round files, from 3 to 14 inches; long and short firmers, from 1/8th to 2 inches, mortice, turning and socket chissels and gouges; plane irons of most sizes and kinds; brass and iron headed shovels and tongs; 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 inch brass knob locks; brass knob bow and long latches; 4, 5, and 6 inch iron rim locks; chest, cupboard, clockcase, and prospect ditto; padlocks, of various sorts; horse ditto; rifle gun barrels and locks; 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 and 14 inch stock locks; brass handles and escutcheons for desks, drawers, &c. locks for ditto; 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 inch brass H hinges; deskfall, prospect, and clockcase ditto; deskfall and cupboard brass locks; brass knobs, turn buttons, and cloak pins, of various sizes; silvered coffin furniture; 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 inch iron H and HL hinges; rule joint, table, writing desk, dovetail, and chest ditto, of several sizes; 2d. 3d. 4d. 5d. and 6d. sprigs; trunk, clout, and hob nails; tenter hooks and tacks; 3d. 4d. 6d. 8d. 10d. 12d. and 20d. nails; 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inch very best bright augers; center, spool, chair, pinning, and dowel bitts; common and kirby fishhooks; snap and wire mousetraps; steel mink ditto; drawing knives; carpenters and coopers axes and adzes; faggotted, blistered and German steel; shoemakers hammers, pincers, nippers, awl blades, and tacks; steel coffee and box spicemills; steelyards; curriers quarter and half knives, with steels for ditto; sash lines, and box pullies; spinning wheel and flat irons; buck, shambuck, and split bone table knives and forks; butchers knives, 1/2 inch to 2 1/2 inch woodscrews; 8 by 6, 9 by 7, 10 by 8, 11 by 9, and 12 by 10, Taylorwindow glass, and putty to put the same in with; 11 by 11, 12 by 12, and 16 by 12, glass for clock faces; castiron bakeovens, saucepans, skillets, griddles, or bake plates, waggon boxes, pestles and mortars, chafing dishes, brass kettles, grindstones, &c. &c. with a number of articles, not here inserted. N. B. Glass cut for clock faces, surveying instruments, window or door lights, either round, oval, or to any pattern or dimensions, at a very reasonable price.
October 3, 1765
The Pennsylvania Gazette
To be sold by the Subscriber, living at the Crown, Cannister and Handsaw, in Second street, between Market and Chestnut streets, for cash or short credit, at reasonable rates... anvils, beek irons, sledge and hand hammers; standing bench and hand vizes, mill, cross cut, hand, tennant, sash, dovetail and compass
saws of several sorts; AC No. 3 London steel; sheet iron, cart boxes, iron pots, brass kettles, tin in boxes; brass and iron wire, brass and iron candlesticks of various kinds and sizes, scale beams, scales and weights, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 inch H and HL hinges; door, desk, drawer, chest, book case, prospect, closet, trunk, gun, pad and horse locks of various sorts, plate bolts from 2 to 12 inches; brass knob and thumb latches; pen, pistol cap, cutteau, pruning, butcher, shoe and table knives, and forks; table, dovetail, chest, desk and strap hinges; a large assortment of joiners tools and brass furniture; silvered and tinned coffin anvils, all kinds of files and rasps, carpenters, coopers and shoemakers tools of all sorts; taylors, glovers and sheep shears; all sorts of screws, screw plates, hand irons, shovels, tongs and bellows, frying and warming pans, gridirons, griddles; temple and Dutch spectacles; an assortment of sadlery; slates and pencils; box
and steel coffee and pepper metals, chest handles, keyrings and swivels, snuffers, half inch, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6d battin, clout and trunk nails; 8, 12, 14 and 16 ounce tacks, tinned ditto, spurs, ivory and horn combs, gimblets, bong and tap borers, wood and wire rat and mouse traps, shoe and knee buckles, scissars, brass cocks, curtain rings, silver watches, watch keys, seals, glasses, pendants and springs; cheese tasters, an assortment of pewter, sad and box irons, hob and pump nails, gun mounting, compass dials, black and tinned curry combs, sash line, pullies and weights, box iron stands, brass inkpots, a large assortment of fish hooks and lines, sewing and knitting needles of several sorts, bed screws, sadlers strainers, ready wrought tin of several sorts, bullet and swan shot moulds, quart and pint black jacks, razors and hones, rag, Crumb creek and oil stones, flints, fire steels, cloak pins, cotton and wool cards, London and American glue, allom, sulphur, brimstone, copperas, madder, chalk, emery, Spanish brown, red, white and bar lead; powder and shot, magnes, yellow oker, antimony, litharge, umber, Prussian blue, verdigrease, vermilion, logwood, braziletto, ground redwood, rosin, salt petre, pepper, alspice, cloves, cinnamon, mace, nutmegs, camphire, gum arabick, gum dragon, blue and white vitriol, ink powder, powder blue, aloes, cream of tartar, borax, Epsom salts, Godfreycordial, Batemandrops, hungary water, lamp black, linseed oil, pipes, spirits of turpentine, varnish... and sundry other things not mentioned. JONATHAN ZANE.
September 29, 1768
The Pennsylvania Gazette
Just imported in the last vessels from London and Bristol, and to be sold by the subscriber, at the sign of the Crown, Cannister and Handsaw, in Second street, between Market and Chestnut streets, a large and general assortment of MERCHANDIZE, among which are the following articles, viz... red and white lead, Spanish brown and whiting, yellow oaker, venetian red, verdigrease, vermilion, Prussian blue, antimony, magnes, madder, ground and stick redwood, bar logwood, fustick, galls, English glue, salt petre, allom, copperas... best steel plate, hand, pannel, tennent, sash, dovetail, and compass saws, common steel ditto, wood cutters, crosscut and mill saws, a very large assortment of smiths and other files and rasps, augers, gouges, chissels, plain and jointer irons, iron squares, carpenters hammers, shingling hatchets, carpenters, joyners, and coopers adzes, hatchets and axes, small house hatchets, drawing knives, and spoke sheaves, center, dowelling, taper and spool bitts, coopers and carpenters iron and steel compasses, turners chissels and gouges, foot, 18 inches, and two feet rules, two feet scales, wood and brass feet size sticks, folding yards, gunter sliding rules, brassnob and ring front door latches, brass front door knockers, brass and iron rimmed, brass nobbed, and ring inside door locks and latches, variety of single and double shot stock locks, strait and crooked round and flat plate bolts, brass knobbed ditto, hooks and hinges, H, HL, and T hinges, chest ditto, black and bright padlocks, desk, drawer, book case, trunk, saddle bag and portmanteau ditto, hasps and staples, table butt hinges... single and double wormed gun screws, gun mounting, pocket and compass dials, fire steels, a large assortment of flat and round head wood screws, screw drivers... smiths standing vizes, black and bright bench and hand ditto, anvils, beck irons, strait and cross pained sledges and hand hammers, rivetting ditto, best London steel, bar iron.... common, half and whole bridle gun locks... &c. &c. &c. JONATHAN ZANE. N.B. All persons indebted to the subscriber, beyond their contracts, are requested to discharge the same, to prevent disagreeable measures.
February 21, 1765
The Pennsylvania Gazette
JAMES SMITH, BRASS FOUNDER, WHO lately lived at the Corner of Coombe Alley, in Front street, now carries on his Business at the North End of Fourth
street, at the Sign of the Bell, and makes and sells all Sorts of Brass Work, large and small Cocks for Brewers, Distillers and Water Works, Brass Chambers for Pumps, Mill Brasses for Grist and Saw Mills, all Sorts of Mill Work for the West dcIndies, Clock, Gun and Sadlers Work, with several other Things too tedious to mention. All Persons who shall apply to the said James Smith. may be supplied with any of the above Articles in the cheapest and best Manner, and Customers may depend on meeting with the best Treatment and Dispatch. Ready Money for old Brass, Copper, or old cast Iron.
If you want to get a better understanding of 18th century craftsman I highly recommend you get a copy of the book "With Hammer in Hand "by Hummel.It documents the Dominy family of clock and furniture makers in East Hampton NY starting in the mid 1700's through the late 1800's.As expected as skilled craftsman of the period they repaired guns regularly.It documents their tools,work and includes sections from their ledger books from 1775-1800.The account of what they were buying and selling is fascinating.They regularly purchased screws,springs,furniture knobs and various other raw materials.It was not uncommon for them to purchase things they could obviously make but it was cheaper and more cost efficient to buy imports(plane irons is one biggie off the top of my head).
Mitch Yates
