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........HAVING BEEN INVITED TO SPEAK TO AUDIENCES AT THE 'RIPE AGE' OF 17 (BACK IN 1990), ANDREW YOUNGS
PRESENTATIONS ARE OFTEN SO MEMORABLE, THAT HE IS FREQUENTLY RECOGNIZED BY FORMER AUDIENCE MEMBERS....
MANY NOW COLLEGE GRADUATES! MANY TEACHERS EXPRESS THANKS TO MR YOUNG FOR INSPIRING THEIR STUDENTS.
THEY OFTEN TELL OF STUDENTS, (WHO HAD PREVIOUSLY SHOWED LITTLE INTEREST IN ANY ACADEMIC SUBJECTS), SUDDENLY
WANTING TO GO TO THE LIBRARY TO LEARN MORE AFTER SEEING YOUNG'S PRESENTATION.
WE ARE ALWAYS BOOKING...inquire
THEY WORE ARMOR IN THE AMERICAN COLONIES ?!?
---you better believe it! LOTS OF IT !
In 1494 Columbus wrote to the Spanish Crown:
"Inasmuch as yesterday, in inspection which was held, the people
were found to be deficient in arms...it seems that it would be well
that 200 cuirasses (breastplates) and a hundred espingardas and a
hundred crossbows should be ordered to be sent...."
A century later colonists in Jamestown wore helmets, neck armour, breastplates and the wealthy were totally encased in armour!
A half century later, the English Civil War raged here, on our soil too. Battles were fought in the 1640s!
Even by the American Revolution, officers wore breastplates under their shirts. John Paul Jones was saved when the hidden breastplate under his shirt caught a bullet round!
.......Armor has been found in every colony from Virginia and Maryland, Maine to New Mexico...even Canada, South and Central America !
Below are examples of REAL piece of armour Mr Young has forged or aquired!
MR YOUNG IS ALSO AN ACCOMPLISHED WORLD REKNOWNED MASTER ARMOURER , AND METALSMITH. BELOW, LEFT WE SEE A RARE GLIMPSE OF A THE STEPS BEHIND THE EVOLUTION OF A LATE 16TH CENTURY BREASTPLATE.... BEING FORGED FROM A RATHER CRUDE AND UGLY FLAT SHEET OF IRON WITH HAMMER AND ANVIL. TO THE RIGHT, BELOW, SEVERAL HELMETS USED.
Authentic pottery shards from early New England settlments presented on display for your students.
A MEDICAL SYRINGE
AN IRON KEY
A CHESS PIECE
17th CENTURY BUCKLE FRAGMENT
A SPUR
A CANDLESTICK
A BOBBIN LACE SPINDLE
A HAIRBRUSH
MERCHANTS SEAL
A "LICE" COMB !
HANDS ON EXPERIENCE ....nothing offers better protection from the elements!
When Mr Young endeavers to research and teach about a period, he tries to delve into many of the crafts of the period. This allows Andrew to better understand how people made and interacted with those artifacts. Lumber (wood) was in fact very high on the list colonial "check list"; it was hugely important as Europe had largely depleted its forests by the 17th century. So, Mr Young has been researching colonial woodworking techniques from felling trees to crafting actual objects like furniture and buckets, tankards, and so forth. No power tools are used ! ...its all hand sawed, riven (split), hewn and joined. And blisters are part of the game!
ORIGINAL IRON CANDLESTICK ,
17th CENTURY
AN EARLY PRINTED PAGE
ORIGINAL HAND BLOWN BOTTLE
ORIGINAL CANDLESTICK
An orignal iron cauldron dating to the 16th - early 18th century
ONE OF SEVERAL FELLED TREES ANDREW HAS CHOPPED
DOWN FOR USE IN MAKING
AUTHENTIC COLONIAL FURNITURE. NOTE THE HUGE TWO-MAN SAW IMMEDIATELY BELOW.. IT IS OVER 5 FEET LONG AND THESE KINDS OF SAWS DATE TO THE 1500S AND WERE USED IN EARLY COLONIES LIKE JAMESTOWN, PLIMOTH,....
GLASSWARE
METAL CONTAINERS
CONTAINERS
AN ENGLISH HELMET...
HELMET USED BY CONQUISTADORS...
A JAMESTOWN TYPE HELMET AND ARMOUR...
AN EXTREMELY HEAVY SHOTPROOF (BULLET PROOF) BREASTPLATE
Here you are seeing the origin of several types of colonial industries: housing, fencing making, furniture creation. Records suggest that a pair of men could cut nearly 100 board feet a day with a two-man saw. However this was extremely hard work and required a suprising degree of skill to create the synchronicity necessary drawing the saw back and forth without it bowing or getting jammed in the tree. In addition, it often required that a deep pit be dug so one man had enough room to draw back the 5-7 foot blade! An alternative was to rive the wood. This process involves splitting the wood apart using wedges that would be driven through the log lengthwise. When the log is riven, it produces very distinct sounds that range between a leather jacket when stretching and a deep groan punctuated by high pitched snaps. It is very similar to what tall trees sound like when the wind blows. Once split, the log is then spit again if needed. The wood is thus "quartered." If cut, this would be called quarter sawn. The major advantage is that the wood is stronger and more stable, less likely to bend or bow.
Here you can see the phases of wood splitting. On the left side is a half log.....a quartered log.... and the lumber yielded, after having been hewn (shaped using an axe and adze).
At this point, felled tree limbs can also be used for creating fences or house walls. The method of "wattle hurdling" involves taking fresh branches (laths) about the size of a thumb (or larger) and removing the smaller sprouted branches. Once the limbs are gathered, they are then divived into general sizes....small, medium, and large. The smaller branches can be woven into garden fences or chicken coups. Larger branches could be used to create the areas in between large timber joined structures. By applying a mixture of lime, mud, and fibrous materials (horse hair, plant fibers, textiles), over the laths (tree branches), the structure becomes very strong and water resistant when dried over time. Thus, wattle and daub wall became the defacto type of housing construction, in one way or another, for literally thousands of years....right up through the mid 19th century.
AS ALWAYS, ANDREW YOUNG'S UNIQUE APPROACH CENTERS AROUND HIS ABILITY TO BRIDGE THE GAPS
BETWEEN THE PAST AND THE PRESENT BY MAKING RELEVANT AGE-BASED ANALOGIES. HE SPEAKS TO
ALL AGE GROUPS BY UTILYZING A DYNAMIC HIGH ENERGY METHOD, PLENTY OF AUDIENCE INTERACTION
AND THOUGHT PROVOKING IDEAS TO HELP STUDENTS SUSPEND THEIR 21ST CENTURY MINDSET AND TO
ENTER THE WORLD OF THE PAST. YET THAT PROCESS HELPS STUDENTS SEE THE MANY SIMILARITIES
BETWEEN "THEM" AND "US." WITHOUT A DOUBT, ONE OF THE MOST UNIQUE AND BELOVED ELEMENTS OF
MR YOUNG'S PRESENTATIONS IS HIS HEALTHY SENSE OF HUMOR. PRINCIPALS AND EDUCATORS AND
PARENTS HAVE ALL REMARKED HOW EASILY STUDENTS (EVEN THOSE WHO ARENT "HISTORY BUFFS") SEEM
TO RELAX AND LEARN IN THE ACADEMIC, YET FUN ATMOSPHERE HE IS ABLE TO CREATE.
A PASSION FOR HISTORY AND TEACHING:
EXPLORATION & EARLY COLONIAL LIFE PRESENTATION
Wow, talk about rare...
An original indentured contract
dated 1700. An exciting find
due to rarity and excellent
condition.
The red dots are actually wax seals from seven distinct notaries and local village officials, mutually acknowledging the legitimacy of the contract.
This original piece is one of literally hundreds of objects Mr Young has worked to acquire over many years....and which he displays for your students to see very closely...and sometimes touch!
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" THE JAMESTOWN CREW AND THE PILGRIMS OWE THEIR COLLECTIVE KNOWLEDGE TO AN AMAZING HISTORY OF DISCOVERY THAT STRETCHED BACK NEARLY 1000 YEARS.... FROM THE VIKING EXPEDITIONS TO MARCO POLO, TO HENRY THE NAVIGATOR AND COLUMBUS; AND ULTIMATELY SPANISH AND FRENCH SETTLMENTS THAT PRECEDED JAMESTOWN BY OVER A CENTURY.
LIFE WAS UNCERTAIN...
THE COLONIES THAT DID SURVIVE OWE THEIR SURVIVAL TO A BREAKDOWN IN EUROPEAN CLASS DISTINCTION, SHREWED PLANNING, NATIVE AMERICAN TOLERANCE..........AND WOOD !"
NEW ADDITIONS: BELOW ARE ACTUAL 17TH CENTURY FURNITURE PIECES MR YOUNG AQUIRED. AN AVID WOODWORKER, MR YOUNG EXPLAINS HOW EARLY COLONIAL FURNITURE WAS CREATED; AND HOW IT DIFFERED FROM THAT MADE IN EUROPE AT THE TIME . BELOW LEFT: THREE CHEST PANELS. RIGHT, THE TOP OF A CHAIR !
And speaking of everyday life, Mr Young has aquired a vast array artifacts pertaining to everyday life....
AS YOU CAN SEE, THE PRESENTATION CONTAINS A WIDE RANGE OF EARLY COLONIAL OBJECTS. THE SHOW FEATURES A CONSTANTLY GROWING COLLECTION (OVER 30 FEET) OF ARTIFACTS AND HIGHLY ACCURATE REPRODUCTIONS RANGING FROM CLOTHING, FURNITURE, TOOLS, ARMOUR, JEWLERY, DAILY OBJECTS AND NATIVE AMERICAN PIECES.
TOPICS DISCUSSED RANGE FROM:
- THE OFTEN OVERLOOKED REASONS EUROPEAN PEOPLES CHOSE TO SET SAIL !
- WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE IN THE FIRST COLONIES
- WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE ON A SHIP
- VARIOUS TOOLS: WHAT COLONISTS USED IN THE HOME, GARDEN, WORKSHOP
- CLOTHING, SHOES, JEWELRY, UTENSILS, FURNITURE, MONEY, LANTERNS...
- CRAFTS & MERCHANTS: HOW THINGS WERE MADE, CHANGES IN COLONIAL PRODUCTS
- ARMOUR: YES THEY WORE ARMOUR IN THE 'NEW WORLD'
- EARLY SLAVERY VS. LATER SLAVERY: WAS THERE A DIFFERENCE ?
- AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE EARLY COLONIES
- INDENTURED SERVITUDE, INDENTURED CONTRACTS
- NAUTICAL TOOLS: HOW DID THEY KEEP THAT SHIP AFLOAT?
- TRADING COMPANIES THAT KEPT MANY COLONIES ALIVE ! (eg HUDSON BAY)
- NATIVE AMERICANS: MR YOUNG'S ANCESTRY IS PENOBSCOT/ABINAKI INDIAN
- AFRO - CARIBBEAN COLONIES (COLUMBUS LANDED IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ! )
- THE VIKINGS!: LESS THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO COLONIAL NAVIGATION BE IGNORED !
A SIMPLE STOOL THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY COMMON IN THE COLONIES. IT IS ENTIRELY HAND MADE; NO POWER TOOLS USED. THE WOOD CAME FROM A TREE MR YOUNG FELLED IN THE SAME MANNER AS COLONISTS. NOTE THE HAND HEWN UNDERSIDE OF THE CHAIR TOP. NOTE THE TENONS AND WEDGES STICKING THROUGH THE SEAT. THOUGH THIS LOOKS STRANGE TO OUR EYES, IT WAS VERY COMMON CONSTUCTION. THE LEGS CANNOT PUSH UP ANY FARTHER.
SEVERAL TOOLS USED BY ANDREW TO WORK WOOD. A MALLET ONCE BELONGING TO HIS GRANDFATHER, AND A SIDE HATCHED USED TO WORK WITH SMALL PIECES
IN THIS MONTAGE, YOU ARE SEEING A FULL SIZE DISPLAY (USED IN THE PRESENTATION) SHOWING THE CONSTRUCTION OF A HOUSE OR STRUCTURE WALL. MR YOUNG HAS TAUGHT HIMSELF THE CRAFT OF TIMBER FRAMING AND WATTLE DAUBING. NO POWER TOOLS WERE USED ON THIS PROJECT AND THE WOOD CAME FROM A TREE MR YOUNG FELLED IN HIS YARD!
An example of an
early colonial lantern
ST. AUGUSTINE NEW AMSTERDAM JAMESTOWN PLIMOTH ST. MARY'S CITY QUEBEC
.....what was life really like in these colonies?
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HUNDREDS OF ORIGINAL & PAINSTAKING REPRODUCTIONS ARE DISPLAYED
IN A LIVELY AND FUN DISCUSSION ABOUT COLONIAL LIFE... here's a peek:
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......is it a saw ?!?!
......is it a measuring device?!?
...eek, gulp....is it a torture device ?!?!
Nope. Nope. ...and Nope.
Our very rare cauldron below is a a clue...
The strange, spiked device is actually called a trammel. (although in German its called a kamensage, essentially translated into "cooking fire saw").
The trammel was an indispensible part of cooking--found in every kitchen in Europe from ancient times to colonial America. Mr Young often refers to it as the pre -industrial stove or oven knob.
....it adjusted the heat by allowing the cook to lower the cauldron closer to the fire, thus adding more heat....or raising it higher for a simmer to keep it warm.
Although it looks very strange, it was as common as seeing buttons on a modern stove or using the microwave for quickly heating something up.
Kinda neat, eh!
These are more examples of the wonderful collection Mr Young has assembled over many years to teach audiences what life was like in colonial times....
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Mr Young searched for years to find an original 15th -18th colonial style butter churn...the fruits of his labor paid off !
To your right is an original antique 16th or 17th century butter churn from Europe ---the exact type that would have been brought over here and used.
Notably, rather than iron or metal hoops you can clearly see wooden hoops. When most people think of barrels and butter churns they tend to imagine staves of wood bound up in iron metal hoops (think of the black rings around a barrel).....yet this type of construction was not utilized until the mid to latter 19th century (well after the colonial period).
staves
(wooden
panel)
hoops (rings
made of
branches)
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UPDATE: THERE IS NO BETTER WAY TO LEARN HISTORY THAN TO LIVE IT ! MR YOUNG RECENTLY SPENT THREE DAYS ABOARD A FULL SIZE WORKING REPLICA OF AN EARLY 17TH CENTURY SHIP; AN AUTHENTIC REPLICA OF THE HENRY HUDSON'S SHIP, THE HALVE MAEN. THERE HE BEGAN HIS SAIL TRAINING SKILLS AND WAS CERTIFIED TO CLIMB ALOFT TO THE UPPER SAILS ! HE WILL BE RETURNING TO CONTINUE HIS SAIL TRAINING IN AN ATTEMPT TO UNDERSTAND THE LIFE OF SAILORS AND EARLY COLONISTS CROSSING THE ATLANTIC. MR YOUNG HAS SOME VERY INTERESTING (AND OFTEN AMUSING) STORIES TO TELL ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCES RECREATING AUTHENTIC HISTORY. NEEDLESS TO SAY, TRAVELLING AS A "LAND LOVING" COLONIST WAS BRUTALLY HARD. AND SURVIVING THE DESTINATION WAS NO PICNIC EITHER !
HAVING DELIVERED NEARLY 2000 LIVE PRESENTATIONS SINCE 1990, AND BUILDING ON HIS ACCLAIMED APPROACH TO TEACHING AND INSPIRING STUDENTS OF ALL AGES AND BACKGROUNDS, ANDREW YOUNG's COLONIAL PRESENTATION EXPLORES A RANGE OF TOPICS USEFUL TO YOUR CIRRICULCUM WITH RESPECT TO THE LIVES OF EARLY COLONISTS AND EXPLORERS. USING AN APPROACH THAT HAS BEEN LAUDED BY EDUCATORS, ANDREW DELIVERS HIS INTERACTIVE TALKS IN A LIVELY, YET DOWN -TO- EARTH AND OFTEN HUMOUROUS MANNER. HE DISCUSSES A RANGE OF TOPICS REGARDING THE COLONIAL ERA THAT ARE RELEVANT TO STUDENTS OF COLONIAL AND EXPLORATORY HISTORY. USING ARCHEOLOGICAL, TEXTUAL, AND EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH, MR YOUNG TACKLES MANY OF THE MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT LIFE IN THE 16TH, 17TH AND 18TH CENTURIES.
TALK ABOUT INTERACTIVE HANDS ON ! MR YOUNG ACTUALLY BUILDS MANY OF THE REPLICAS YOU WILL BE SEEING. HE SPECIALIZES IN MAKING HISTORICAL REPRODUCTIONS FROM SCRATCH, HAVING MASTERED METAL, WOOD, LEATHER, HORN AND BONE, TEXTILES AND MORE. HIS CRAFTSMAN SKILLS, FORMAL EDUCATION IN HISTORY, KNACK FOR HISTORICAL RESEARCH AND GIFT FOR MAKING INSIGHTFUL ANALOGIES YOUR AUDIENCE WILL UNDERSTAND...COMBINE TO PRODUCE A WONDERFUL HANDS ON PRESENTATION THAT YOUR STUDENTS AND STAFF WILL THOROUGHLY ENJOY.
In his presentation, Mr Young explains not only how these barrel type objects were made, and why they changed, but the critical importance of wooden stave objects in a world before refrigeration!
Woman using
a very similar
butterchurn
When researching the colonial era, especially life in late 16th, 17th and early 18th century colonies (such as The Lost Colony at Raleigh, Jamestown, Henricus, Plimouth, and St Marys City) we have precious few resources from this continent to draw from when trying to piece together the stuff of daily life. We often have to look abroad, particularly to Europe, (even the Middle East and Africa) to find art and artifacts in order to get a sense of what life looked like. We also have to look before and after the colonial period to sometimes help fill in the gaps with logical extrapolations.
Fortunately artists in the late Renaissance (early Colonial era) began to take an interest in the lives of everyday people. From their works of art, we get a glimpse into what people used to transport and carry things. Baskets, barrels and boxes .....almost in that order, were the primary means of transporting everything from produce to market, to leather, textiles, and trinkets.
Mr Young has worked diligently to find (and make) baskets, barrels and boxes that would be seen everywhere in the early colonies. Most baskets were made of wet reeds, or strips of wet wood that were flexible enough to be woven into a basket. In fact pack-baskets were used by Native Americans and the mutual interchange of "basket technology" led to deep woods baskets frequently used until just recently by hunters and fishermen. Mr Youngs grandfather who lived in rural Maine, carried a woven pack-basket in his expeditions during the early 20th century.
LEFT: Mr Young has amassed an excellant collection of baskets, barrels and boxes showing a unique insider look into colonial life.
RIGHT: a 17th century packbasket
BELOW: images of late 16th and 17th century life
17th and 18th CENTURY CANDLESTICKS, GLASSWARE ....and a VERY RARE TILE JUST LIKE THOSE FOUND AT JAMESTOWN
17th and 18th CENTURY MORTARS & PESTLES, A STONEWARE PITCHER
18th CENTURY FOLK CARVNG....POSSIBLY COOKIE MOLDS
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Ever wonder what the colonists sat on ...or what they used to store their posessions?
Despite transporting lumber to Europe, there was not much of a furniture industry in the colonies until the latter 17th century. Up to that point, most pieces of furniture were older, reused and recycled like the chest above. If they were a financially sound colonial family, they might have brought over a fine piece like the chest below. The best part is that the decorated chest below (right) was retrofitted in the latter 17th century with the latest chic designer hardware.....custom, hand made screws to affix new hinges ! So in essence, this chest represents another example of recycling and updating rather than simply throwing away as we are unfortunately apt to do.
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HUGE UPDATE !!!: MR YOUNG HAS ACQUIRED A FIREBACK DATED TO 1626. FIREBACKS WERE THICK IRON SLABS PLACED IN THE BACK OF A FIREPLACE TO HELP ABSORB AND REFLECTED MORE HEAT OUTWARD. TO SOME EXTENT THEY PROTECTED THE LIME AND BRICK FROM OVERHEATING. THE FIREBRICK ANDREW LOCATED APPEARS TO HAVE A LINEAGE DATED TO EARLY MASSACHUSETTS; PLIMOTH WAS FOUNDED IN 1620 AN. IT WAS FOUND IN A HOUSE OWNED BY DESCENDANTS OF MYLES STANDISH, WHO WAS AN ORIGINAL PILGRIM COLONIST. STANDISH RETURNED TO PLIMOTH IN....1627. HENCE THE FIREBACK WAS PROBABLY MADE IN ENGLAND, PURCHASED BY SOMEONE (STANDISH ?) AND BROUGHT HERE. WHETHER THIS FIREBACK ONCE BELONGED TO MYLES STANDISH IS NOT FULLY KNOWN AT THE MOMENT, HOWEVER IT IS ENGLISH AND FOUND BURIED IN THE 'GARAGE' OF HIS DESCENDANTS MAKING THE FIND VERY, VERY EXCITING.
THROUGH CAREFUL RESEARCH AND RECONSTRUCTION, ANDREW YOUNG HAS LEARNED MANY ASPECTS OF THE COOPERS CRAFT, FROM BUCKETS TO TANKARDS. THE TANKARD TO THE RIGHT IS MADE OF A SOLID PIECE OF WOOD, CAREFULLY BORED OUT, HAVING A HANDLE ATTACHED WITH SMALL WOODEN WEDGES.
HANDS ON EXPERIENCE ....when you need to keep your clothes and personal items dry and bug free!
TO LEARN HOW THESE CHESTS WERE MADE, MR YOUNG HAS ENGAGED IN COUNTLESS HOURS OF RESEARCH AND EXPERIMENTATION. BELOW YOU SEE IMAGES OF OAK LOGS BEING SPLIT APART INTO WEDGES, AND FROM WEDGES INTO ROUGH PANELS....PANELS THAT WILL BE TURNED INTO A REPLICA OF A CHEST LIKE THE ONE ABOVE ! THIS TYPE OF HANDS ON RESEARCH GIVES MR YOUNG A VERY UNIQUE UNDERSTANDING OF COLONIAL AMERICA AND THE LIVES OF MEN, WOMEN AND ARTISTANS WHO LIVED THEN. HE CAN THEN CONVEY THAT INSIGHT AND KNOWLEDGE TO YOUR AUDIENCES IN A WAY NO TEXTBOOK CAN...
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OVER MANY YEARS, ANDREW HAS ACQUIRED MANY PERIOD TOOLS USED BY COLONIAL CRAFTSMEN. HE STUDIES THESE TOOLS, REPLICATES THEM AND USES THEM TO BUILD HIS REPRODUCTIONS.
17th and 18th CENTURY PIPE TONGS
17th and 18th CENTURY PLEATING IRON
18th CENTURY AGRICULTURAL HOE
To the bottom left is a simple boarded chest, made about 1550. Its design is typical of the workhorse chest made from antiquity to the 19th century. This one of course is a true example of what simple poor colonists would have brought. The dark square is the lock plate.
To the bottom right is a fine joined chest, made sometime between 1650 and 1690. This is what colonists with more financial backing would have brought. Andrew Young is an aspiring 17th century joiner and woodwright. He has been teaching himselt how to build fine pieces like these using research into period tools, techniques and research.
NEW ADDITIONS: BELOW ARE ACTUAL 17TH CENTURY FURNITURE PIECES MR YOUNG AQUIRED. AN AVID WOODWORKER, MR YOUNG EXPLAINS HOW EARLY COLONIAL FURNITURE WAS CREATED; AND HOW IT DIFFERED FROM THAT MADE IN EUROPE AT THE TIME . BELOW LEFT: THREE CHEST PANELS. RIGHT, THE TOP OF A CHAIR !
THE HORROR OF SLAVERY: chronology and reality
Despite how slavery has been portrayed in early Hollywood or curiously revised in some questionable textbooks to sound almost romantic, it was anything but passive or humane. The Middle Passage remains one of the most brutal examples of inhumanity, and psychological horror, e.g., being helpless as one's family was divided and children sold off. American slavery, just as the treatment of Native Americans, should never be ignored, glossed over or forgotten. It is not just African American history, it is American history.
And yet from a chronologically specific viewpoint, "institutional slavery" did not exist during most of the true colonial era North America. That may sound strange, but if we count the decades from the first colonies from 1500 to roughly 1700 we have two centuries. During that time, most laborers came from Europe and were indentured; meaning they worked off their debt and were "freed" in 5 -10 years. Many modern people are supervised to know that during the 16th and 17th century we have many examples of free Africans interacting with white settlers. Some of these early African-Americans, were of notable achievement particularly in the Maryland and Virginia Chesapeake region where they owned sizable farms and businesses! In fact, Mathias de Sousa, was the first African elected to the Maryland Assembly in the mid 17th century. He led expeditions and was apparently widely respected by his peers.
Sadly, as the 17th century closed and the 18th began, do we begin to hear of earnest attempts at buying African slaves, whereby it could truly be said the 'peculiar institution' was beginning. And yet the irony is that by roughly 1730, most economic and industrial research suggest that the colonies were, for all intents and purposes, largely self sufficient and merely colonial in namesake. This means than slavery was largely a post-colonial phenomenon, from roughly 1700 to 1862. Still, one could also argue that de facto slavery persisted well after the Civil War also. Please feel free to contact us for for bibliographic information. There are some great books on the subject we can recommend.
Slavery is obviously a delicate subject and yet must be mentioned in historical context. While Mr Young does disucss it briefly (along with many topics), he treats it with the utmost respect, and is particularly mindful of age level. Below are two examples from his growing collection to shed light on it's history.
At left, Middle Passage shackles. At right, a slave tile often made for gardens or grave markers, and showing African motifs; a testament that the spirit of African slaves could not be fully broken but survived into the 'New World.'
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AN 18TH CENTURY "BARK SPUD"....A TOOL USED TO REMOVE THE BARK FROM TREES IN ORDER TO HARVEST IT FOR MAKING ...LEATHER, TEXTILE DYES, SHINGLES, ....IT IS A TOOL THAT TAKES SOME PRACTICE, TO SAY THE LEAST.
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NATIVE AMERICANS: without their knowledge of the land, many colonies would not have survivied !
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The curious aqua green paint is applied to the logs to keep them from slitting as the moisture evaporates. Historically bees wax or pitch was used. However due to the falling bee population, Mr Young uses temporarily uses paint , which is shaved off once the piece of wood is being converted to a component of furniture. The process of sealing the ends of the wood, for several weeks, is still the same. This is a good example of Mr Youngs insistence upon using historical techniques and methods to achieve an uncompromising period reproduction. The series of pictues shows wooden logs being split apart into rough planks for chest or chair panels. The last picture to the right shows many panels laying out before they are worked further into a refined panel.
The images above show a turner's or joiner's workship about 1600. Below is a pair of hand forged calipurs from the 17th century; Mr Young aquired these in 2010. Note the depiction of calipurs in the image above, circled.
Above is a rare and very early example of a wooden plane used to make molding, not unlike we might find in many of our houses today-- making a great connection for modern audiences. It is dated to 1720 and we know the actually owner as well as maker!...their marks appear on the piece. One is partially visible in the photo to the bottom right.
A rare 17th century saw
A lovely bartman jug
Mr Youngs reproductions
To the right is Mr Young's great grandmother.
She was a Native American from either the Abinaki or Penobscot tribes in the New England and Southern Canadian regions.
Mr Young will be including Native American items in the years to come, as this is near and dear to his heart.
