Henry C. Mercer

[Old Axeman]

Henry Mercer wrote, in 1929, what I consider to be the bible of early tools in America--"Ancient Carpenters' Tools" But he also wrote other obscure little books that would be worth a look--"The Origin of Log Houses in the United States", 1924 and "The Dating of Old Houses", 1923.

 

[Steve Tall]

Thanks for the references. I've seen that book "Ancient Carpenters' Tools" but I didn't realize it was the same Mercer who built what's now the Mercer Museum:

 

[Steve Tall]

The book (or booklet) "The Dating of Old Houses" can be read online or downloaded. It has a lot of details about nails, for example, showing differences between wrought, cut, etc.

https://archive.org/stream/collectionofpape05buck#page/536
from A collection of papers read before the Bucks County Historical Society
by Bucks County Historical Society

 

[Steve Tall]

"The Origin of Log Houses in the United States" can also be read online or downloaded.

https://archive.org/stream/collectionofpape05buck#page/568
from A collection of papers read before the Bucks County Historical Society
by Bucks County Historical Society

 

[Old Axeman]

20 yrs or so ago when I last visited the Mercer Museum all the axes and other tools in the exhibits were the exact same ones that are in Mercers 1929 "Ancient Carpenters' Tools" book!
Somebody on this forum that lives close needs to visit the Museum and give us a report.

 

[Steve Tall]

"These photographs are from Henry C. Mercer's 1929, Ancient carpenters' tools together with lumbermen's, joiners' and cabinet makers' tools in use in the eighteenth century, pgs. 2,5,7,11. Mercer forever differentiated the clumsy trade and British felling axes from the more practical, if ugly, American ax with its heavy poll and short bit. The new American ax was in use at least as early as 1750. Mercer notes the double-bitted ax as a later innovation, ca. 1850."
http://www.davistownmuseum.org/toolAxes.html

 

[LouK.]

I used to live near Doylestown and have visited all of the Mercer exhibits there. Each is a marvel in its own right.

The Mercer Museum is essentially a collection of pre-industrial age tooling and gadgetry assembled and displayed by Mr. Mercer as a knowledge vault. He figured that at some point easy, cheap power would fail us and his collection would lead us out of darkness.

He’s got everything from tortoise shell combs to whaling boats on display.

If you ever find yourself in or near Bucks County, PA it is surely worth your time to pay a visit. His home and tile works are, as I mentioned, also very interesting and quite close by.