ANTIQUE COLLECTING
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Extract from the March 2009 Magazine - Ceramics and Glass Issue
March 2009 Magazine Pages 4-5 COLLECTING ANTIQUE WOODWORKING AND ALLIED TRADE TOOLS

by Jonathan Green-Plumb
For centuries, tools have been primary among man's defining attributes. In the material sense, the evolution of many, if not all, cultures can be seen as a gradual refining of hand tools. Tools have been formed and modified to meet the needs of all the specialised trades.
Collecting and researching antique tools offers an enormous field for the novice collector. The most widely collected tools are those of the woodworking trades as there is considerable variety in the tools associated with working this, probably our finest, raw material.
The basic types of tools were already established by the Roman period, the axe, chisel and adze (edge tools), the drill and auger, the saw and the plane. Even taking into account some of the developments in tool design, a carpenter from this ancient period wouldn't feel out of place in a modern workshop with a set of 21st century tools. In many respects tools have remained almost unchanged for centuries; it is, for example, hard to imagine how anyone could improve the design of the humble hammer. Certain periods in our history though have seen a distinctive change in tool development. In this country the shift from heavily carved oak furniture, made by carpenters, to the Continental-influenced veneered furniture saw a refinement in many tools resulting in what we now know as those of the cabinetmaker. This change in furniture styles dictated new tool designs and resulted in this new category of woodworker.

March 2009 Magazine Page 40Figure 5. Two planes made by Thomas Norris (& son), London 1872-1943. On the left is a '50G' smoothing plane, made in gunmetal with a steel sole. The other is a number '54', less common than the similar '52'. Most Norris planes had walnut or rosewood infills/handles. Current auction prices £300-£500 and £400-£600, depending on condition. Planes by this make are highly sought after by both collectors and users. (Collection of Mr D.Pembroke)

Contemporary collectors tend to fit into several niches in relation to their preferences for tool types. Some collect only one form of tool, the plane or brace for example. Others collect tools specific to a singular trade, the wheelwright or cooper perhaps. Many seek the tools of a specific commercial toolmaker. This latter category is probably the most common 'niche'. There are also those that have 'generalised' collections, not satisfied with the limitations of a particular tool type, trade or maker.
Collecting and researching a singular tool type may sound limiting, but it can offer a substantial array of variations. The axe is probably the fundamental wood-working tool. Today they are seen often as just tools for cutting down trees and splitting the timber for firewood. But for centuries they were a vital part of the tool kit in virtually all the woodworking trades. Carpenters used them for squaring tree trunks into beams, coopers used them for the rough shaping of the staves for a cask. Wheelwrights and shipwrights also used them for similar shaping purposes. In this country there were axes made to specific patterns for each trade and often variations of these were made according to region also.