An Archaeology of Tools: The Tool Collection of the Davistown Museum describes its ever-expanding inventory of hand tools, which includes historically important tools from many sources. The tools in the museum exhibition and Tools Teach education program serve as a primary resource for information about the diversity of tool- and steelmaking strategies and techniques before and during the Industrial Revolution. They provide information about the locations of the manufacturers of the tools used by American artisans from the colonial period until the late 19th century. The museum collection is...

Norumbega Reconsidered: Mawooshen and the Wawenoc Diaspora explores the questions and controversies surrounding the ethnic identity and historical significance of the Wawenoc Indians of the central Maine coast. Brack evaluates accounts of contemporary ethnohistorians, whom he contends have eliminated an important chapter in Maine history by dismissing the Wawenoc community. By revisiting the narratives and journals of French explorers and observers, such as Samuel de Champlain and Father Pierre Biard, and other sources, Brack makes a powerful case for the reconsideration of Norumbega,...

In the first volume of the Hand Tools in History series, Davistown Museum curator H. G. Skip Brack takes readers on a journey through the pyrotechnics of ancient and modern ferrous metallurgy. Citing major archaeometallurgists, he explores steel- and toolmaking from the early Iron Age through the Renaissance and then covers the technological innovations that led to the Industrial Revolution, the factory system of mass production, and development of 19th century bulk steelmaking processes. Brack discusses the historical diversity of steelmaking strategies and the important role they played in...

Volume 13 in the Hand Tools in History series explores the iconography (imagery) of early American hand tools as they evolve into the Industrial Revolution's increased diversity of tool forms. The hand tools illustrated in this volume were selected from the Davistown Museum collection, most of which are cataloged in An Archaeology of Tools (Volume 9 in Hand Tools in History), and from those acquired and often sold by Liberty Tool Company and affiliated stores, collected during 40] years of "tool picking." Also included are important tools from the private collections of Liberty Tool Company...

The second edition of Handbook for Ironmongers: A Glossary of Ferrous Metallurgy Terms defines hundreds of items of interest to blacksmiths, historians, and anyone seeking knowledge of steel- and toolmaking and its history. Topics range from ancient metallurgical techniques to later developments in iron and steel production in America, including definitions pertaining to alloy steels, tool steels, and CNC technology. Also included is commentary on the challenges faced by contemporary artisans and metalworkers (born-again ironmongers) in a world of increasing income disparities, reduced...