My friends,
Having now had a chance of reading what interests
you galoots it seems that over here in 'little ole England'
we are pretty much the same except that we do have the
advantage of being the first people to invent and
manufacture all the tools you now 'drool' over, for you have
to remember that the first settlers who colonised the States
'exported' these tools from England, otherwise you wouldn't
have any tools at all to collect {your American ones being
only English copies ;-) }.
But enough of this badinage, what about me ?. I was born
in London 1931, did my military service in the Royal Navy as
a Medic, on coming out went on an U/W diving expedition to
Cyprus before returning to the world of medicine as editor of a
medical film company and then went into hospital to work in
operating theatres where I 'scrubbed' for over 500 operations,
specialising in orthopaedics {I have a small but 'select'
collection
of surgical equipment}. That, in short, is a very
condensed
resume' of my life - but now to what you really want to know, my
interest in tools.
At this point I should perhaps say that my interests differ from
all
you galoots, for tools are a minor interest as you will soon find
out.
My involvement in tools first began some 30 years ago when I
began to interview old craftsmen about their jobs and in the
process
was often given some of their old tools. Then in 83 I became
a
founder member of T.A.T.H.S. {The Tool and Trades History
Society}
and shortly after moved from London to Norfolk where I became the
curator of a Rural Life Museum and found myself being paid to
'play'
with hundreds of old tools. Then ten years ago I moved up
here
to Binbrook in Lincolnshire {where the Memphis Belle film was
made}
where I created another Rural Life Museum nearby. At the same
time I became the Oral Historian for the Museum of Lincolnshire
Life.
So why am I different to all you other galoots ?, the answer is
that I
am not primerally interested in the tools, I'm mainly interested
in the
memories of the men who used those tools, what names they used
for them, the tricks of the trade, hours worked, clothes worn,
etc.
In addition I collect the ledgers listing the work done {they go
back
to 1875}, the invoices they sent out giving the prices charged
and
work done. Pause and think of the tools you have in your
collection,
do you know who used them or anything about the craft itself ?,
all
you have are the tools, nothing else.
But tools come in many forms, tools for work on wood, leather,
metal
and on the land, and after collecting the voices, tools and
written
records over the past 25 years I feel I have a broader knowledge
about
the tools and the craftsmen than many people.
You now know my interests {Sawpits being but one}, and in the
months
to come you will hear more from me - and if anyone has any
queries
just drop me a line or ask me to write about a certain subject
which you
feel would be of interest to all galoots.
Private replies to Mike Field on mfield@g... uk
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