2002 grants awarded

Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association, Inc., The, Jul/Aug 2002 by Clay, Kenneth R, Mataleno, Justine J

The following three recipients have been awarded grants through EAIA's Research Grants Program.

Early Windsor, Connecticut Coopers and their Tools, Products, and Shop Practices

By Joshua W. Lane, 106 Hastings Street, Greenfield, MA 01301

Mr. Lane will document the tools, training, trade practices, and products of early Connecticut coopers and will display and interpret coopers' tools and products as part of the exhibition, "The Woodworkers of Windsor: A Connecticut Community of Craftsmen and Their World," at Historic Deerfield, April 15-August 15, 2003. Mr. Lane is the thirteenth recipient of the Winthrop L. Carter Memorial Grant Award. This award is given in memory of Winthrop L. Carter, a long-time member of EAIA and a staunch supporter of its publications and grant programs.

The Lost Art of the Leather Breeches-Maker

By Jay M. Howlett, 504 Dunning Street, Williamsburg, VA 23185

Mr. Howlett's study will identify tools, cutting techniques, and stitches specific to the breeches-makers' trade; will select from surviving examples of working class and gentleman's sporting breeches to produce full scale working patterns; will identify and locate appropriate leathers tanned by traditional methods; and will produce one pair of work-a-day gentleman's breeches. Mr. Howlett is the fifth recipient of the John S. Watson Grant. This grant is named in honor of John Watson, EAIA treasurer from 1967-1997, in gratitude for his devoted service to the EAIA. Mr. Watson was an enthusiastic proponet of the Research Grants Program and served on the committee until his death.

Textile Tools of Louisiana Acadia: More Pieces for the Puzzle

By Jenna Tedrick Kuttruff, School of Human Ecology,

Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803

Ms. Kuttruff s research will document the tools and technology associated with nineteenth-century textile production in Acadian households of south Louisiana. Tools used in Acadian home textile production can be divided into three groups, and these groups will be located and documented so that the entire process will be better understood. The expected outcome of this research will be publications in both scholarly and general interest publications.

Other applications the committee considered were

"Investigation and Research: Tracing the Evolution of Hornsmithing and Combmaking, their specialized Equipment and Processes, in the New England and Mid-Atlantic States"

"The Life and Orchards of Henderson Luelling"

"Comparing Early 20th-Century Blacksmiths"

"Samuel F. Leach, Inventor and Entrepreneur in Post Civil-War New England"

"Hands, Hides, and Soles."

"Health Farm Equipment Exhibit, or The Spy House Collection"

Kenneth R. Clay, Chairman

Justine J. Mataleno, Coordinator