Merchants+of+Colonial+Cohentowne+2013

COLONIAL SIGNS

Signs were important in Colonial Times because they advertised your trade. Go to this [|site] from the Colonial Williamsburg page to see what a colonial sign might look like. With your group or partner, create a sign for your trade. Keep in mind that some people in eighteenth century colonial America could not read or write. They relied on bold graphics and images in order to find what they needed.

Make sure your sign has the following elements:
 * A drawing representative of your trade
 * Minimal use of words - words should be written in calligraphy - this can be done by hand or by using the computer.

You will sketch your design in pencil first and then color your sign.

Your group will also be responsible for writing a single paragraph about your trade. When your group completes their work, we will include it on this wiki.

Use these two sites to help you with your research:

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- The Merchants of Colonial Cohentowne

__ Apothecary __ by Grace and Charlotte

Apothecary. It’s more than just being a druggist. Apothecary is another word for pharmacy and pharmacist. However, in colonial times, Apothecary was more then just making and giving out medicine. They provided medical treatment and prescribed medicine. Also they trained apprentices to work. Many records kept by 18th-century Williamsburg, Virginia’s apothecary’s show that they made house calls to treat and heal patients. While they did all that they also performed surgery. Now a day, women serve as mid wives. Back then there were also men mid wives. While serving as a doctor, people of the apothecary also made medicine. They used chalk for heart burn, calamine for skin irritations, and cinchona bark for fevers. Later in the century, people found out that cinchona bark contains quinine for malaria and quinidine for cardiac conditions. This lead to many modern medicines. In conclusion, Apothecary was important to colonial times.

__ Carpenters __ by Ethan, Ryan,and Rafe



Did you know about how carpenters worked in colonial times? Well we are about to tell you all about it Carpenters were people that built houses and furniture for people in colonial times. We carpenters would have to use dangerous and sharp tools to build houses and other statues and sculptures. These tools included but were not limited to, axes, saws, knives, pickaxes and other sharp metal tools. A carpenter would always build a mini sculpture of a house or replica before building a real house or any other furniture. Can you believe that colonial carpenters used the same tools we us today?

__ Coopers __ by Simon, Tommy, and Daniel

You might not think coopers were so important in colonial times however, they were. Coopers crafted casks which held gunpowder, tobacco and containers that stored liquid from wine to milk. Many colonial coopers worked on plantations to produce the many hog sheds needed to ship tobacco from Virginia to Great Britain. Other coopers worked in towns like Williamsburg, turning staves and hoops into everything from butter churns to tubs. The coopers in Revolution City shape their staves with broad axes and arrow knives. For all these reason coopers were essential in colonial times.

__ Gardening __ by Willow and Kiara

Do you know about the eighteenth century gardens? If you do not know about gardening read this paragraph. Many gardens had orchards of antique fruit varieties. They ripen in the summer heat and roses perfume the air. Medicine plants were also in a colonial garden for people who were sick. Also the gardens have a whole section for herbs which were used by the housewives. In an era the diet was heavily weighted for men. Also men only ate cauliflower and artichokes. Our most important fact is the very first gardening book was “A Treaties in Gardening.” In conclusion, you now know all about what eighteen century gardening was like.

__ Gunsmiths __ by Timmy and Tommy

The gunsmiths had an important job in the village. They helped make guns for the people, who then hunted for food. The way people got guns were by trading for them. If you wanted to make a gun, you had to be able to forge iron into different shapes (to make a flint hook). Another thing is that you would have to have knowledge on gun smithying like how to use the tools needed for creating your guns. You also should have been able to cast metals such as brass, bronze and silver to form a butt plate, trigger guard and a side plate. In addition, you had to be able to make a stock, which is made of one piece of wood (maple, walnut or cherry) which you would shape to final size using everyday tools. Gunsmiths often used hammers to do most of the metalwork. A workshop usually had a wall with guns and all sorts of tools. In conclusion, gunsmiths were important for the villagers because they needed gunsmiths to make guns so they could hunt for food to survive.

__ Printer & Binder __

by Caroline and Karinna

When people think about the most important jobs during colonial times, they’ll think of blacksmiths, preachers and farmers. What they don’t think of are printers and binders (even though they are equally important). We have a __hard__ job. Each day we have to set each letter individually onto the printing press. There are blocks kept in special cases with one letter carved into it. To print a story, you take some blocks. With the blocks you spell out what you want to print, tie the blocks into place, smear ink on a tray, and then turn on the giant screw that’s on the press which will squeeze the paper with the story on it and the ink tray together. The book covers were made by dying leather, then drawing it onto boards and gluing it to heavier endpaper to cover the volume. In our store, we sell office supplies, magazines, maps, almanacs, bound books, stitch books, business forms, and blank books and so on. Just as bound books were more expensive than stitched books, a pamphlet or a small book was more expensive than one with no cover. Speaking of paste paper, paste paper is a common method of covering stitch books; I know, we use it a lot. To decorate papers, paint made from flour and water and dye is applied to the paper. Then special combs are drawn across the paper creating distinctive patterns. In conclusion, you can see how hard printing & binding were in colonial times and what people had to do when they worked there.

__ Shoemakers __ By David, Hannah, and Elsa

Back then you might have thought that shoemakers were not that important in the colonial times, but they were actually a big part of colonial times. Did you know it took 8-10 hours to make one pair of shoes? Also, shoemakers made their shoes by hand. Another thing is, that shoemakers did not just make random shoes all the time in different sizes. Shoemakers made shoes for one person specifically. In colonial times the shoemakers made a size stick to measure peoples feet. But now when you go to a shoe store they measure your foot with a Brannack device, which is a foot -like shaped instrument. Shoemakers used a strap that held the vice in place. The next phase of making the shoe is the shoe construction. The shoemaker stitched the upper to the innersole. Then the shoemaker’s thread was made from several strands of flax coating with pinch pine tar to water proof it. A boar’s bristles serving as a needle is woven onto both ends of the thread. After stitching the upper to the innersole the shoemaker cuts a second piece of thick sole leather to form the outersole which was then stitched to the innersole. The sole is fastened to the last outer sole with a few tacks then a hand held tool called an awl is used to push holes into the leather to enable the shoemaker to stitch the outer sole to the upper sole. Finally, a heel, cut from scraps of thick sole leather was added in layers held in place by a series of wooden pegs. So now you can see that shoemakers were very important in the colonial times.

__ Tailors __

by Molly and Katherine

Do you ever wonder what tailoring was like in colonial times? This is a short introduction to what tailoring was like back in time. The word tailoring means art of cutting. The tailoring trade originally included gown making or mantua making, an article of women's clothing that was worn back in the colonial times.Tailoring was the largest trade in any metropolitan area. A tailor’s skill in measuring an individual’s body and making designs and patterns from those measurements determined how well a garment fits. Women, men and both had tailors to make their clothes. Most tailors were always men. Tailors also made cloaks and great coats. In conclusion, tailors must have been very skilled with fabrics and silks to be able to master this trade.

__ Wigmakers __

by Jack, Nate, and Jack

You wouldn’t think wigmakers would be important in colonial times would you? Wigmakers actually very important back then. But wigmakers were not always respected. Tradesmen, merchants, clergy, military, ship captains and landed gentry patronized the wigmaker. But they made people happy. The customers would choose a wig of their liking. Wigmakers were located near taverns where people could socialize and buy wigs. There were many styles that made people look smart and superior. Wigs were very important in showing wealth. The higher it was the wealthier you were. Today wigs aren’t as popular as they were back then but people will remember the importance of the wigmaker.