Glory be
to God for dappled things—
Landscape
plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;
And
all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.
Before going to
sleep at night, while lying in bed, I love to read. There is usually a
Manhattan skyline of books stacked high on the little table close at hand. I am
not very particular in my bedtime reading – anything black on white will do. However,
a tool catalogue is an absolute treat. And if it is an antique tool catalogue,
I’m in heaven.
To be honest, I love looking at the pictures. For some
reason or the other, the pictures in all the old catalogues have the same feel
to them. You can almost hear and smell an old printing press, see the engravers, while turning the pages. They carry you off to an era where artisans were proud
of their trade and the apprenticeships they went through. I imagine a big part
of me is very old school at heart.
I am constantly
surprised by the huge variety in the fields of expertise, shining forth from these publications.
Some examples from old catalogues:
Strictly speaking not so much a catalogue, but a
pictorial history of the barbering trade. Notice the barber pole on its beautiful
stand. Keep in mind that somebody must have manufactured that. Matilda always
says that we lose sight of the fact that most of the things we use or touch in
the course of an ordinary day was made by someone.
The origin of the barber pole with its red and white stripes
dates back to the era when barbers were involved in the practice of bloodletting
and bloody bandages were wrapped around a pole as witnesses to that. During the Middle Ages barbers
also extracted teeth. I've always wondered, was that done before or after the shave?
Different hoes from a 1914 French catalogue. I can’t
speak French, but am absolutely convinced that these tools would have been
useful in any language.
An Afrikaans Tarry catalogue, somewhere in the
mid 1900’s. I looked all over but could not find a date. A neighbour gave it to
me after he had discovered it in his late father’s study. The company is still
doing business in Zimbabwe. Old catalogues provide insight into the history of
business and companies as well.
Something much
more recent:
A page from the beautiful 2009 Cromwell catalogue. So
comprehensive that it provides reading material for many evenings: Tuesday –
Shank milling cutters; Thursday – vices; Friday – Tool holders; Monday – Pipe threaders.
Besides being
surprised by the variety that’s presented, it also provides perspective. Anybody
who thinks his or her occupation to be the most important, challenging,
glamorous or whatever merely demonstrates a lack of knowledge or exposure. I am
considering walking around with a set of hair clippers and every time I meet
somebody sitting on one of those occupational high horses I want to hand him or
her the clippers saying: “See if you can sharpen these.” On the other hand, I
imagine that by doing that I am merely setting myself up for disappointment. In
all probability the reaction that I’ll get will be: “Buy a new one. Time is
money.” Is it vindictive to then conjure up images of a certain somebody’s hair
being cut by a barber using only a knife and a fork?
So, I have
novels, thrillers and biographies next to my bed. They provide me with hours of
pleasure. There are evenings however when I reach out to my tool catalogues and
get lost in the air hose coils of a 300 litre, belt drive V-head, 8 bar compressor.
George
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