pimiii 1 
 
 Early 
 
 American Ironwork. 
 
 V 
 
 Wa 1 
 
 Nutting 
 
 ace 
 
 Copyright, 1919, by Wdlldce Nutting, Inc. 
 
WROUGHT IRON * PRICE LIST 
 
 March , 1923 
 
 The following list shows the actual number of each piece 
 of hand made wrought iron that we have on hand at the present 
 time. The prices are net, f.o.b. Ashland, Mass, All orders 
 sent to us are subject to stock on hand. 
 
 We also have in our black smith shop at Ashland, a 
 larger quantity of partially furnished pieces. If you are 
 interested in anything shown in this catalog, we will be 
 glad to tell you more about it. 
 
 11 
 
 pr. 1-404 
 
 @ $ 7.00 
 
 1 
 
 
 1-147 
 
 @ $ 10.00 
 
 4 
 
 1-406 
 
 ii 
 
 12.50 
 
 8 
 
 
 1-135 
 
 II 
 
 14.00 
 
 1 
 
 1-401 . 
 
 ti 
 
 11.00 
 
 3 
 
 
 1-132 
 
 II 
 
 12.00 
 
 3 
 
 1-403 
 
 ii 
 
 9.50 
 
 1 
 
 
 1-145 
 
 11 
 
 8.50 
 
 7 
 
 1-407 
 
 ii 
 
 10.00 
 
 x 
 
 
 1-146 
 
 s? 
 
 8.00 
 
 2 
 
 1-409 
 
 ii 
 
 10.00 
 
 5 
 
 
 1-120 
 
 I! 
 
 24.00 
 
 3 
 
 1-402 
 
 it 
 
 9.50 
 
 1 
 
 
 1-150 
 
 II 
 
 5 .00 
 
 1 
 
 1-180 
 
 it 
 
 9.50 
 
 1 
 
 
 1-303 
 
 n 
 
 16.00 
 
 2 
 
 1-182 
 
 ii 
 
 4.50 
 
 3 
 
 
 1-305 
 
 ti 
 
 12.00 
 
 ]_ 
 
 1-12 
 
 t> 
 
 4.25 
 
 1 
 
 
 1-306 
 
 n 
 
 7.00 
 
 5 
 
 1-41 
 
 it 
 
 4.50 
 
 1 
 
 
 1-308 
 
 ii 
 
 8.00 
 
 1 
 
 1-43 
 
 n 
 
 4.00 
 
 1 
 
 
 1-307 
 
 it 
 
 7.00 
 
 18 
 
 1-35 
 
 ri 
 
 3.50 
 
 2 
 
 
 1-302 
 
 ti 
 
 7.00 
 
 1 
 
 1-87 
 
 n 
 
 9.00 
 
 4 
 
 
 1-251 
 
 n 
 
 15.00 
 
 6 
 
 1-457 
 
 ti 
 
 6.00 
 
 1 
 
 
 1-255 
 
 ii 
 
 17.00 
 
 •a 
 
 1-450 
 
 ii 
 
 6.00 
 
 1 
 
 
 1-256 
 
 ti 
 
 6.50 
 
 4 
 
 1-474 
 
 n 
 
 3.50 
 
 1 
 
 
 1-258 
 
 n 
 
 8 . 50 
 
 1 
 
 1-478 
 
 n 
 
 14.00 
 
 1 
 
 
 1-250 
 
 tt 
 
 12.00 
 
 2 
 
 1-451 
 
 ii 
 
 2.50 
 
 2 
 
 
 1-215 
 
 it 
 
 4.50 
 
 1 
 
 1-452 
 
 ii 
 
 2.50 
 
 33 
 
 
 1-212 
 
 ti 
 
 4.50 
 
 2 
 
 1-454 
 
 ii 
 
 4.00 
 
 11 
 
 
 1-245 
 
 ii 
 
 3 . 50 
 
 1 
 
 1-455 
 
 ti 
 
 4.50 
 
 2 
 
 
 1-246 
 
 ti 
 
 4.50 
 
 1 
 
 1-456 
 
 ii 
 
 6.00 
 
 5 
 
 
 1-247 
 
 ti 
 
 4.50 
 
 2 
 
 1-114 
 
 it 
 
 22.50 
 
 14 
 
 
 1-52 
 
 tt 
 
 2.25 
 
 J. 
 
 1-106 
 
 it 
 
 30.00 
 
 8 
 
 4 ii 
 
 1-11 
 
 n 
 
 2.25 
 
 12 
 
 1-113 
 
 n 
 
 12.50 
 
 1 
 
 
 1-13 
 
 it 
 
 2.75 
 
 2 
 
 1-100 
 
 ii 
 
 22.50 
 
 1 
 
 
 1-3 
 
 ii 
 
 3.50 
 
 2 
 
 1-103 
 
 n 
 
 22.50 
 
 11 
 
 9" 
 
 1-2 
 
 it 
 
 4 .00 
 
 2 
 
 1-102 
 
 n 
 
 21.00 
 
 11 
 
 14 
 
 ” 1—2 
 
 it 
 
 4.50 
 
 p 
 
 1-121 
 
 ii 
 
 21.00 
 
 25 ■ 
 
 
 1-1 
 
 it 
 
 2.00 
 
 4 
 
 shovels 
 
 ! ” 
 
 4.CO 
 
 6 
 
 
 1-21 
 
 ti 
 
 ^ OR 
 
 1 
 
 1-101 
 
 ti 
 
 24.00 
 
 49 
 
 
 1-82 
 
 ti 
 
 4.00 
 
 5 
 
 1-104 
 
 II 
 
 24.00 
 
 79 
 
 
 1-38 
 
 it 
 
 7.00 
 
 2 
 
 1-136 
 
 11 
 
 18.00 
 
 1 
 
 
 1-32 
 
 it 
 
 2.75 
 
 2 
 
 1-134 
 
 li 
 
 8 .50 
 
 7 
 
 
 1-73 
 
 ti 
 
 10.50 
 
 6 
 
 1-148 
 
 t; 
 
 10.00 
 
 3 
 
 
 1-71 
 
 ii 
 
 34.50 
 
 2 
 
 1-149 
 
 if 
 
 12.00 
 
 2 
 
 
 1-352 
 
 it 
 
 4.00 
 
 2 
 
 1-162 
 
 it 
 
 20.00 
 
 2 
 
 
 1-304 
 
 tt 
 
 3.00 
 
 1 
 
 1-161 
 
 li 
 
 15.00 
 
 68 
 
 
 1-391 
 
 ti 
 
 2.20 
 
 1 
 
 1-163 
 
 ti 
 
 9.00 
 
 72 
 
 
 1-390 
 
 it 
 
 2.70 
 
 pr. 
 
 pr 
 

 ;•* • o r 
 
 * .V. 
 
 
 ' jji - * HCtfi rHojCHi 
 
 e. ;g 
 
 ‘ ' q ^rlq f 
 
 * w i*-' <j '. \? ii .f' • ■» 
 
 £ A • 
 
 
 '•' / ’ < k. .*3 j 6 
 
 ft. 
 
 . ... v 
 
 *. ■ •' -* i-I*. 1 
 
 U • F Jt: kl "r.O 
 
 • * • ^ ; ' • ■ r . •> ■ ■ 
 
 •C tati v; ^f . A 4 ' ; * 4 - 4 - 
 
 ■ 
 
 , , , , , s . , * ; ;JiP 
 
 '** 5 r: tSt'.t 
 
 * ■ ■'*■ «- i i i oj- i A . 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . - 
 
 ..> -V 
 
 , ■ r 
 
 . If 
 M 
 li 
 
 l 
 
 !) 
 
 U 
 
 ; 
 
 * 
 
 •t 
 
 
 n 
 
 ■ * . r a 
 
 
 :i 
 
 
 
 X 
 
 i ■ 
 
 M a 
 
 ' »? '• * X XX 
 
 'C.Si ■* 
 
 . • . <i 
 
 oc.oc 
 
 
 
 CCtet • -2 
 
 — • 
 
 * .; 
 H 03r~; 
 
 * i»b-X 
 
 j t .-- 
 r, - - 
 
 I 
 
THE IKON WORKS HOUSE, SAUGUS 
 
 Early American Ironwork 
 
 E LABORATE ironwork has been set forth in more than one publication, but hitherto 
 no attempt has been made to show the simple ironwork of the colonial days in America. 
 The “Iron Works House” shown above was the residence of the first successful iron 
 master in America. 
 
 Joseph Jenks was a great figure in his day, and has profoundly affected the growth of 
 our country. Perhaps more than any other early American he made America possible; for 
 he invented the long scythe, which made it possible for one man to mow as many blades 
 of grass as three mowed before. 
 
 The bush scythe as we know it was the English implement. It could not be made longer 
 without becoming unwieldy. Joseph Jenks first got the idea of turning up the back of 
 the blade. He invented the angle iron. He made a long scythe which weighed no more 
 than the old short one. This invention spread from the house, his home, across America, 
 and before the mowing machine this scythe enabled the farmer to subdue the earth so that 
 the whole land was overspread. 
 
 Joseph Jenks was as picturesque and interesting as he was inventive. He made here 
 the die for the pine-tree shilling, our first coin, and he also stamped by his sturdy spirit of 
 liberty the impress of freedom on the new country. This smith, “a mighty man was he.” 
 He was not afraid to say that the head of Charles II ought to follow that of his father, 
 though he went to prison for it. His wife, read out in church for wearing lace on her 
 bonnet, kept this house for him, the seat of the ironworks, with its big rooms, its “largest 
 American brick chimney,” and its rare side overhang — one of the best of the earliest 
 houses in America. 
 
 m 
 
THE HEARTH IX THE FIRE ROOM, IRON WORKS HOUSE 
 
 Fireplace Furniture 
 
 T HERE is shown above the wonderful old fire 
 room and fireplace in the Iron Works House. 
 It is about ten feet across. On the opposite side of 
 the chimney there is another fireplace about the 
 same size. In the same side of the same chimney in 
 the lean-to is another fireplace, so that the chimney 
 on the ground floor has the dimensions of about 
 11 x 18 feet and the question of the fireplace furni¬ 
 ture becomes an important one. 
 
 The clock-work jack, shown in position above, 
 turned the rod below which rested on the large 
 andiron. This method antedated many years the 
 tin oven, which didn’t come in until around 1790 
 and was a declension from the earlier, stronger style. 
 
 The small andirons in the rear, holding up the 
 back logs, were called firedogs. They were for use, 
 while the larger andirons were for ornament, as 
 was also the spit rod. The meat of Queen Victoria 
 was cooked on an arrangement like this during all 
 her life. 
 
 The smoke-jack shown opposite is in the chimney 
 of the Wentworth-Gardner House, and it was re¬ 
 volved by the smoke draft. If this is not unique, 
 it is the only one the writer has seen. He has heard 
 of one or two but is unable to verify the report. 
 
 1-476 
 
1-404 
 
 1-406 
 
 1-401 
 
 KING TOP 
 
 HEART AND OCTAGON 
 
 CROOKED OCTAGON 
 
 1-404 
 
 1-407 
 
 1-409 
 
 GOOSE NECK 
 
 VERTICAL BALL 
 
 FLAT BALL 
 
 1-408 
 
 1-402 
 
 1-400 
 
 BENT-NECK BALL 
 
 SCROLL 
 
 COLONIAL Cl'RL 
 
 [ 3 ] 
 
[ 4 ] 
 
 1-432 
 
 1-430 
 
 1-431 
 
1-457 
 
 T HE pieces shown above are quaint fireplace furniture. As a rule there are plenty somewhat like 1-457 
 that are picked up in the antique. Of the design 1-470 a number of examples have been found. The 
 top lifts up. The two designs at the bottom of the page are probably of English origin. 1-477 is a com¬ 
 bination of a small crane with a trivet. The crane may be removed. 
 
 [5] 
 
[ 6 ] 
 
some cases these are the photographs of the originals. The solidest type is No. 1-103, as it has small arches 
 at the base. No. 1-104 is called the Knickerbocker design, as it is a copy of the one owned by the City of 
 New York in the old City Hall. 
 
 At the bottom of the page appear heads of shovels and tongs. 
 
J ALL sconces are among the rarest of American objects of house hardware. In some cases we have 
 not been able to find anything at all satisfactory. We do, however, show a design below which 
 appears both with one, two, and three candleholders. The pigtail ornaments are very quaint and they serve, 
 
 incidentally, as receptacles for snuffers 
 or any light article of that kind. For the 
 most part in the ancient day wall sconces 
 were not in use, for the reason that the 
 light was dim enough at the best and it 
 was important to bring it as close to the 
 sitter as possible. For that reason chairs 
 are found with sockets for the attach¬ 
 ment of sconces and one such is in the 
 Iron Works House. In other instances 
 candlestands were held in the hand by 
 the reader, but the abundance of very 
 small light stands indicates that such 
 stands were moved about to bring them 
 very near the chair where the reader 
 sat. 
 
 A quaint light which is shown in 
 many of Mr. Nutting’s pictures is called 
 the “Betty lamp,” made sometimes of 
 cast iron and sometimes of tin. It was 
 in the sauce-boat shape and remained 
 in use in the South until a late period, 
 although it is practically like the lamps 
 of classical Greek and even earlier origin. 
 
 1-136. THREE-LIGHT SCONCE 
 
 [8] 
 
1-151 
 
 1-134 
 
 The swing (over all) of the torch or lantern holder above is 22 inches ; the height (over all) is 25 inches 
 
 A BOVE is shown on the left, first a large wall lantern holder which is hinged to swing where wanted. 
 
 Below is a single wall sconce. The pieces on the right are table candlestands of about a foot and a 
 half in height. The cross-bar is adjustable for height, moving up and down on the standard. These are 
 very interesting and unusual pieces. 
 
 At the bottom of the page appear some very rare and interesting chandeliers or loom lights. 
 
 [9] 
 
9 
 
 IN BRASS, 1-144, IN IRON, 1-144 1-147 
 
 TOTAL HEIGHT, 20 INCHES 
 
 Table Lights 
 
 the left above is shown a table light in tin with painted enamel finish. The candle-bar may be raised 
 or lowered, as can also the shades over the candles. A piece is provided with an extension and the base 
 is slightly weighted. The standard is made of square iron, and is finished by a brass handle with a milled 
 edge where it connects with the standard. This piece is very handsome also in brass. 
 
 It is probable that in the earliest homes the lights were only pine knots. The historic instance of the 
 revered President Lincoln is within the memory of some now living. He used such lights. The next thing 
 following was the rush light, shown elsewhere, and then the common candle, not moulded but dipped. Our 
 ancestors also used bayberries, from which they extracted wax. Such candles are still made, to supply 
 the taste of those who have a love for the antique. 
 
 [ 10 ] 
 
1-135 
 
 1-132 
 
 1-125. SNUFFERS 
 
 Movable Candlesticks 
 
 O N the bottom of the page to the right is an extremely quaint old design for a candleholder, copied from 
 the original in the Metropolitan Museum. It is perhaps of foreign derivation. The pan^ and 
 candleholders attached move up and down on the standard. The pan is daintily shaped, being ten-sided, 
 with each sector slightly concaved. The legs and the brackets are nicely twisted and a quaint scroll serves 
 as a spring to keep the movable candleholders in place. The design of the pan was doubtless to catch the 
 drip of the candle. At the top there is a hook by which the piece could be lifted and carried about, as also in 
 1-146. 1-145 has a handle below the candleholder and the standard has a turned knob. 
 
 At the top of the page on the right is shown 1-132, which is a very quaint and curious pair of snuffers 
 with the interesting colonial curl of the handles. These are found in two sizes. The point of the snuffers 
 was to pick out the wick and increase the quantity of the light. 
 
 On page 12 at the bottom are seen three varieties of rush-light holders. The two on the left show a place 
 for a candle also. The candle was used in honor of guests, and the weight of the socket served to close the 
 nippers which ordinarily were used to close down on the rush light held in them. 
 
 1-145 
 
 1-146 
 
 [U] 
 
 1-120 
 
 1-119. TALL FOR FLOOR 
 
1-130. TWELVE-LIGHT CHANDELIER. IRON AND TIN. 
 
 A less number of lights may be provided, but less than eight would not be satisfactory in style. 
 
 1-141 
 
 1-152 
 
 THE ADJUSTABLE SCONCE AT THE TOP IS NO. 1-140 
 [ 12 ] 
 
 1-150 
 
1-251 1-252 1-253 
 
 26 in. 22J-2 in. 27 in. 
 
 A BOVE are shown nine designs of quaint knockers; 1-300 is the most elaborate. These varieties in 
 dimensions are from about four to six inches. They are all made either plain, as shown, or attach 
 through the post on the other side of the door with a combination latch. 
 
 The latches shown on this page are all designed for outside doors and some are very large and handsome. 
 
A BOVE are shown several quaint designs of latches. The heart design at the top on the left is good, and 
 ■ also the so-called rounded triangle at the right; in the center of the top, various sizes of catches, 
 otherwise called strikers for the latches, are provided so as to match the size of the latch itself. As a rule 
 we make our strikers with a scroll and brace at the bottom, as shown above. The latch bars themselves are 
 of various sizes and designs; two are here shown. We also make a design with a small pin or post by which 
 the latch is lifted, and if any special design is required it can be supplied on request. The large scroll latch is 
 an outside piece found on an old church. 
 
 Grills and Stair-Rails 
 
 W E do not show any designs of these, as we specialize more on the house hardware. Such grill designs 
 appear already in other publications in an extensive showing. In an order for the entire hardware 
 for a house we should be willing to consider a minor order for completeness’ sake. 
 
 [ 14 ] 
 
1-244 1-245 1-246 1-247 1-248 
 
 W E consider the design above, 1-247, the most desirable of all our latches, as it is quaint and at the 
 same time reasonable in cost. Below is shown a remarkable large brass box-lock. This is attached 
 to the door by a plate on which it is slid with wrought hooks to attach it so that no screw appears except one at 
 each end of the edge of the main lock and the striker. The special merit is that it has a moulded edge, which 
 is very unusual. Please notice these locks are not made rights and lefts, but as in the old style one lock does 
 for both, the key in one case being put in reversed. A plain oval brass escutcheon is provided for the outside. 
 
OBVERSE AND REVERSE OF THE PINE-TREE SHILLING 
 
 Pine-Tree Shilling 
 
 I T was counted a great event in America for the Colonies when this coin was struck and we feel we are 
 honored by the connection of our old house with this event. There is a bronze tablet on the side of the 
 shop here commemorating the fact. Joseph Jenks also made here the first fire engine for the City of Boston, 
 and his descendants are still engaged in the iron business in the adjoining state. It is an interesting incidence 
 of persistence of one branch of craftsmanship. 
 
 The latches below on the right are not recommended by us, as they are purely eighteenth-century pro¬ 
 ductions. Nevertheless, some architects favor them. An interesting point about these is that the extreme 
 right-hand piece seems to have been cut out from the plate so that the ornamentation on the bottom is a 
 reverse of that at the top. Thus one cutting on the flat bar answered for two ends. 
 
Eighteenth-Century Hinges 
 
 A BOVE is shown a considerable variety of the H, HL, and HLL hinge which was ordinarily in use on 
 ■ good houses during the eighteenth century. These are all shown, both with scroll ends and plain, 
 except 1-3, which may also be supplied with scrolls. These are generally made in two sizes, about 7 inches 
 and about 10 inches. Ten inches is none too large for an average door. If it is desired to attach a door 
 with special security, a plain H hinge may be used in the center ; thus the door would be equipped with three 
 hinges and provided against any springing at the center. The butterfly hinges shown, 1-51 and 1-52, show 
 the earlier and later type. They were commonly used on tip tables and on small cupboards. The ham¬ 
 mered hinge, 1-31, was in very common use on the doors, sheds, and barns, and in kitchens and even on cup¬ 
 boards on the main part of the house. It is, of course, used with a gudgeon. The numbers 1-13 and 1-15 
 are especially attached for cupboards, being usually of a small design, but 1-15 can of course be made large 
 enough for an ordinary house door. No. 1-366 is designed as a fastener for the cupboard door, having a 
 drop latch, converting it into an H and matching nicely the H hinges. 
 
 It was the custom on simple houses to leave all these hinges black. In the better houses, however, and 
 the parlors particularly, they were painted over white. In our modern reconstruction of old types it has 
 generally been felt desirable to let the hinge speak boldly for itself and so is painted black. The plain H 
 hinge was often covered as to half of its surface by the finish of the door and then appears as an I hinge. 
 The writer, however, has never seen an I hinge and doubts if they were ever made. 
 
 In attaching these hinges the nails should be of the right length to pass through and clinch. By careful 
 work this clinching can be done to be wholly unobtrusive. It is not feasible to make secure attachment in 
 soft wood without clinching. 
 
Special Hinges 
 
 A BOVE are shown over 1-41 the usual door hinge of the seventeenth century which goes under the name 
 • strap and butterfly. It is very crude and quaint, and appropriate for all houses where the wood is 
 left in the natural colors unfinished. 1-42 and 1-43 are variants of the same quaint early style. 1-37 is 
 often made in a very large size and has a good arrow head with a scrolled gudgeon and a screw thread, the 
 pieces below being used, one on one side and two on the other, as washers, the smallest of the three being a 
 hand-ornamented nut. This hinge is designed to be used where the gudgeon goes entirely through the jamb 
 and is attached in plain view on the other side. 1-34 is an offset hinge, used for large outside doors like 
 the modem garages, or for any purpose where an offset is required. It is made with a machine-ground joint 
 and is a nice piece of accurate work. The hinge 1-35 is the commonest form of the strap hinge and goes 
 back to an indefinite antiquity. 
 
 Types Xot Shown 
 
 W E supply a great many articles of which no pictures are shown in this catalogue; for instance, the 
 cotter pin or wire hinge used on chests and many special bolts, hinges, and other designs. We will 
 make to order any wrought-iron house hardware from designs submitted or from our own designs. We are 
 prepared to furnish the entire hardware for a seventeenth- or eighteenth-century house. 
 
 The object of showing the brass lock on a previous page was to provide something for an eighteenth- 
 century house which was of a sufficiently ambitious character to demand brass on the principal rooms; in such 
 houses the brass lock may be supplemented on the rear and upper rooms by the iron lock. 
 
The Wallace Nutting Productions 
 
 f I ^HESE are not confined to iron work, which is the smallest of the branches of our products. The object 
 A of entering into the ironwork was that it was impossible to find anywhere in America a good assort¬ 
 ment of Colonial designs, correct in detail and with the early feeling. Mr. Nutting experienced difficulty 
 in restoring old houses and finding the types required. He therefore proved that the making of such articles 
 would supply a need. 
 
 Another branch of our business is the making of Windsor chairs, perfectly correct in type and in a greater 
 variety of designs than any one made of the heyday of that style, or attempted. 
 
 To architects who make application, or prospective buyers, a special catalogue of these chairs will be sup¬ 
 plied. We also make reproductions of quaint seventeenth-century furniture, and we have many pictures of 
 such pieces but no catalogue as yet. Such pieces are in some cases carried in stock, if time permits their pro¬ 
 duction, but in some cases they are made to order. 
 
 A third branch of our business is the well-known Wallace Nutting platinotype, which is the result of 
 many journeys in many lands and in many states of our union, and comprises birches, blossoms, and streams, 
 and many out-of-door subjects of the widest variety. 
 
 In showing old-fashioned interiors, Mr. Nutting has expended a great deal of time and trouble and has 
 secured a unique and extensive variety of all good types of interiors from the time of the settlers to 1800. 
 There are also many foreign themes, such as cathedrals, etc., mostly through western Europe. 
 
Renaissance Hinges 
 
 S OME of the above hinges have stolen into this book into company where they are not quite at home. 
 
 The elaborate piece numbered 1-73 has hardly a place here but was included as showing how some of 
 the simpler forms were derived from it. 1-62 and 1-63 are variants from what is called the coxcomb hinge, 
 which is very much used on cupboards. It is a piece that requires a good deal of care in manufacture. 
 That on the left is heckled; that on the right is still quainter. 
 
 Fireplace Utensils 
 
 O X page 6 will be seen under No. 1-460 a cut of skewers with a quaint skewer holder. The skewers 
 were used by being inserted through the meat and through the spit rod to hold the meat in position. 
 No. 1-473 is a hook to be nailed through the beam and is accompanied by another several feet distant to 
 support a drying pole in front of the fireplace on which were placed checked aprons and such articles as made 
 a strong impress on childhood recollection. The forks, etc., on the opposite comer were called, when plain 
 and heavy, tormentors with a suggestion of another world. They were used to take out the meat from the 
 great pot. A smaller, daintier fork was used as a toaster. The little basket was used to roast an egg or a 
 single chop and has a swivel joint which may be reversed so as to cook the contents evenly. 
 
,uJe ik 
 
 1-350 1-351 
 
 1-590 
 
 r T'HE large bolts above are designed for outside doors; the smaller ones for cupboards. 1-365 is a turn- 
 A buckle for a casement window. These did not have a striker but were turned into a depression in the 
 wood, although of course they can be made with strikers. Three blind fasteners are shown above and six below. 
 
[ 22 ] 
 
[23] 
 
Seventeenth-Century Architecture 
 
 T HE American type of seventeenth-century architecture was like that of England and retained many 
 hints of the Gothic. The overhang which appears on the side of a dozen American houses is the rarest 
 and the earliest type. Its origin was very simple, it being, of course, only a means of securing more room 
 where houses were huddled in narrow side streets in Europe under the protection of the castle. The roof 
 line here shown has been considered by many the most attractive to be seen anywhere in our country; the 
 sweep of the chimney serving the lean-to and going up into the huge stack is very attractive. The finials 
 on the house are copied from an ancient design and preserved to us. 
 
 The hardware of these houses was, of course, all wrought, with the exception perhaps of a pair of fire- 
 dogs. In some instances where iron was scarce or an expert smith was not available, wooden hinges and latches 
 were in use, as on the south side of the Hazen-Garrison house in Haverhill. Even the pins which attached 
 such wooden gudgeons to the wall were sometimes wood, and the wooden hinge is a still rarer object of anti¬ 
 quarian search than the iron one. 
 
 On the Iron Works House below there is no doubt that every article, even to the kettle, was supplied 
 by the builder. The making of wrought nails was an important feature of forge work, and great proficiency 
 was attained by our ancestors in this work so that several hundred could be finished in a day. The outside 
 doors were usually made double and were studded throughout with many nails. The fireplaces in the earliest 
 houses did not have cranes but a lug-pole of wood or iron. Later the crane was adopted, owing to its con¬ 
 venience and “the saving of the face” of the housewife, as it could be swung out away from the heat of the 
 fire. Besides the quaint hardware shown in this book, all the attachments for the homemade utensils of 
 the farm were a part of the early smith’s work. Thus he made hetchels for the flax, and the iron parts of the 
 flax and woolen spinning wheels. It was necessary for him to iron the rude wagons of the day and to make 
 the rings for the ox yokes. At that time charcoal was used almost exclusively for forge fire and formed an 
 ideal substance for that purpose. 
 
 We find almost no attempts at elaborate ironwork in America. The museums seem to show us nothing 
 of the kind. The wonderful productions of Italy, Spain, and Germany were not attempted, as they were 
 beyond the needs of the simple settler. The age of chivalry had passed away and the modern-time machinery 
 had not come in. Simplicity and strength mark the productions of our forefathers at the forge. At the Iron 
 Works here in Saugus firebaeks were cast, and in respect to these alone was there an attempt at artistic design. 
 The subject of firebaeks is a large one and has been treated at length. The fire room of the Iron Works 
 House bears evidence that square-cornered firebaeks in a series filled in nearly the entire rear of the fireplace, 
 but those treasures have long since vanished, although it is our hope sometime to discover some made here. 
 
 The casting of kettles was an important feature of early ironwork, and happily we have many examples 
 of them. There were also made articles somewhat resembling a modern soldering iron, which were called 
 toddy sticks or loggerheads. The term “loggerhead” doubtless arose from the circumstance that the piece 
 was the most convenient weapon of offense and defense. They had no artistic merit, but such articles are 
 eagerly sought by the collector. 
 
 Other Publications of Wallace Nutting, Incorporated 
 
 \ X/’E publish a work on the Windsor chair distinct from our catalogue which shows about a hundred and 
 VV twenty types photographed from old chairs and is the only work of the kind. Its price is $1.50; 
 we also publish a large picture catalogue of some thousand cuts which is loaned to the trade, and in response 
 to many requests we are offering to sell it at $2.50. We have in process of composition other works on the 
 early architecture and the country landscapes of America. 
 
 The Iron Works House can be seen on application, and at our office in Saugus are many examples of 
 hardware and furniture which we have copied. 
 
 [ 24 ]