Craftsmen
By: Trey Trezona
Introduction
Did you know that tailors were for men and mantua makers for women? This is just one interesting fact about colonial craftsmen. One of crafts I'll be telling you about is the peddlers. Another craft I'ok be telling you about is the tailors. Finally, I'll tell you about wood workers. Now let's peddle over to peddlers.
A Peddler
This is an image of what a peddler might look like.
Tailors/ Mantua Makers
This is what someone being fitting for an outfit might have looked like.
Woodworkers
This is what a woodworker in Colonial America's workshop might have looked like.
The Peddlers
Peddlers were important in colonial times because they made it so people wouldn't have to travel to large towns to get certain supplies. Peddlers were traveling merchants who sold an assortment of goods. Some of the goods they sold were fur, pots, pans, ammo and chapbooks. A chapbook was a book that sold with fairytales, folktales, major crimes. Since peddlers wrote in chapbooks no two were the same. Sometimes a peddler would be called a chapman. If a peddler was coming down a river they would blow a bugle to let people know they were coming. If someone didn't have enough money to pay a peddler, they would pay them in ammo. Peddlers could easily sell ammo. They're once was a peddler who claimed he was patriot who would auction off ammo, normally a patriot would give ammo to the 13 colonies, but this man auctioned it. Do you think he was a true patriot?
Tailors
Tailors showed you had a high social status. Tailors were for people who could afford to have someone make clothes for them. Tailors had different types of fabric and many different high-quality dye. If someone wanted something really fancy they could order a fabric from England. They're was a tailor for man called a tailor and for women they were called Mantua Makers. Tailors were specialized in making suits and Mantua Makers were specialized in making dresses. The gentry usually had all of they're clothes made by a tailor. If you had a high social status you would go to a tailor to get your clothes made. Therefore, if you wanted to show off you would go to a tailor.
Woodworkers
Just like today, people made things out of wood. People who did this were called woodworkers. There were many different kinds of woodworkers. Some of the different kind of woodworkers were housewrights, coopers, cabinet makers, wheelwrights, wainwrights, shipwrights. Woodworkers made all kinds of different things from wheels to boats! Usually a woodworker could make a living only doing one thing! People could pay people to come and make their house for them. Although, usually only people with lots of money did because building a house was expensive, but hiring someone to build your house for you was even more expensive.
Conclusion
In conclusion, you have learned about three different colonial craftsmen. You have learned about the peddlers of Colonial America. You have also learned about tailors and mantua makers of Colonial America. Finally, you have learned about woodworkers in Colonial America. All in all, you have learned about three important crafts in Colonial America. What would you have been?
Glossary
Wainwright: Made carriages
Coopers: Made barrels
Gentry: Wealthy
Sources
Books: Kalman, Bobbie,The Woodworkers, New York, Craptree Publishing Co.
Leonard, Fisher, The Peddlers, New York, Benchmark Books, 1998
Stevens, Bernardine, Colonial America, 1993
Online: - -, Made to Fit, Cobblestone, Nov/ Dec, 2013, np., SIRS Discoverer, WEB. 08 Mar. 2016
- -, Chapbook, 01 Aug. 2011, np., SIRS Discoverer, Web., 08 Mar. 2016