Sam Houston Memorial Museum Blog

 

Williamsburg Update #4

Josh Rachita, Historical Interpreter  

*Josh is interning for the summer at Colonial Williamsburg.*

June 13, 2021

Hi Y’all,

            This week was a very cool week! I got to visit with both the archeology and collections departments and get up close and personal with some real pieces from the 18^th century. I’ve finally graduated from the spoons so now I am working on the steps of reproducing a period piece. I selected a small trivet used for cooking or holding hot items like pots or irons. I also attended a music performance that used 18^th century music to show the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and one of his slaves, Jupiter. This week the Curator of Collections at the Sam Houston Memorial Museum, Mikey Sproat, also stopped by and said hello, which was nice to see a familiar face!

            At archeology, they have artifacts from the excavations they’ve done around the city. I was especially interested by the artifacts that came from the Anderson Armoury site. There was evidence of the things we speak about which was cool to see. There were many items that as a blacksmith I could tell that there was something wrong with them which explained why they were thrown away in the first place. Things like tear out in the iron were very common. (“Tear out” is a technical term that means "tears in iron" or "the tearing of iron".) There were also a lot of gun parts which is evidence of the shop serving as a public armoury during the Revolutionary War.

            In collections they keep the pieces that are period correct but weren’t found here in Williamsburg. Often these pieces are in great condition and are used by the museum as references for reproduction. This is the process that I am learning and practicing through making the trivet. I spent three hours taking notes and measurements and also drawing the artifact. Collections dated the piece between 1740 and 1780. It is a very unusual piece and there are several clues that help me understand how it was made. Having attempted it multiple times, I am encouraged to see my mistakes developing in the same places as the original. This leads me to believe that I am taking roughly the same steps the smith 250 years ago took as well.

            I am also seeing that my nails are getting better as well which is very exciting. I am making some that will probably be contributed to the 15,000 needed for the new brick drying shed, which is a very modest number for a new building. I am also getting more comfortable with interpreting here and learning a lot between interactions with other smiths and interpreters.

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The photos this week are a picture of me pumping the bellows, courtesy of Fred Blystone. A photo of the palace in the evening and a picture of the trivet and notes I took for reproduction.  And, the last photo is of myself with Mikey Sproat, Curator of Collections from the Sam Houston Memorial Museum.

Until my next update, I hope everyone has a great week!