Planemakers of Western Pennsylvania

Astragal Press books on antique tools and more

Planemakers of Western
Pennsylvania and Environs

Charles W. Prine, Jr.

Planemakers of Western Pennsylvania and Environs by Charles W. Prine, Jr.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the period from 1800 to 1840, was the Gateway to the West, and there was more planemaking activity here than in many of the more publicized New England and east coast cities. This informative, thoroughly researched book provides new insights into the lives of early 19th century planemakers in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area, America's first major inland industrial center.

Prine describes the roles these respected tradesmen played in their communities and how they competed with each other to dominate the market. Included among the planemakers were a professor of music, a captain in the militia, a runaway apprentice from Connecticut, an inventor, and a justice of the peace.

The author has also uncovered new information, not previously published in books, about planemakers in Baltimore, Maryland, and Cincinnati, Ohio, as well as the first recorded Canadian planemaker who came from England by way of Pittsburgh. The book reports the discovery of several previously unknown planemakers from the Western Pennsylvania area. Included as well are brief histories of all of the Pittsburgh hardware firms that imprinted their marks on the planes they sold.

With 80 outstanding full-color and black and white photos of planes, as well as numerous pictures of newspaper and directory ads, estate inventories, apprenticeship papers, and patent drawings, this book sets a new standard for research and writing about regional planemakers.