Large Hollow Plane
Dateca.1751-1770
Maker
Jonathan Ballou
b. 1723; fl. 1751 - 1769
MediumBirch, iron, and steel.
DimensionsOverall: 9 3/4"; Width; 1 11/16"
Credit LineGift of Thomas Elliott
Object number2024-260
DescriptionLarge hollow plane with flat chamfers that stop with a line and a long taper.Label TextToday, Jonathan Ballou is thought of as the earliest planemaker to work in Providence, RI, a city which would become an important center for the trade in following decades. Though born in Lincoln, RI, Ballou relocated and was working as a joiner there by mid-century out of his shop on the west side of the Weybosset or "Great Bridge" spanning the Providence River. Not satisfied to engage in woodworking alone, he also advertised his services sharpening scissors, shears, and razors. Furthermore, Ballou was instrumental in the construction of the Providence Paper Manufactory, and was a minority shareholder in the venture. Curiously, none of the ads he ran between 1762 and his death in 1770 mention tools, or the need for apprentices.
When Fort William Henry, on Lake George in New York, fell to the French in the summer of 1757, there was widespread concern that the victors could next attack New England. Thirty five men of Providence, including Ballou, signed a declaration on August 15, 1757, vowing to enter military service to protect their country. The next day word reached the city that the French and their Native allies had turned and headed back towards Canada, averting the need for action.
Ballou sensed his time was short and made out a will on August 13, 1770, passing away on October 2 of that year. His entire estate, worth £89.12.9 Rhode Island currency, passed to his wife Elizabeth. Included in the estate listing was "a large number of tooles of all kinds new and old with some stock," valued at £19, in addition to a "Foot Wheel" (grinding wheel) and some "old Lumber." Later that month his widow advertised that a "Parcel of Carpenters and Joiners Tools, and sundry other Things" were for sale by public venue.
See Anne and Donald Wing's biography of Jonathan Ballou on pp.334-337 of PLANE TALK, Vol. XV, No. 2 (Summer 1991).Mark(s)ION•BALLOU in relief within a shaped rectangle over PROVIDENCE, also in relief within a shaped rectangle, struck into the toe. (Elliott, GAWP 5th ed., p.19). Owner's initial D punch-dotted into toe also.ProvenanceApril, 2000, purchased by Thomas Elliott (Westbrook, CT); 2024, given to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)
