Narrow Thumbnail Plane
Dateca.1760-1779
Maker
Henry Wetherel Jr.
1729 - 1797
MediumBirch, hickory, iron, and steel
DimensionsOverall: 10 1/8"; thickness: 3/4"
Credit LineGift of Thomas Elliott
Object number2024-330
DescriptionNarrow thumbnail plane with flat chamfers that end with a slopped line and a lamb's tongue.Label TextHenry Wetherel, Jr. is believed to have been apprenticed to his uncle Isaac Wetherel, a blacksmith in Norton, Massachusetts. Multi-talented, Henry occupied himself as a farmer, blacksmith, shop joiner, toolmaker, and planemaker throughout the last half of the 18th century. In 1776, he purportedly served in the Revolutionary War. Wetherel moved to Chatham, Connecticut (now East Hampton) in 1779, and abandoned his earlier location stamp for another advertising his new location. In his will, dated December 20, 1793, Henry Jr. left his blacksmithing shop to his son, Henry III, including "all my trades in the different branches of it." His estate inventory, dated December 24, 1797, included a well-equipped multi-purpose shop, set up for both blacksmithing and woodworking.
This plane came from the tool chest of Simeon Presbrey's tool chest, and carries his "SP" ownership mark struck into the toe. Presbrey (ca.1758-1840) lived in Massachusetts and Vermont, and was involved in the manufacture of twine and thread.Mark(s)The toe of the plane marked with H•WETHEREL and IN•NORTON in relief within serrated rectangles (Elliott, AWP, p.401, imprint A). Toe also struck with Simeon Presby's ownership mark of SP in relief within a serrated rectangle (struck over a similar initial mark).ProvenanceSimeon Presbrey (ca.1758-1840, d. Waterville, VT); February 1994, purchased by Thomas Elliott (Westbrook, CT); 2024, given to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)
