How Much is that Rabbet in the Window?

Every tool collector instinctively looks at the front of the moulding planes on a dealer's table for that all important maker's mark. While cleaning some very gloppy varnish off a couple of planes for Genesee Country Village and Museum, I noticed some interesting information on the back end of one of them. It was the original price tag for the plane. While pointing it out to the curator, it occurred to me that I could not recall having seen this mentioned in the literature. Hence this note, to make collectors more aware of an interesting feature that ought to be preserved.

Although at first glance it would seem that the information was in some sort of code, it would have been perfectly clear to any customer in the early 1800s. (See Figures 1 and 2.) Our British friends will also recognize the markings, but should be puzzled to see them on American-made planes that never left home. The slash mark was in common use through the first two-thirds of the nineteenth century, standing for a "shilling." The name obviously has a British origin, but it simply meant one-eighth of a dollar, or 12 ½ cents. Extra cents were indicated after the slash. Thus 4/2 is four shillings and two cents (52¢). A mark of 2/-meant two shillings and no cents, or 25¢. This notation is very common in account books of the period. The half cent was not a problem for making change, since half-cent coins were minted up until 1857.

The catalogs of the tool manufacturers were not intended for the carpenter or cabinetmaker, but rather for the storekeeper. The catalog prices were the wholesale prices. What the price markings on the planes tell us is the actual cost of the tool to the user. Thus the D.R.Barton hollow and round pair in the illustration cost its owner eight shillings (8/-), or $1.00, for the pair (note the "pr" after the price). The bead planes came as a pair; the -3/8-inch, at a cost of five shillings, six cents (5/6), cost a shilling more than the ¼-inch plane, which is marked 4/6. The cove plane was five shillings and two cents (5/2) or 64 ½¢. (The letters above the price are a mystery; could they possibly a code for the storekeeper's cost?)

In looking through my collection, I found these markings in ink or pencil, on perhaps 5 percent of the planes. It would be interesting to see a comparison of the catalog and store prices to learn what kind of markup the storekeepers had and to get a better idea of what a craftsman's tool kit cost him.

Perhaps someone with a good file of catalog reprints and access to a large collection of planes will have a go at this.

Author

Kenneth "Ted" Kinsey is professor emeritus of physics at the State University of New York at Geneseo. Since retiring, he has spent an inordinate amount of his time at the Genesee Country Village and Museum. In addition to being the weekend wagonmaker, he has worked with the curator furnishing the Altay Store and also has been an architectural detective for the newest additions to the museum: the Opera House and the Campbell house.

Copyright Early American Industries Association Jun 2005
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