Woodenware Products Plentiful
In Pioneer America
Treen is the ancient plural form of the word tree. It is now the
word used to describe small wooden objects, either hand-carved or
turned on a lathe, that were used for everyday purposes in early
America.
The plentiful supply of timber provided a source for the pioneers to
produce a wide variety of spoons, ladles, plates, mugs, buckets and
bowls. Less common, but also treen, were coffee grinders, ink
bottles, meat grinders and even washing machines. The colonial
manufacturer or purchaser often called these wooden objects,
collectively, “cooper’s ware.”
Great care was usually taken in selecting timber that had the
appropriate shape, color and grain. The convoluted grains in burl
made especially attractive pieces.
Makers of wooden flatware first hewed the wood to an approximate
size. It would then be roughed out with an ax and an adz (a
short-handled curved iron blade.) If the interior was to be hollowed
out, to make a spoon, for instance, it was often burned first to
make the gouging easier.
Most of the hollowware was made by turning on a lathe. Such items as
tankards and deep bowls were made this way. The earliest lathe, a
spring-pole, could only work half at a time. An identifying feature
of an object made in this way is that the tool marks on the two
sides do not always line up. Later lathes could do the entire piece
at one time and will show very even concentric circles.
There are several clues to judging the age of treen. As wood ages,
it shrinks across the grain; an old bowl will often be oval, due to
this effect. In boxes, shrinking tops and bottoms may pull away from
veneered sides. Knots in wood may drop out, leaving holes.
Wood also grows lighter in weight as it ages and years of handling
can give it a smooth finish hard to reproduce.
In
earlier times, damaged pieces were repaired, not thrown away, and an
old butterfly hinge on a cracked bowl would indicate it came from an
age when someone found repair work more practical than replacement.
Many old wooden pieces have been imported, since treen was important
in European countries, also. To help identify American pieces, one
needs to know the types of wood. Pine, maple and ash were used most
often in this country; unfamiliar woods probably came from somewhere
else.
Most treen was left natural or was lightly oiled if it was designed
for everyday kitchen use. Varnishing or painting was sometimes used
on barrels or boxes. If a name appears on a piece, it is usually
that of the owner, not the maker. (Exceptions were the mass-produced
wooden boxes of the late 1800s and patented products such as washing
machines.)
Woodenware gradually disappeared from the kitchen as
pewter, copper and earthenware came in to use.
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