Chest, Tool

Object Name:

Chest, Tool

Object ID:

2015.019.01

Place of Origin:

Atkinson, NH

Date:

1810-1834

Description:

Tool chest. Owned and used by Aaron Page (1792-1834), shoemaker, Atkinson, NH, 1810-1834. Rectangular pine box with hinged cover. Blue painted exterior, worn. All sides, top, and bottom are each made of only one board. Inset iron lock on inside, with keyhole on outside. Iron hinges. No handles. Contains 22 shoemaking tools (.02), two lasts (.03), four cardboard patterns (.04), six completed shoes (.05), and three leather shoe pieces (.06).

Material:

Wood
Pine
Metal
Iron

Dimensions:

H-16 W-32 D-17 inches

Provenance:

Purchased by the seller at an estate auction in 2015. Purchase includes Aaron Page's daybook, 1817-1822.

A native of Atkinson, NH, Aaron Page (1792-1834) was the son of Nathan and Sophia (Page) Page. Ink inscriptions on the cardboard boot and shoe patterns suggest that Page was either apprenticed to or worked for a period of time as a journeyman in Newbury, MA. On January 26, 1815, he married Hannah Davis (1791-1878), also of Atkinson. Page was a farmer as well as a shoemaker, and was active in the community, serving as town tax collector and a founding member of the Universalist Church. Probate records list Page's shoemaking tools and equipment as well as the fact that he was insolvent at the time of his death.

Credit Line:

New Hampshire Historical Society Purchase

People:

Page, Aaron (1792-1834)

Subjects:

Tools, Shoemaking, Shoemakers, Shoes