Artifact Archive

Shipwrights of the past, as part of their apprenticeships, built a tool chest for the storage of their tools. Petersburg Shipwrights founder Fred Paulsen carried this toolbox from The Gloucester Marine Railways in Massachusetts to Petersburg, Alaska. Shipwright boxes were typically painted drab colors and had rope handles so as not to draw attention to their costly contents. Outfitted with wooden shelves and drawers, they protected and organized the tools of the trade – caulking mallets, augers, calipers, Jerry irons, and pitch ladles. Cleats built into the lids held and secured saws. Paulsen...

 

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