Trades & Technology – Past & Present Podcasts

The wheel may be one of geometry’s simplest shapes, but the technology behind its creation is surprisingly complex. Add to that the variations among English wheels, French wheels, carriage wheels and cannon wheels, and the story gets even deeper. Colonial Williamsburg wheelwrights apply their expertise to the challenge of recreating the wheel for a French […]

Technologies that used to be beyond reach for museum professionals now can lend new insights into the hidden compositions of materials, metals, and paints. Conservator Kirsten Moffitt explains how a spike on a screen can spot a fake or reveal a discovery.

Gain a new respect for the good old pumpkin. Author Mary Miley Theobald traces the history of the venerable gourd.

It takes a lot of bricks to build a Market House and our brickmakers are busy. So it seems like a good time to revisit this October 2011 podcast about the process for the building blocks of the Historic Area. Brickmaker Jason Whitehead tells the story.

No matter where the Earth glides on its axis, the days both long and short shine on a years-worth of work on the colonial farm. At Great Hopes plantation, the turning of the seasons brings with it a task suited to the temperatures: plowing, sowing, planting and harvest. Learn the rhythm of the year with […]

Intelligence born of practice combines with the study of science to complete the historic tradesman’s store of knowledge. There was no better spokesman for the Historic Trades program than Director Jay Gaynor. Jay recently passed away and we miss him. This encore podcast is dedicated to him.

Draping, cutting, sewing, and trim: these are the hallmarks of the milliner and mantua-maker’s craft. Apprentice Sarah Woodyard is near completion of her apprenticeship, and at the threshold of attaining journeywoman status.

Milliners stood at the hub of a global trade in everything from handkerchiefs to pocket pistols, purveyors of a thousand fashionable items. The Margaret Hunter shop marks 60 years of interpreting the milliner’s trade. Apprentice milliner and mantua maker Abby Cox shares the history of the little shop on Duke of Gloucester Street.

Beef hearts, pig bladders, tripe, and lots and lots of butter are ingredients kitchen apprentice Kim Kosta will come to know well as she sharpens her skills in the Palace kitchen. As she rises to achieve journeyman status, she’ll have to master 25 recipes at seven levels of difficulty.

Anderson’s Armoury opens after years of research and reconstruction. Two of the project’s leads talk about the culmination of a project that changes the shape of the Revolutionary City and the narrative of a country at war.

For the first time in decades, a new historic trade joins the tradition of craft in the Historic Area. This week, meet Steve Delisle, the first tinsmith in the Revolutionary City.

The first combat submarine was invented as a vehicle to transport underwater bombs. Jerry Roberts of the Connecticut River Museum tells the story of an intrepid American inventor.

Apprentice cook Melissa Blank learns her way around a 200-year-old kitchen.

The compromise between using authentic materials and following authentic practices requires finding a delicate balance. Cooper Jon Hallman describes the challenges of representing 18th-century trades as realistically as modern conditions allow.

Books were treasure when each tome was made in 28 separate stages. Hear how the trade is preserved by Master Bookbinder Bruce Plumley.

The 2012 summer digging season yielded everything from human and animal burials to sawpits and fencelines. Staff Archaeologist Meredith Poole puts the clues into context.

Copperplate engraving is an exacting process that created precise images for an age before sharing pictures was simple. Journeyman engraver Lynn Zelesnikar tells us how it’s done.

A rich, brandied fruitcake is the centerpiece of Twelfth Night celebrations. Barbara Scherer describes the dessert as it was meant to be.

Wool is spun into yarn before it hits the loom. Karen Clancy cards the fibers and feeds the spinning wheel.

Master Silversmith George Cloyed explains that silver on the shelf is like money in the bank, and a silversmith’s records can reveal a town’s story.

Historic farming retains a connection to field and yield that modern farming does not. Farmer Ed Shultz describes the animals and methods he uses at Great Hopes Plantation.

The milliner is mistress of a thousand tasks, making gowns and garments for ladies. Janea Whitacre describes the trade.

The tailor’s art is all in the cut. Journeyman Tailor Mark Hutter threads the needle of historic fashion.

Feathers, fur, hoofs and horns bring the Historic Area to life. Elaine Shirley, manager of rare breeds, explains how we show happy animals to the public.

Colonists went green before green was a movement. Learn to keep an organic garden the Colonial Williamsburg way. Master Gardener Wesley Greene talks about history’s methods.

You can’t build a town without wood. Master Carpenter Garland Wood describes a Williamsburg built completely by hand.

You can call him a shoemaker, you can call him a cordwainer; you can even call him Al. But one thing you must never call him is a cobbler. Master boot and shoemaker Al Saguto discusses his trade in this week’s show.

The gun is part of America’s creation story. Gunsmith George Suiter describes the technology of this potent tool.

New information continues to emerge from the excavation of Anderson’s Armoury. The tin shop is found, beginning a new exploration of the trade. Meredith Poole updates.

The coopers’s cask is one of mankind’s strongest constructions, and the ubiquitous container for shipping items wet and dry. Meet cooper Ramona Vogel to learn more about the trade.

Hear tales of hair farms, shaved heads, yak fur, and wigs rigged with live ammunition, told by wigmaker Betty Myers.

Master cabinetmaker Mack Headley makes fine furniture in the plain and neat Virginia style.

Williamsburg’s blacksmith transforms crude metal into elegant, functional tools. Master Blacksmith Ken Schwarz details the trade.

Basketmaking is a tradition born of utility and preserved for beauty. Colonial Williamsburg basketmaker Terry Thon practices a trade passed down through generations.

A new armoury complex takes shape on the footings of Anderson’s Forge. Archaeologist Meredith Poole talks about the site’s rebuilt narrative.

War makes the weaver busy. Cloth for everything from sails to bedsheets is created on his loom. Max Hamrick weaves the tale.

The accessories that graced the ensembles of history are on display at the Colonial Williamsburg Art Museums in “Fashion Accessories from Head to Toe.” Curator Linda Baumgarten introduces the collection.

A new blog from Historic Foodways presents 18th-century recipes in 21st-century terms. Get cooking with Frank Clark at recipes.history.org.

Cotton springs from the ground with a story all its own at Great Hopes Plantation. Farmer Wayne Randolph tells cotton’s story.

Harpsichord maker Ed Wright prizes the instrument for its bright, crystalline sound and unique mechanics.

Thomas Jefferson approached mechanical problems with an engineer’s mind. Historic Interpreter Bill Barker continues his reflection on this founding father’s areas of expertise.

Thomas Jefferson’s passion for politics is rivaled only by his passion for science. Historic Interpreter Bill Barker shares his study of the third president.

The humble honeybee sweetens the American story. Apiarist Bill Krebs says bees have been here since the beginning.

Recreating 18th-century technology takes perseverance and luck, says Jay Gaynor, Director of Historic Trades.

Colonial tradesmen learned the swordmaking craft as Virginia armed itself for war. Journeyman brass founder Suzie Dye describes the process.

Virginia’s soil yielded unexpected resources. Journeyman Blacksmith Shel Browder talks about an early iron foundry at Jamestown.

Journeyman cook Jim Gay explains that Americans’ love of chocolate dates back to the beginning.

Political pressure and personal bias have hounded American journalists since the first newspapers were printed. Interpreter Dennis Watson talks about the Virginia Gazette.

Doors are decked in Williamsburg’s signature style to celebrate the holiday season. Laura Viancour describes the preparations.

Revolutionary-era cannon tell the story of the evolution of war technology. Director of Historic Trades Jay Gaynor and Master Blacksmith Ken Schwarz continue their overview of recreating a light infantry three-pounder.