by Marilyn Arbor. Softbound, 124 pages, 8-1/2" x 11". Nearly 100 years ago, Henry Mercer began to amass a vast collection of the tools and implements used by Americans before the industrial age. He stressed the collection and study of common, everyday objects. He then built a museum to house his collection of objects which would reflect the lives of Americans in the 18th and 19th centries. These everyday objects of ordinary people - their axes, sickles, pie plates and spinning wheels - provide a valuable glimpse into the material culture of the past. Profusely illustrated. From baking utensils to wooden pipes, coopering to shingle making....the reader will learn about the objects of early America, their uses and physical context.