Book Conservation
This test was taken from Popular Science, December 1942. There were many puzzles like this one during 1940’s when mechanical aptitude was considered key in winning World War Two. Because this one features something that looks a lot like a book press, I thought some might be interested. You might have to turn your monitor upside down to read the answers.
I often find the zombies with headphones on in museums rather annoying. But I’m even more glad this idea below never took off. I found this in Popular Science, April 1931. Although this report pitches the idea as making it more convenient for museum visitors, most likely it is also a form of using automation for cutting staff costs.
This French style cobblers hammer is interesting for two reasons- the very short handle, which actually gives a lot of control and I did observe an iterate street cobbler using an identical one, and the unusual method of head attachment. Earlier French cobblers hammers often has straps that extended down the handle. Salamon, in his Dictionary of Leatherworking tools pictures one. In this case, there is not a wedge that holds the handle in the eye, but a hole is drilled through the wood and the thick wire extending up through the sides of the eye are bent over to peen the metal to the wood. I haven’t been extremly rough with it, but it seems a fairly secure method. I purchased all of these in Istabul, Turkey in 2008.
Peachey Conservation 