t of, the ultimate design of a
specific tool is not so easily pinpointed. Only by comparing
illustrations and surviving examples can such an evolution be
appreciated and in the process, whether pondering the metamorphosis of a
plane, a brace and bit, or an auger, the various stages of change
encountered coincide with the rise of modern industrial society.

[Illustration: Figure 14.--1688: FRONTISPIECE FROM JOHN BROWN, _The
Description and Use of the Carpenter's Rule_, London, 1688. (Library of
Congress.)]

Configuration

Hand tools are often neglected in the search for the pleasing objects of
the past. Considered too utilitarian, their decorative appeal--the
mellow patina of the wood plane or the delicately tapered legs of a pair
of dividers--often goes unnoticed. Surprisingly modern in design, the
ancient carpenter's or cabinetmaker's tool has a vitality of line that
can, without reference to technical significance, make it an object of
considerable grace and beauty. The hand tool is frequently a lively and
decorative symbol of a society at a given time--a symbol, which,
according to the judges at London's Crystal Palace Exhibition in 1851,
gives "indications of the peculiar condition and habits of the people
whence they come, of their social and industrial wants and aims, as well
as their natural or acquired advantages."[8] The hand tool, therefore,
should be considered both as an object of appealing shape and a document
illustrative of society and its progress.

[Illustration: Figure 15.--18TH CENTURY: Cabinetmaker's dividers of
English origin. (Private collection. Smithsonian photo 49789-B.)]

[Illustration: Figure 16.--1783: CABINETMAKER'S dividers of English
manufacture, dated, and marked T. Pearmain. See detail, figure 17.
(Smithsonian photo 49792-C.)]

[Illustration: Figure 17.--1783: DETAIL OF CABINETMAKER'S DIVIDERS
showing name and date.]

[Illustration: Figure 18.--18TH CENTURY: Carpenter's dividers of English
origin, undated. (Smithsonian photo 49792-B.)]

On first sight, it is the conformation rather than any facet of its
technical or social significance that strikes the eye; perhaps the most
decorative of tools are early dividers and calipers which, prior to
their standardization, existed in seemingly endless variety. The great
dividers used by the shipbuilder and architect for scribing and
measuring timbers not only indicate building techniques (accession
61.548) but also document 17th-and ea