Thursday, May 5, 2011

Staples of the past...








Imagine what you would do in the days before glue...
China in the days of tin and pewter dishes were a luxury...
When a piece was broken it was cherished enough to be repaired.
This collection of stapled china is a perfect example of early repairs.
When broken the piece was taken to the jeweler for repair.
Delicately the jeweler would drill holes in the china using a rod of metal dipped in diamond dust,
turned by a stick and string. The holes were used for the metal staples.
these repairs were watertight and very strong.
Imagine the time it took to do these repairs....
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5 comments:

Simply Iowa said...

Hey Michael....
I want to Thank You....for the Beautiful Stapled Plate... {I just have to keep and eye on daughter, Liz....she's waiting for me to die...so she can take it....oh dear!}
It's one of my Most Loved Pieces...
You are Priceless....
Love to Ya...
Barb C.

Decorating Lady's Humble Abode said...

Oh my gosh....this reminds me of my hysterectomy. I feel bad for the child that might of broke these dishes. LOL Decor. Lady

Anita said...

I always wondered how they did the stapling...thabnks for sharing! I have a couple of those I have kept...we hear great things about your store up here in Iowa....

Gatherings said...

Hard to believe they would put that much work into a broken plate! The back is more amazing than the front!

JWC said...

I've always loved stapled pieces... and have recently started collecting them. I just bought a fantastic Flight & Barr gilt decorated piece that has 8 staples in it! I've never known how they actually did the repairs. Thanks for the information!