Principal faculty advisor: Benno M. Forman, Dept. of Art History.
Bibliography: leaves 50-55.
Contents
Chapters: Introduction - History of Lancaster Borough - The building and furniture trades in Lancaster - Economic Status of the Furniture and Building Trades in Lancaster - Success and Kinship - Products , perception , and use of material culture - Conclusion.
Summary
"Lancaster, Pennsylvania, flourished during the last half ofthe eighteenth century. The borough had been founded in 1729 as an inland supply center for the lucrative fur trade and as a gateway to western expansion. The financial opportunities Lancaster offered attracted merchants, professional men, tradesmen, and artisans. This thesis focuses on one group of craftsmen, woodworkers involved in thebuilding and furniture trades between 1750 and 1800. German immigration to southeastern Pennsylvania was high during the eighteenth century, and many of them settled in Lancaster. The ethnic ratio of the woodworkers reflected the town's five-to-one, German-to-British (that is, English, Irish, and Scotch-Irish ) ratio. These artisans shared a common technological skill and, in most cases, a common cultural heritage. This study will examine the growth of thewoodworking trade and will isolate factors that contributed to thewoodworkers' success or failure in the borough. The craftsmen's products will be discussed to determine the extent the Germans adaptedto the British culture and simultaneously retained their ethnic identity. [from the introduction]
