Old Brads and Leather Belts
Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2016 5:38 pm
I don't remember when I bought the little yellow box of 3/4" brads from the Holland Manufacturing Company. The box is getting ratty, and today I just about used them up. The box is old enough to have an actual price tag on it.
I remember walking past the factory in Baltimore's Little Italy in the mid-90s. It was terribly old with machines running off of leather belts from a central spindle running down the length of the factory. I suppose there was a single, large electric motor in the basement running the whole thing. One hundred years ago it still might've been a steam engine. The factory's been closed for about 15 years.
There are only three brads left in the tired old box. I ought to just throw them away, but I'm holding onto my tiny piece of history.
Here's a 25-year old article on the factory. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1991-1 ... land-nails
I remember walking past the factory in Baltimore's Little Italy in the mid-90s. It was terribly old with machines running off of leather belts from a central spindle running down the length of the factory. I suppose there was a single, large electric motor in the basement running the whole thing. One hundred years ago it still might've been a steam engine. The factory's been closed for about 15 years.
There are only three brads left in the tired old box. I ought to just throw them away, but I'm holding onto my tiny piece of history.
Here's a 25-year old article on the factory. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1991-1 ... land-nails
