You can get Davidson's thesis via UMI...a PDF download of the thesis should be free if your institution has one of those great agreements with UMI/Proquest.

and the TxDOt report can be ordered here:
http://www.dot.state.tx.us/gsd/pubs/envpubs.htm

It's entitled "Freedman's Cemetery, Site 41D316, Dallas, Texas"...it cost $21.00.....Although I can't tell from the web site if this is the preliminary report or the final (which contains all of the safety pin stuff)....maybe Davidson can clarify that.....any idea, JMD?

jamie

---
I am [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]

Jamie C. Brandon
University of Arkansas
Department of Anthropology &
NorthWest Arkansas Community College
Department of Behavioral Sciences
http://www.projectpast.org/jcbrandon/


-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Timothy Scarlett
Sent: Monday, February 06, 2006 10:57 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Safety pin dating

Kudos to Jim Davidson-

He should win an award for the most useful HISTARCH post in months!
A references cited section!  That is most excellent...

What can I do to get a copy of your thesis and the report you cited?

Thanks Jim!

Cheers,
Tim

On Feb 6, 2006, at 9:41 AM, [log in to unmask] wrote:

> Dan,
>
>  During the archaeological investigation of Freedman's Cemetery in
> Dallas, Texas, in the early 1990s, one of the most useful temporal
> diagnostics proved to be the common, everyday safety pin (Davidson
> 1999; Owens 2000).  Previously considered insignificant and mundane
> in historical archaeology, the safety pin actually is an excellent
> temporal indicator, inasmuch as its origin is a known one (it was
> first patented in the United States in 1849), and its form was not
> static.  Rather, seventeen varieties were recognized and defined in
> a typology by my colleague, Ms. Victoria Owens, and myself, and
> these varieties were patented between 1849 and 1900.
>
> In the safety pin typology formulated for the Freedman's Cemetery
> investigation (Davidson 1999:171-175; Owens 2000:424-427), two
> different notation systems were employed, one for the head and one
> for the base.  Classic shield head types were assigned a number 1,
> with different sub-varieties of shield forms given additional
> letter suffixes (e.g., 1A, 1B, etc.).  In addition to the rounded
> shield head form, there were 4 other head types defined in the
> Freedman's typology; 2, 3, 4, and 5 (Types 2 and 4 were wire headed
> varieties).  There are also 5 distinctive types of bases.  The
> bases were each assigned Roman numeral designations, from I through
> VI, with numeral V no longer considered a real type.
>
> As for your specific question, the earliest example of a shield
> head safety pin patented in the United States is Isaac W. Stewart's
> "Improved Diaper Pin" of August 16, 1870 (U.S. Utility Patent No.
> 106,422).  This is designated in the Freedman's Cemetery typology
> as Type 5.  The original 1870 patent illustration for the Stewart
> pin illustrates a ribbed or corrugated head form, and these
> corrugations are mentioned specifically by name in the October 11,
> 1875 reissue patent for the Stewart Pin (U.S. Reissue patent No.
> 6,698).  Given this, a large blanket-pin-sized safety pin in the
> author's collection is stamped with the patent date of August 16,
> 1870 (identifying it as an 1870 Stewart pin), but this example
> (although the head is formed in the manner outlined by Stewart in
> his initial patent description), is not square and ribbed/
> corrugated.  Rather, it is instead rounded and smooth faced (save
> for the stamped patent date).
>
> I emphasize this to make the point that to the casual eye, the
> Stewart 1870 safety pin (Freedman's Type 5) is virtually
> indistinguishable from the Type 1AI pin (the 1878 Butler and 1883
> Jenkins pins discussed below), since both have an enclosed shield
> head that can and often did include corrugations.  What
> distinguishes the two types are the means by which the shield is
> clamped to the wire to form the head.
>
>             Freedman's Type 1A safety pin was patented by William
> A. Butler on January 1, 1878 (U.S. Utility Patent No. 198, 912).
> An archival example of the Type 1AI safety pin (in the author's
> possession) is still attached to a fragmentary paper card printed
> with two different patent dates: January 1, 1878 (corresponding to
> the Butler Patent mentioned above), and May 1, 1883 patent date
> (which corresponds to a safety pin form patented by Joel Jenkins;
> U.S. Patent No. 276, 971).
>
> The 1878 Butler patent illustration shows a smooth shield head
> form, while the 1883 Jenkins patent, as well as archaeological and
> archival examples of the Type 1AI pin show a pressed and ribbed
> head form.  This ribbing, although distinctive in appearance, is
> apparently not the critical defining characteristic (as was also
> true of the Type 5 Stewart pin), but instead it is the form of the
> sheet metal head, and the method used to crimp it to the wire.
>
> Note that although the 1849 Walter Hunt patent (U.S. Utility Patent
> No. 6,281) is for a wire headed safety pin, the Hunt pin was never
> mass produced or widely distributed.  Rather, the wire headed pin
> that was ubiquitous in the late 19th century onwards (it is
> produced today) was patented on January 1, 1878, by John Lindsay,
> and is generally known as the Lindsay Pin (U. S. Utility Patent No.
> 198, 890).  In the Freedman's typology, the Lindsey Pin is
> Freedman's Type II.  It was the most ubiquitous safety pin type
> recovered archaeologically at Freedman's, associated with 163 burials.
>
>             In a discussion of the safety pin as temporal
> diagnostic, a particular patent date is not the only factor to
> consider.  Rather, while the safety pin's patent date informs us of
> the theoretical availability of a specific form, it does not tell
> us whether or not the object patented was ever manufactured, and if
> produced, if there was a lag time between the patent's filing date
> and this date of manufacture.
>
>> From a study of some 98 wholesale and retail clothing, dry goods
>> and mercantile catalogues dating between 1866 and 1907, it is
>> clear that although the first safety pin was invented in 1849 by
>> Walter Hunt (U.S. Utility Patent No. 6,281), safety pins were not
>> sold in large numbers until the year 1877, which marks their first
>> appearance in an American trade catalogue (from a firm
>> headquartered in New York City; Edward Ridley and Sons 1877).
>> This was because it was not until 1877 that a machine was invented
>> that could mass produce safety pins (Anonymous n.d.:21).  On
>> October 9, 1877, William A. Butler and William Wellge, both of New
>> York City, were issued a utility patent for the first machine ever
>> created that was capable of manufacturing safety pins (U. S.
>> Utility Patent No. 195,978).
>
>             Prior to this, all pins were laboriously hand made.
> Because of the lag time between introduction of form, manufacture,
> distribution, use, and finally interment, all the safety pins with
> 1870 and 1878 patent dates are, for all practical purposes,
> believed to actually date to circa 1880 or later.  This dating is
> consistent with the Freedman's analysis of some 924 safety pins
> recovered from 454 individuals (Davidson 1999; Owens 2000:424).
>
> A summary article on the history of safety pins, and their great
> utility in dating late 19th century burials, is currently being
> prepared for publication by myself and Ms. Owens.
>
> Dr. James M. Davidson
> Department of Anthropology
> 1112 Turlington Hall
> P.O. Box 117305
> University of Florida
> Gainesville, FL 32611-7305
>
> Phone: 362-392-2253 ext. 256            Fax: 352-392-6929
> Email: [log in to unmask]
>
>
> References Cited:
> Anonymous
> n.d. (circa 1945)           Metal Fabrication by Risdon: A
> Manufacturer's Story of Metal Components, Formed Wire Products and
> Safety Pins. Risdon Manufacturing Company, Naugatuck, CT.
>
> Davidson, James M.
> 1999    Freedman's Cemetery (1869-1907): A Chronological
> Reconstruction of an Excavated African-American Burial Ground,
> Dallas, Texas.  Unpublished M.A. Thesis, University of Arkansas,
> Fayetteville.
>
> Owens, Victoria
> 2000    Personal, Clothing, and Miscellaneous Items Associated With
> Excavated Burials. In Freedman's Cemetery: A Legacy of A Pioneer
> Black Community in Dallas, Texas, edited by Duane E. Peter, Marsha
> Prior, Melissa M. Green, and Victoria G. Clow, pp. 409-447.  Geo
> Marine, Inc., Special Publication No. 6. Texas Department of
> Transportation, Environmental Affairs Division, Archeology Studies
> Program, Report No. 21. Austin.
>
>
> Edward Ridley and Sons
> 1877    Fashion Catalogue and Price List, Fall and Winter '77-'78.
> New York. (Author's Personal Collection).
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---------------------------------
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dan Allen <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Sun, 05 Feb 2006 15:19:21 -0600
> Subject: Re: Safety pin dating
>
>
> Hello to the list:)
>
> Anyone know when safety pins in their simple wire form patented in
> 1849 (Hunt) were changed by the addition of the sheet metal guards
> around the heads? I'm archaeologically relocating a slave/
> Reconstruction cemetery in central Tenn. and most of the burials
> contain safety pins down what would be the back of the interments.
> Skeletal preservation has been slim:(
>
> Dan Allen
> Cumberland Research Group, Inc.
> and GRA; the Center for Historic Preservation @ MTSU