Thanx to all answering my post on pins. I'm overwhelmed by Dr. Davidson's
reply to my post asking for info on safety pins:) I suspected the graves
we're working dated between 1870 and the first quarter of the 20th century.
Traditionally a "slave cemetery" I wasn't observing any antebellum
artifacts in the burial contexts and suspected we were actually in a
Reconstruction Period cemetery. Guess I won't need to expend much effort on
sfaety pin research:):):) I never dreamed that safety pin history was so
complex
Dan Allen
Cumberland Research Group, Inc.
and GRA; the Center for Historic Preservation @ MTSU.
. The information ----- Original Message -----
From: <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, February 06, 2006 8:41 AM
Subject: Re: Safety pin dating
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]: Sun, 05 Feb 2006 15:19:21 -0600Subject: Re: Safety pin datingHello 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 theheads? I'm archaeologically relocating a slave/Reconstruction cemetery incentral Tenn. and most of the burials contain safety pins down what would bethe back of the interments. Skeletal preservation has been slim:(Dan AllenCumberland Research Group, Inc.and GRA; the Center for Historic Preservation @ MTSU
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