Like needles in a haystack. Titanium deposits in sand, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Photo by Niel Overey.

Conceived beneath the skies of the ancient world, the Titans were the incestual god-lineage of Zeus: gigantic creatures who bore names like Oceanus, Themis, Hyperion. The metals then known to man were those purest of elements, and it was some two millenia before titanium would be discovered and used.

With an unmatched strength-to-weight ratio, low thermal conductivity and a tendency to be impervious to corrosion, titanium is indeed a metal of mythical proportions, even to the point of being mythically difficult to work with.

Titanium is what we use when we want to physically bond and repair the human body, it is what the hulls and appendages of our deep sea vessels are made of, it is the metal of engines that rocket our ships with ripping heat into space. For many reasons it is considered nearly invincible, much like the hulkish gods it was named for.

First culled forth from the black sands of the Helford River back in 1791 — a veritable heyday for the discovery of elements — titanium was brought to light by one man and named by another. Reverend, mineralogist and chemist William Gregor knew there was something special about the black magnetic sand he managed to isolate from the wet earth of the Menachan Valley in Cornwall, England. With a magnet and hydrochloric acid he was able to produce an impure oxide of the new element, though it would never be known by the name he wanted it to have, mechanite.

Titanium mine shrouded in smoke.

Four years later a Berlin chemist, Matthew Albert Klaproth, independently isolated titanium oxide from chunks of dark Hungarian rutile. His was the name that stuck, and rightly so. The Titans he conjured with this new name were tough, but they were also condemned by their own father to be held captive in the earth’s crust.

Titanium is the 9th most plentiful of all known elements. In terms of structural metals, it’s the 4th most abundant (following only aluminum, iron and magnesium). It is usually found in ileminite-rich mineral sands (from the Ilmen mountains in Russia) or laced in the rutile of the beach sands of Australia, India, Mexico. Workable deposits can also be readily located in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Ukraine, Norway, Malaysia.

Titanium is highly resistant to corrosion — superior to metals like bronze, brass, copper nickel, both stainless and carbon steel. It’s strength-to-weight ratio is unmatched, having all the strength of steel but less than half its weight. These are amazing properties and indeed, titanium is often called a super metal. But its prevalence in the earth’s crust begs the question: why are products made from titanium so few and far between?

The same properties that make titanium super strong, super light, and super corrosion-resistant also happen to make it nearly impossible to work with.

FOOTBALL FIELDS AND JET PROPULSION

Titanium would not be isolated to 99.9% purity for well over 100 years after it was discovered. Of all places, the element was finally rendered pure on a football field. It makes sense when we consider that the football field was at the Renssalear Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, and located conveniently close to the labs.

The hero was a professor of electrical engineering and instead of a football, his game involved a metal bomb. It would become known as the Hunter Process — a dangerous, explosive method by which titanium chloride is mixed with metallic sodium in an air-tight metal chamber and heated to extremely high temperatures. It’s not entirely practical because it doesn’t yield large quantities of the metal, but it is still used today when titanium of ultra high purity is desired.

William Justin Kroll, the man who would unlock titanium from the earth.

It wasn’t until William Justin Kroll developed the Kroll Process in 1948 that titanium would finally be completely unlocked from the earth and useable by man. In an elaborate chemical process full of painstaking breakthroughs, Kroll used the key players of titanium tetrachloride and magnesium. The Kroll Process is still widely used today, and it is what sent the metal into the engines of aircrafts with breakneck speed.

FEARLESS WARRIORS, POOR LAB PARTNERS

Isolating pure titanium is difficult but it is only one part of the grueling process that is conforming this metal to one’s will. It then needs to be bent, welded, machined, or molded, all of which are extremely difficult due to the great tensile strength of the metal.

The low thermal conductivity, high tensile strength and resistance to forces as corrosive as sea water make titanium one complicated workhorse of a metal.

Titanium rod.

Machining it is particularly difficult. The metal is almost stubborn, too strong to conform to another’s will. The low thermal conductivity often results in machines wearing down because the heat they’re using is dissipated by the low density metal. Titanium is so hard it’s likely to spring back and away from the blade that’s supposed to be cutting it, and cutting tools often need to be replaced. Large quantities of chemical fluid are needed to cool it down from its 1600 degree melting point and turnings, fines and chips are instantaneous fire starters. While being worked with, it has a great tendency to fret and gall.

Working with titanium requires devotion to science and process. Respect for the lustrous, authoritarian metal doesn’t hurt either — to say nothing of admiration and patience.

THE BODIES WE EXPLORE

Lucky for us all, the stubborn nature of the ore meets its match in the determination of engineers and scientists, and today titanium is used on nearly every front where its properties are needed, from leisure activities to space exploration.

We even use it to rebuild ourselves, to hinge together what breaks down over time in our bones and cartilage, small and large. Titanium screws together bones. From the load-bearing joint of the hip to the hardworking, ever-pumping valves of the heart, titanium is trusted to hold up to the chloride brines and organic acids that comprise the pH of the human body. It seems Adamantium — that indestructible, fictional element used by Dr. Cornelius to fortify the skeleton of Marvel’s Wolverine — may have found it’s inspiration in this amazingly biocompatible metal.

A biocompatible metal.

The low modulus — or stretch — of titanium, when paired with its superior corrosion resistance and strength-to-weight ratio also make it the first choice when it comes to exploring the unthinkable depths of the sea, where nameless creatures amble and deadly pressure reigns. The high-tech submersible, Alvin, is being newly built with a hull of three inch-thick titanium that will allow the vessel to reach depths of 4 miles deep, making all but 1% of the ocean floor accessible to oceanographers.

In the realms of flight and space exploration, titanium allows for maximum payload capability. With its low conductivity of heat and  high melting point, it is the ideal way to allow moving parts like jet engine blades and gas turbines to function at the highest level of efficiency.

Though the costly development of this super metal might be delayed because of this Great Recession, we will be seeing titanium in more and more elements of daily life, from bicycles to outdoor supplies, to anything that needs to face the elements and hold its form without rusting or breaking apart. From Frank Gehry’s Bilbao Guggenheim Museum in Basque Country, Spain, to the ocean floor, to wedding bands and bicycles and tools for the backyard, this mythic metal is found in reaches far away, close, and dark — whether we talk about the exploration of space or the beating of the human heart.

Shimmering sheets of titanium plating the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Designed by Frank Gehry.

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A felt home. Central Aisa, circa 1910.

Felt is said to be the oldest man-made material: its story goes back 8,000 years. It’s used in everything from carpets to garments to chalkboard erasers. Felt is basically the matted fibers of sheep, so it has all the virtues of wool — warm, waterproof, resilient, durable — but denser, more compact and much more versatile. It is extremely adaptable and can be made with little more than a pair of hands for tools.

Wool “felts” because the animal fibers have natural directional scales and kinks (like a lizard, or a pine cone) that bristle into action when water and friction is applied. The scales reach up to the source of friction at a 90 degree angle and then back again, which causes the fibers to stitch together and form felt.

In India, felt is made for the mass market by laying down wool in shallow pools of water and going over it with giant steamrollers. Watch a modern-day Mongolian tribe demonstrate the process of building a traditional home out of felt in this YouTube video. The entire process is recorded, from herding and shearing the sheep, to beating pelts of unprocessed wool with long reeds, to erecting a ger, or yurt, just like the Xanadu pleasure palace of Kublai Khan, or the mighty military bases of Ghengis Khan. Felt is moisture-wicking and insulating, because even the badasses of the Mongolian plain desired a cozy and durable dwelling.

A Turkemen horse, cozy in a felt coat.

It’s hard to say exactly who made felt first, but it was so long ago that it was on Noah’s Ark. On the ark, woolen creatures, like goats, sheep and camels, naturally shed their coats. Beasts that they are, they urinated on the floor then trampled around on the wool. Once the flood receded, Noah to discovered the animals had gifted the Ark with a carpet of felt.

Kneading wool into felt. One of man's simplest processes.

Another legend attributes the discovery of wool to Pope Clement I. Also known as Saint Clement, the fourth pope had blister-prone feet and stuffed wool into his shoes for extra padding. The combination of sweat and compression made felt. Enthralled by the new material, he and his monks set-up a feltmaking workshop in Rome. Earlier and more concrete evidence of the making and use of felt dates to ancient fresco painting in Pompeii, where images of quactiliarii (feltmakers) have been found decorating the walls of homes and shops. It is possible that these fabricators dressed marble sculptures of Venus, goddess of love and beauty, and Cybele, Earth Mother, in felt robes as an advertisement of their goods. In fact, the supple, silken drapery that we usually imagine in the ancient world are incorrect — the Romans swathed themselves in togas made of heavy wool felt.

A felt hat if nothing else. Collecting surplus goods in Arizona. Photo by Russell Lee via The Denver Post.

FROM FURNITURE TO FINGERS

Despite being such an old technology, felt is still used all over the world for all sorts of things — from purely utilitarian use in car parts and musical instruments, to furniture and art. Impressively, this material — which (possibly) came from animal excrement and clomping — is now used to achieve elegant design. And therein lies the crux of felt’s virtuosity: the juxtaposition of its humble origins with its current use in high art and design, made possible by its incredible versatility and application in any number of fields, objects and aspects. In the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum’s 2009 exhibition Fashioning Felt, this extraordinary material was molded into a futuristic coat, a bench, high-concept chairs and even a palace.

Ilkka Suppanen's Magic Carpet chair in felt and metal. The felt forms to your body for better lounging.

Kathryn Walter of the Toronto-based FELT Studio pushes felt into heretofore unexplored territory, designing felt into stools the shape of spools, diffusing lampshades  and softly undulating wall paneling. Artist Kedmi Hanan makes rings by combining soft, pliable felt with high-tech heat sinks, a metal computer part used to prevent overheating. Designer Aurelie Tu, uses felt for its historical handicraft lineage and environmental integrity. Her vases, flooring, wall pieces and lighting, are handmade in Portland, Oregon, using an interlocking system without sewing or glue.

The variety and range of products out on the current market attest to the incredible possibilities of felt in function and design. This much is sure: felt is not a fad, but forever.

Felt wall paneling at the auditorium of the Museum of Tolerance

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Spider webs are stronger (and spookier) than kevlar. Photo by Russell Watkins via the UK Department of International Development.

1. “Animals and plants build structures of incredible complexity without the energy-hungry high temperatures, pressures and toxic chemicals with which we process raw materials in this fossil fuel age, and without generating useless waste.” From Inspired, Naturally, Financial Times.

2. A spider’s web is “made with an input of only dead flies and sunlight, and yet is 5 times stronger than kevlar.” Edible Architechture, Design Observer and Spider’s Dragline, Biomimicry.

3. Sharklet Technologies is inhibiting bacteria through pattern alone. Hospitals are using it on medical surfaces to slow the spread of illnesses, and the revolutionary idea all comes from the skin of the Galapagos Shark. Technology, Sharklet.

4.  A waxy Namibian bug who drinks water from fog, inspires a British architecture firm to try and build waxy buildings that gather water from fog. King fisher birds solve the sound boom issues of hyper-futuristic bullet trains. A cement company is harvesting carbon dioxide for building materials, just like their heroes, coral reefs. Janine Benyus: Biomimicry in Action, TED.com (video)

5.  If we’re using nature as inspiration for the future, then: Is the real fountain of youth delicious with clarified butter? Science Says Lobsters can Live Forever, but are Still Delicious, Planet Green, Discovery.

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A man's hand dwarfed by the brawny girth of rope.

Rope is the wheel of the ocean. Man has used it to bind together and control materials for millennia, from raftsmen navigating the rabid waters of the Nile to nomadic whale hunters rolling over the dark fathoms of the sea. It is a tool that predates all but the most rudimentary instruments of survival — the sharpened stone, the blunt hand tool — and like these objects, versions of it are found in nature: the vine, the twisted branches of plants, even the muscle fiber beneath your skin.

Rope was there when massive materials were hoisted up to build ancient cities like Baalbek, it was what first tethered Europeans to the New World. Think of that fateful line slinking in the pristine West Indian water, or coarsely tearing up the hands of a desert slave. The cord they severed between you and your mother when you were born, or the line they carefully looped around the throat of John Brown.

Physically strong by nature, rope’s interlocking fibers make a cord that is then braided or twisted in opposite directions over two or more versions of itself. The structure gives it a lightness and tensile strength that cannot be replicated, one that seems to have been drawn on the same board as our muscle, even our DNA.

A man, five small children and a dog pose pensively with some rope for a nautical-themed family portrait.

The strength of each individual fiber is made stronger from being coiled around a linear structure. The resulting unified mass is stronger than its individual parts. Technological advances in materials, starting with Nylon in the 1930s and careening into the polymers and carbon fibers of today, have meant that the best ropes available are largely unbreakable, which is to say we’ve come a long way since the Incas were weaving together grass to make the Bridge of San Luis Rey. Poor Ernesto, the seafaring hopeful of the story, never had a chance to feel the large hemp locks of a ship; he plummeted to his death instead when the lesser line of the footbridge snapped.

University men suited up to play a rousing game of tug-of-war in 1890. Image from the Northfield Mount Hermon archives.

Prevalent as it was in the ancient world, rope has yet to fall by the wayside. In fact, the age-old structure is replacing newer, previously hailed materials. Racing catamarans are the latest weaponry in the America’s Cup races. Unlike the bulky, cumbersome yachts of old, these boats are lightweight, high-speed racers, and rope comprises more and more of the boat — parts that were previously made of something else. Rope is replacing the metal in the wires and the fiberglass in the blocks. The very ground on which the sailors stand, under which the ocean passes as if in a trance, is made up of rope tied into countless knots.

Ogden cigarettes collaborate with the Boy Scouts to teach smokers how to weave eye splices. Image via Off Grid Survival.

NOT EVERYONE CAN BE A BOY SCOUT
Rope is still being made from manila, sisal, hemp, jute, cotton and other natural materials and there’s no reason why it wouldn’t be: they’re readily available, affordable and useful. For most uses, these plant fibers still provide a reliable, workable structure.

Sports like high-speed sail racing demand more from their lines due to the rigors the sailors subject them to: constant, full-tilt use under the destructive forces of sunlight and water. The competitive nature of the sport and the wealth associated with it means that no expense is spared. Braid-on-braid cords are space age, chemically-bonded, intricately woven aramid (popularly known as Kevlar) or high modulus polyethylene coated with Zylon.

A man leisurely dangling from a rope in front of a barge in Gujarat, India. Photo by Didier Ruef.

That’s all well and good when you’re cranking a winch in high wind, the ocean spraying your comrades and threatening to take you all in, but what about the rest of us?  It turns out there are a few things about rope that every man, woman and child should know.

A giant spool of rope. Image via Bartlett Year 1 Architechture.

First is the bowline (pronounced bo-lin) knot. This favorite of sailors is quick to tie, very strong, easy to form a loop with, and easy to undo by breaking its back and loosening the structure.  It’s great if you need to tie something heavy up quick, or form a loop that won’t budge.

The rope climb: perhaps one of America's most mortifying gym exercises. Image via The Art of Manliness.

Next is the eye splice. Knots are great, but tend to weaken the rope’s load bearing capacity by 40% by putting all the pressure on one spot in the rope instead of spreading it out along the line. For more permanent structures, or when losing control of the rope would mean sudden danger or death, such as on a mooring a boat, hoisting a piano, and mounting heavy things on the wall, use a splice. They’re stronger, harder to undo, and more capable of holding a load without breaking.  Practice on some cheap, three-braid nylon rope from the hardware store.

Also, steer clear of any rope that’s frayed, damaged from excessive heat or sun, or been in such a damp and dark spot that it’s molded.

Cowboy Will Rogers has only the best of wishes for Tom Morgan. Image via Angry Elvis, via Rogers Historical Museum.

When used within reason, rope generally doesn’t break but is cut by the friction caused by resting on an edge. Consider it the next time you tie your shoe, or pull down the shade, or come across some in the garage. Grip it with both hands and pull on it as if you’d pull it apart. Take a closer look. Between your fingers, even woven under the skin of your hands, is the stuff that holds everything together in a world that ceaselessly threatens to rip itself apart.

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A young Danny Hillis hard at work at his connections machine console.

During the 1980s and 90s, Hillis developed and debuted the first “parallel” supercomputer, which efficiently processes hundreds to millions of pieces of information simultaneously, much in the same way the human mind works. This supercomputer, dubbed the Connection Machine, dramatically augmented the way that databases and computing systems work. Prior to Hillis’s invention, industries, markets and governments relied on “sequential” computers that slowly synthesized only one item at a time. It was truly an innovation for the ages; an invention that our very modern existence is hinged upon. The Connection Machine grew to such fame that it even made a cameo in Steve Speilberg’s Jurassic Park (1993) and today, most all supercomputers are based on Hillis’s initial design.

Danny Hillis, older and slower.

But the constant demand for bigger, faster systems prompted Hillis to pause and think about the long-term consequences of the frenetic pace of the new epoch. In 1993, Hillis wrote a contemplative, thought-provoking email to friends that was eventually parlayed into a 1995 article for Wired magazine. Hillis proposed that action be taken to slow down time for the sake of the fast-approaching future. Rallying his varied cast of friends, including musician Peter Gabriel, writer Stewart Brand and composer Brian Eno (the chimes of the Clock of the Long Now inspired the album January 07003 Bell Studies CD) among others, Hillis conceived of the idea to build a monument-sized clock that would last an epic 10,000 years.

Prototype in miniature of what will be the Clock of the Long Now.

What sounded like a work of science fiction or at least a pipe dream became a certain reality with the founding of the Long Now Foundation, and the crucial financial backing of Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com; Mitchel Kapor, founder of Lotus software; Jay Walker, founder of Priceline.com, and his family; and Bill Joy, one of the founders of Sun Microsystems.

It may seem contradictory that some of the biggest contributors to our current, technologically-aided, fast-paced way of life are seeking to slow things down, but as Long Now Foundation Executive Director Alexander Rose explains:

“I would say that it is precisely this close relationship to accelerating aspects of our culture that sensitized our founding board and core funders to what we all miss if we don’t pay attention to the slower and deeper opportunities. The Clock project in particular is a response that Danny [Hillis] had to people constantly asking him to build ever-faster computers. It made him wonder what we were missing in the slow space.”

In 1999, Hillis and his associates completed the first prototype of the Clock of the Long Now, a small-scale version currently on-view at the London Science Museum. The final monumental Clock will primarily be made of stainless steel, titanium and Monel, a mixed-metal alloy that was patented in 1906 and typically found in aerospace and submarine applications due to its high resistance to corrosion.

Pieces and early prototypes of the Clock of the Long Now on exhibit at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, California.

The ball bearings of the clock will be fabricated out of silicon nitride, a type of manufactured hard ceramic mass-marketed since the 1950s for moving car and space shuttle parts. In nature, silicon nitride is only found in miniscule amounts in fallen meteorites. It is extremely wear-resistant and does not require lubrication, making it ideal for the 10,000 year lifespan of the Clock of the Long Now.

The year 02,000. Only 1/5 of the way to the year 10,000.

As is fitting with the rationale for fostering future responsibility, the clock’s torsional pendulum will require periodic power through human winding. The accuracy of the clock will adjust with alignment to the sun.

The team is now at work on the second prototype, implementing advanced-wear testing to simulate the conditions the parts will face over 10,000 years to ensure the movements and ball-bearings last into the future as projected. Plots of land have been purchased for the installation of two colossal clocks: the previously mentioned site in eastern Nevada and the 2005 acquisition of land in Van Horn, Texas.

The weights and balances of the Long Now. Pieces that could very well outlast humanity.

In addition to the consideration put into choosing the materials, the crux of the strategy for preserving the Clock for 10,000 years is to build most of the structure underground. Hillis cites a couple of long-lasting forerunners as prime examples: “The only way to survive over the long run is to be made of materials large and worthless, like Stonehenge and the Pyramids, or to become lost.”

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Crest of the Worshipful Company of Pewterers in London, Livery Company, founded 1348

Despite generations of heirloom silver sets, eating is when pewter most shines. Non-reactive, tarnish-free, and taste-less, it was used by the ancient Egyptians, prized by the Romans, and may have given Caesar cause to invade Britain, a land rich in the metals essential to its production. King Edward is said to have had over 300 dishes of the stuff — not a single one made of silver.

Ironically, tin (the main constituent of pewter) is considered “poor,” a term referring to the metals that sit in the corner of the periodic table that are soft and quick to melt. It is also considered by some to be “the poor man’s silver.” In truth, Tin is what gives pewter many of its beneficial attributes, making it a great alternative to silverware or earthenware. For this reason, pewter has also been called “the rich man’s ceramic.”

Louis Bernard working with Pewter, image via lempreintecoop.com

Though this most valuable metal alloy has been used since ancient times, it took craftsmen centuries to get it right. Toughening up tin without compromising its food-worthiness required a pinch of this and a little of that. (I imagine cloaked men milling around a boiling cauldron of tin, pouring contents from unmarked packages until just right.) “This” and “that” happened to be copper, antimony, bismuth, and — in the days before people knew better — lead. A high tin content meant a light alloy with a brighter finish but less strength. Considering it was more pleasant to sip ale out of a light shiny tankard than a dull one as heavy as pig-iron, craftsman continued searching for the perfect balance of strength and luster. The line for safe, high quality pewter was finally drawn at the 92% tin mark.

CRAFTING QUALITY

Those who could get their pewter to shine without having it crumple eventually formed craft guilds, strict organizations that acted as both educational institutions and regulatory agencies. Nuremburg, London, Limoges and Montpellier became important centers of pewter making as guilds in these cities carefully guarded their secrets. They trained apprentices and journeymen, allowing only the best to acquire the title of “master craftsman.” The rise to master, however, was tightly controlled — no one earned the title without the right letters, stamps and experience. The finished product was closely scrutinized, and only those that adhered to strict guild requirements received their own touchmarks, those embossed stamps which distinguished one craftsman’s work from another.

Pewter Touchmark, image via antique-shop.com

Just as apprenticeship was the equivalent to a college education, a touchmark was a craftsman’s brand. It also created a sense of accountability; if a piece wasn’t up to snuff, the buyer knew exactly where and who to complain to. Touchmarks also became marks of distinction. The crowned X, for example, indicated a high level of craftsmanship, while the date and initials of the reigning monarch proved it had passed inspection.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the demand for quality pewter increased dramatically, and guilds reached their height of production. Bright-eyed apprentices trained from four to six years, carving molds, pouring molten metals, and learning decorative techniques, while journeymen spread knowledge imparted by their village masters. For several generations guilds continued to supply taverns and homes alike with fine tableware. Consumers drank heartily from pewter mugs, poured thick gravy from pewter ladles over food served on pewter platters, and sipped soup from pewter bowls.

18th Century pewter lidded quart measure, with fleur-de-lys hinge and scrolled thumbpiece, image via georgekidner.co.uk

Inevitably, the industry was undermined by the very forces that regulated it. Innovation was stifled by the guild itself; the comfort of being in the bosom of a protected industry engendered laziness. Many craft guilds — including pewterers — lost the respect of the public as concern for quality fell dramatically. So irritating was this royalty-appointed system that revolutionaries the likes of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Adam Smith and Karl Marx immortalized their names debunking it.

Soon many protected craft trades, including the pewter trade, gave way to modern industrialized mechanization, electroplating, and the transition to porcelain and steel tableware. Faster production processes ultimately pushed the pewter industry into a specialty items category.

Pewter Tea Pot, image via capesdunn.com

Today, it’s much easier to find a ceramic bowl than a pewter one in your local store, but the metal maintains a strong following among collectors.  In more recent years, the gentleman’s flask has regained appreciation, and a lovely pewter plate is still a classy gift. Pewter pieces — once the durable and practical workhorse of the dinner table — may now just be tucked away for special occasions, but it’s still as strong, shiny and “taste-less” as ever.

German Stein with pewter lid, "A full stein is always my friend", image via garykirsnerauctions.com

FURTHER READING

The Worshipful Company of Pewterers

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Hollywood Rubber Stamp Co., est. 1935

In ancient China, the stamp was a signature before signatures, when artists literally put their stamp on their paintings to ID them as their own. The stamp, when applied to important documents and decrees, acted as the voice of authority and carried with it the power of a particular house or office’s reputation. It was the fingerprint long before fingerprinting became the official stamp of the accused.

The first Chinese stamps were difficult to make, carved in relief out of a small block of stone.  They were square or circular in shape, carried a single word or phrase, and usually dipped in red ink, a lucky color. The oldest known stone stamps date back to around 1500 BC, and are still used in China by artists, if not the government.  Though, notarized stamps continue to be a  world wide a symbol of authenticity.

Stamped Envelope, 1930s

Stamping really came into popularity after the development of rubber.  Although Mesoamerican cultures had been using stabilized natural latex to stamp images on their bodies since 1600 B.C, the use of rubber for stamping did not become popular in the industrialized world until much later. It wasn’t until 1866 (a few short years after Charles Goodyear discovered a way to vulcanize rubber) that it was first used to replicate printed text. The first stamp of its kind was a 4″x 6″ flat piece of rubber mounted to a curved block of wood that was used to print information on bath tubs. Rubber stamps like this one were subsequently used to mark packages and manufactured products. As demand for manufactured goods and systemized shipping grew, rubber stamp manufacturers multiplied. By 1892 there were 4,000 rubber stamp manufacturers and dealers in the United States alone.

Hollywood Rubber Stamp Co.

According to internet sources, this number has now dropped to around 500. I visited one such manufacturer, the Hollywood Rubber Stamp Company, based in Los Angeles, California. Owner Lynne Plite explained how her family had been running the HRSC since it started back in 1935.  “[We were] in the big brick building that used to be on Santa Monica and Highland. After 30 years of doing business there, my father was given 30 days to move out.  That’s when he moved the business here.”  “Here” is a cluttered office on the corner of Santa Monica Blvd. and Wilcox Ave., where stamps fill the space from wall to wall and the original vulcanizing machine is now a prop holding a film can. It’s a place where some people walk in and remark that “its like stepping back in time.”

When asked if her business had taken a hit with the Internet and its e-printing Plite responds that “it’s actually gotten better the last couple of years. A lot of small businesses are stamping their products instead of printing out labels.” And this being the heart of the entertainment industry, the HRSC works with a lot of clients in television and film production. “There was an episode of Castle, with bloody paw prints left by a dog.  We made the stamp they used to create the bloody paw print.” The Internet is helping some too. “People find us through Yelp,” Lynne says. “We’ve only got one bad review.”

The HRSC still makes their stamps on site, though now it’s with a computer. The joy of stamping is not lost on Lynne. “We still have Christmas card making parties with the kids at one table and the adults at another, stamping away.” She says, “Its’ amazing how different the art is people can make with one stamp.” It’s also fun to get your hands a bit inky now and then, isn’t it?” I ask.  “Yes,” Lynne replies, “it sure is.”

Rubber stamps are like art but better.  They’re functional art.  Art you can use to make more art.  A hand crafted rubber stamp is like a painting you can make other paintings with.  You buy a stamp, you use a stamp.  The artist and you are one. Wood handle.  Soft rubber. Moist ink. Repeat. Most of us make a stamp the first day we come into this world on our birth certificate with our feet.  Somebody one day will stamp your death certificate, certifying that you are indeed, dead. Its up to us to make our own stamp on everyday in between.

Hollywood Rubber Stamp Co.

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Jean Seberg in cables, Image from Suzi-Souchi.

In truth, sheep are innocent as lambs and humankind has them to thank for more than 12,000 years of food, shelter and most importantly, clothing. The main product of sheep — wool — has been used since prehistoric times as primitive loin flaps, and has stayed with us over millennia, evolving into pleated trousers and lace collared, mini argyle short sleeved sweater blouses.

Merino sheep, courtesy of Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand.

The first wool garments were simple tunics made of sheep pelts. Eventually, around 3,500 BCE man developed crude mechanisms for spinning and weaving fleece into wool, most likely an innovation borne from observing spider webs and birds’ nests. This breakthrough had far-reaching effects. The warmth of wool allowed prehistoric man to extend the sprawl of civilization far and wide, beyond hospitable warm climates. The Romans, in their quest for world domination and empire, brought their sheep along, spreading herds throughout Italy, Spain, North Africa and England. Sheep were transferred to the New World in two waves, first with the explorations of Christopher Columbus and second during the colonial era. Today, an astonishing 80% of the world’s wool comes from Australia.

SHEEP TO SWEATER

The process from sheep to sweater starts with raising and shepherding healthy animals free of disease. The “sheep year” begins in October when rams are bred with ewes. Only one busy ram is bred with a group of ewes to keep records tidy and prevent cross-breeding. After about six months of gestation, lambs are born in mid-March or early-April.

A sheep is sheared. Courtesy of Life Magazine.

Sheep are usually sheared once a year before giving birth in the spring, before the Southern Hemisphere’s summer cold sets in. There is currently a shortage of professional sheep shearers around the world, prompting the development of shearing schools to carry forth the practice. A skilled shearer can finish the job quickly and remove the fleece in a single, in-tact piece with minimal discomfort for the animal. On small farms, shearing can be done by hand with scissors or blades, but increasingly the use of electric shears or even robotic mechanisms in combination with specially designed corrals are being applied. These days, technology and science has improved the situation for both shearers and sheep, as the animals are injected with a protein called Bioclip that makes the fleece more easily removable and lessens breakage of the fleece fibers.

The wool sorting room at Clifton Station. Courtesy of The Powerhouse Museum.

Once the sheep is sheared, the fleece is cleaned to prepare for processing and spinning. Body oils, dirt and yellow discoloration are removed by mechanically scouring the fleece in water or solvent. The wool is scoured and squeezed up to six times, and subjected to forks and suction at each level in order to homogenize the fibers for a uniform material.

Wool dye-ing in a vat in Iran.

After the wool is washed and scoured, it is carded, essentially combing through the wool with wire teeth. Carding is a mechanized process where the wool is fed into a series of spinning spools or drums covered with small metal pins. This step removes any remaining undesirable substances from the fibers. The combing process also helps to align the short and long fibers in preparation for the final step of spinning.

If you inspect the label on the plush sweater you are wearing at this moment, you will most likely find that it is Merino. Other high-quality soft wools include lambswool and Shetland wool. Scratchy sweaters may be due to the quality, type or treatment of the wool, for example if it is boiled or worsted. With fleece prized for its long and soft, yet strong, fibers, the Merino sheep is the most popular breed for clothing.

The champion Merino rams of New Zealand. Courtesy of the Biotechnology Learning Hub.

A Merino sheep is bred to have wrinkled skin, which produces piles of surface area and yields more fleece per inch. In recent years, animal rights group PETA has targeted the Australian wool industry in particular for “mulesing”, a brutal practice developed over 70 years ago by John Mule to keep flies from nesting in the sheep’s skin. The process involves cutting off chunks of skin from around the sheep’s tail — without anesthesia — in order to prevent fly-attracting moisture from gathering in the wrinkled skin folds. It’s the cheapest way to deal with skin flies, but vile enough to prompt major clothing manufacturers, including the likes of H&M, to sign a ban and redirect business to mulesing-free venues.

The Australian Wool Industry proudly declared in 2004 that all Merino wool produced in the region will be mulesing-free by December 31, 2010, though rumors are now flying that the AWI is sheepishly skirting this earlier promise.

Happy socks.

HOMESPUN GOES HAUTE-COUTURE

The perceived shady dealings of big business and a desire to get back to a simpler, more transparent manufacturing process has gotten some wool supporters involved in the production of their sweaters from step one. With the resurgence of knitting in the last ten years or so, some true devotees bypass purchasing yarn from the local hobby store and go straight to the source, buying untreated fleece right off the back of a freshly sheared sheep. Once these die-hard knitters get their fresh fleece home, they scour the wool in their washing machines and card with a hand-carder, which looks very much like a rectangular ping pong paddle with tiny metal teeth. Manual spinning wheels can be purchased for the home, with pigment dying done in a Crock-Pot.

Homespun sweaters are hardly the exclusive purview of those drifting off the grid. High fashion has ventured into chunky knits and thick fisherman’s cables, which have been around since before the grid was invented. According to common lore, sweaters were originally knit by despondent sweethearts of fishermen sent off on long sea voyages. The sweaters were knit with patterns and cables that identified the fisherman’s clan if his body ever washed ashore.

Man outfitted in wool for a Danish Polar expedition. Courtesy of Cowbell Music.

Wool was chosen in these cold, wet regions for its warmth, breathability and water-repellency. Unlike fur or hair, wool fibers have a microscopic outer layer that prevents water from penetrating. At the same time, the fiber has the capacity to wick away sweat from the body, keeping the wearer warm and dry.

Knitting pattern for a discreet little man's one-piece. Courtesy of the Edwardian Teddyboy Association.

Dark goggles and a wool sweater inside a tent in the North Pole. Courtesy of Cowbell Music.

Today, the naturally-occurring technology of this material is still prized. Amongst the ecologically conscious, wool is a sustainable as well as a biodegradable product. In the current apparel industry, wool easily blends with other natural or synthetic fibers and it is used in everything from Olympic sportswear to high-fashion. Wool has made its way from the rudimentary fleece tunic of prehistoric man, to the utility of fishermen, to the refined Chanel boucle jacket. Wool is a material that has been used worldwide and across thousands of centuries. For this, we must say thank-ewe.

Man in a woolen onesie.

FURTHER READING
The Growth and Vicissitudes of the Wool Industry, from “The History of Wool and Woolcombing” by James Burnley, Google Books
Organic Wool, from “Sustainable Fashion and Textiles: Design Journeys” by Kate Fletcher, Google Books

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Horn Apothecary Cup from Phisick

The horn is most likely cow, bison or buffalo. Working with horn seems neither easy nor pleasant. First, you soak the horn in hot water, then remove the mucous membrane by hand from inside of the horn, and scrape out any bits of crud. Cover your nose because that membrane smells like Chinatown garbage on a hot day. Once it’s sterile and free of its core, you can bend, mold and saw your way into the right cup shape, using heat to keep it pliable. Heat also turns the bone-colored horn amber, which is matched by a durable glass-like smoothness that won’t break, unless you fill it full of steaming hot coffee — heat can melt the keratin.

Half Teaspoon Marker

Besides steeped bark elixirs, snake oils, scab-water and other eighteenth century cures, what was most likely sipped out of these cups was whiskey. Whiskey has been soothing cold, tired bones for centuries. Even the name means water of life. (Ironic, considering the powerful, soul crushing hangovers it can give you.) During Prohibition, the only alcohol legally sold was whiskey by doctor’s prescription at pharmacies, until they realized that their customers were stumbling in with giant red noses and gout and attempting to buy the stuff by the barrel.

Horn Measuring Cup

But in moderation, just one shot can nearly cure a common cold. It’s one of the most natural painkillers we know, as long as it’s been distilled and aged in a vat made of wood — more of the chemical compound phenol to go around (a germicide and anti-inflammatory).

Hot water, two ounces of good whiskey, lemon and honey just before bed can knock out the onset of a cold just as easily as that disgusting thick blue goo that makes you fuzzy for two days.

This measured horn cup was most likely made by a man with a carving knife and a wood fire, wincing over the foul smell, crafting a medicine cup. And hopefully soon nipping that cold in the bud.

FURTHER READING

“It’s For Medical Purposes, Honest,” BBC News
Working Horn, Using and Working with Horn
Brought to Life: Exploring the History of Medicine, Science Museum

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