55. Carpentry Plane

Planes are necessary tools of carpentry and cabinetmaking, in their roughest form to smooth wooden planks, but in more specialized forms to cut moldings and joinery elements. This plow plane was used to cut a groove down the edge of a board; into that groove would snuggly fit a projecting tongue cut in an adjoining board by a different plane, thus creating a tongue-and-groove joint. This plane, donated in the 1950s by Rockville tool collector J.E. Douglas, was used by William Ellican Pumphrey (1816-1887). According to the family-owned Robert A. Pumphrey Funeral Homes, William E. was a Rockville cabinetmaker who began making coffins in the 1830s, then turning in 1854 to undertaking; this was not uncommon among woodworkers. He was listed as a carpenter in the censuses from 1850-1870 and as an undertaker in the 1880 census.

The beechwood stock, or main block, of this plane is stamped “W.E. Pumphrey” at each end. One of various sizes of iron blades would pass through the block, held in place by a wooden wedge set in front of a pistol-grip handle or “tote.” This plane has an “adjustable fence” on the side, controlled by the turned knobs on the opposite side, to accommodate different board thicknesses.

The block also bears a largely illegible maker’s stamp: “… Works New York Middletown.” This was probably for the "Arrowmannett Works"of Middletown, Connecticut. In 1830, Austin and Elbridge Baldwin took over their father’s New York City toolmaking business. In 1841 Austin left the firm and moved to Middletown, Connecticut, where he operated the Baldwin Tool Company under the name “Arrowmammett Works” until about 1860, perhaps maintaining ties with his brother in New York. According to The Society for the Preservation and Study of American Wooden Planes, the Baldwins’ legacy was assured by the quantity and, more importantly, the quality of their tools.

William E. Pumphrey’s son, William Reuben Pumphrey, concentrated on embalming and stopped making coffins. To better reach the private homes where most embalming and funerals were pursued, he opened fourteen branch offices. His son, William Reuben, Jr., believed that funeral services, held in the 1920s in chapels or viewing rooms, would be better served by a more comfortable setting, i.e. the "funeral home." To that end, in 1928 he purchased a large house in Rockville and in 1934 one in Bethesda, where the family firm continues to provide its services; it is considered the oldest active business in Montgomery County.

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