I woke up from my nap and realized I forgot to include the shaving horse in the earlier post on the Index of American Design.
This also gives me an excuse to include a few other things you can find in the Index: weather vanes and figureheads (in combination there are over 300). The weather vanes are made of wood and metal and cover the gamut from horses, arrows, big chickens and even one of General Casimir Pulaski. Figureheads include characters from mythology to Ben Franklin. At the time the figureheads were drawn many were already well worn but the master carver’s hand is still present.
And since Chris has been working on staked furniture for his “Anarchist’s Design Book” I’m throwing in some staked benches in the gallery below.
–Suzanne Ellison
Fascinating stuff, but, what is a dough trough bench?
Bread dough was made and kneaded on a box with sloping sides and a lid. The box either sat on a table or sometimes was built as a piece with legs. A woman would sit on the bench as she kneaded the dough. The Index of American Design also has several dough troughs. (FYI-your original question and my answer got lost in the picture gallery.)