Hello and welcome to the first post of “Beneath the Surface”, the blog that keeps you up to date on the latest activities at Colonial Williamsburg’s Materials Analysis Laboratory, where the 18th century meets modern-day science. Here, we use sophisticated analytical instruments to better understand the art and artifacts that make up our varied collection….
New Vodcast: Dress in a Day
Needles flash and thread whips through silk as the milliners race to make a dress in a day, using only 18th-century materials and techniques. Watch part one of the project in this month’s vodcast….
For the Love of Books
New podcast: Engraving Images
The silversmith cultivates an unexpected expertise: engraving images in reverse on copper plates. These intricate scenes become decorations for homes and illustrations for books when printed on paper. Lynne Zelesnikar describes how she makes lasting impressions….
We built this city: Meet the carpenter
This week’s podcast: Great Hair
What’s the trick to a perfect head of hair in the 18th century? The answers might surprise you. Listen to the secrets of great hair in this week’s podcast.
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New online: Historic Farming Slideshow
Historic Farmers grow corn, tobacco and cotton using 18th-century techniques at Great Hopes Plantation.
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See the brick kiln burn Wednesday - Sunday
The completed kiln burns for several days.
Colonial Williamsburg’s historic trades brickmakers re-ignite the brick kiln Dec. 8 — the Historic Area’s second kiln burn of the year. The kiln fires require stoking for five days to push the kiln’s internal temperatures to nearly 2,000° Fahrenheit.
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The June cannon pour
This June’s attempt to pour the light three ended in disappointment. It is pretty obvious that the bronze “froze” at the inside end of the tap hole as it started to flow. It wasn’t hot enough to run—that was one problem at least. There might be others we have not yet uncovered.
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