The Cabinet-Maker, woodcut from "Little Jack of All Trades," published by Thomas Waite and Company and Charles Williams, Boston, Massachusetts, 1813. Courtesy of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association Library, Deerfield, Massachusetts.
The Cabinet-Maker, woodcut from "Little Jack of All Trades," published by Thomas Waite and Company and Charles Williams, Boston, Massachusetts, 1813. Courtesy of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association Library, Deerfield, Massachusetts.
Early cabinet makers created furniture and coffins in small shops using hand tools. As time passed, shop owners introduced power tools driven by water, and later, steam. By 1900, Maine had around 35 furniture factories each employing between 25 and 375 workers.