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"The Art and Mystery of the Cabinetmaker
Crafting a Card Table"

In the eighteenth century, master tradesmen and women passed along their skills and techniques “the art and mystery” of their trades to apprentices. With the coming of industrialization many of those skills were lost, but through research, experimentation and practice the tradesmen and women of Colonial Williamsburg have relearned the arts and mysteries of their trades. In this video Colonial Williamsburg Master cabinetmaker Mack Headley shares some of the arts and mysteries of his trade as he creates a reproduction of an eighteenth-century card table.

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"Basketmaking in Colonial Virginia "

Mr. And Mrs. William Cody Cook takes viewers on a tour of basketmaking from a sturdy tree to a finished, handwoven, oak-split basket.

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"Musical Instrument Maker of Williamsburg"

Master instrument maker George Wilson and two journeymen take viewers from raw materials to finished instrument as they create a small harpsichord and a violin.

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"Silversmith of Williamsburg"

A silversmith takes a battered old bowl and a few scraps of silver and fashions a magnificent new coffeepot.

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"The Art and Mystery of the Blacksmith
Forging an Andiron"

Colonial Williamsburg blacksmiths Peter Ross and Ken Schwarz share some of the arts and mysteries of their trade with you as they demonstrate some of the fundamentals of ironwork.

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"The Cooper’s Craft
The Art of Colonial Barrel Making"

Master cooper George Pettengell transforms an oak tree into a solid watertight container suitable for almost any shipping or storage need.

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