Possumbreath

I saw the ebay listing, it is local pickup only. The listing on springfield is a stitching pony, I am hoping to find one like the one on eBay.

I am looking for a stitching horse. I have a hand that is partially numb and need a device to hold leather securely. I am in New England, Vermont to be exact, so anyone in New England would be a bonus.

I earn a living as a mediator and negotiation consultant. In my former lives I worked as a sheep shearer and goat farmer (angora goats). I raise bees, not so successfully lately, practice photography and walk a lot. My partner is a wildlife rehabilitator and she employs me as the porcupine and possum wrangler. As a side benefit, once I pull the quills out, i get some good photos. John

Son of a gun! According the the Post Office appropriations records, the office of mail equipment, which included mail bags and locks, moved from Chicago to Washington in 1914. The budget projection includes moving expenses of the mail bag repair/mail equipment office. Nice pick up.

Another photo from the mail bag repair shop. Different year. 1914. More orderly.

Holy smokes! I am never going to play "spot the difference" with you guys! With any luck, I will have more photographs from the Investigation of the Mailbag Repair Shop shortly. Maybe they will shed more light on the machines used. I the meantime, I am attaching the original one I received from the archive and the same photo, inverted. John

Subject of a 1917 Congressional Investigation. Initially, the women worked on leather, but the leatherwork was given to the men in the shop, allegedly because the cotton bags were easier to stitch, but the cotton stitching paid less..

Poster from the National Archives

Thanks Sandra. I posted a hello in the introduction section. John

Hello, My name is John and I am from northern Vermont. I am new to leatherwork , but not new to sewing and handstitching. When you have a 29 inch inseam you with learn to sew or go broke paying a tailor! I look forward to learning from all of you. Regards, John

I am attaching a jpeg of a 1921carrier satchel design that I obtained from the Post Office historian in DC. I realize that a pattern has already been made, but I hope there is still some benefit to providing this drawing. I have a much larger file (1.95 MB) should anyone want a higher resolution. I am researching vintage patterns from some of the defunct manufacturers of the carrier satchel and if I am successful, I will post them as well. This is my first post to the forum, hopefully I posting this in the right location. I am new to leatherwork and hope to learn hand stitching and some day make this bag. I live in Northern Vermont. Nice to meet you all. John