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Detail 1
Detail 1


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This broom was made from a birch tree. To get long, flat splints, broom makers used a technique similar to that used in basket making. First, a modest-sized birch tree was harvested. The bark was removed and, using a mallet, the broom maker then pounded free the outer rings of the tree. A flat splint emerged through pounding, and a good pounder could carefully loosen long splints. The splints were then split into thin, flat ribbons, gathered together, and formed onto the broomstick. This particular broom was one of the first objects gathered for the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association's museum. It was given to PVMA as an object demonstrating a hard and distant past. By the time it was donated, the rise of the broomcorn industry meant that cheap, good brooms were widely available, and the hard work invested in making this kind of broom could best be put elsewhere.

 

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Split Birch Broom

creator   Deacon Phineas Field
date   1875
location   Charlemont, Massachusetts
length   49.0"
process/materials   split-birch
item type   Tools/Agricultural Tools & Equipment
accession #   #1878.11.02


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See Also...

Broom-corn broom

Broom Tying Machine

Buttons and Button Mold


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