[ithacaartist]

The Borchardt always struck me as simultaneously whacky-looking and beautiful. The lines and details of this one really stand out due to its crispy condition, what a gorgeous weapon. Old-timey work strikes me as very demanding, and although just about everything was do-able in period machine shops, I'll bet a lot of it was done the hard way. Blue collar work, for sure, and it's fun to imagine what life was like around, say, 1906--a different time = a different world! Life and death issues, I think, were closer and harsher back then--no vaccines, penicillin, etc. I'm reading a book, reproduced from the 1898 original, about medical anomalies, and it's amazing what couldn't be detected or successfully treated back then. Any glitch in the childbirth process risked terminal sepsis, and in about half of the problem cases, the mother died. This kind of stuff makes me appreciate what we generally have now. I think everyone who has a skill and works at it should thrive and live a comfortable life, free from the specter of destitution, and without fear of oppression.