I found this interesting and educational - thought I'd share.

............................."The English contributed greatly to the history of book backing by offering young children the opportunity to play alongside adults. By the early nineteenth century,  bookbinders backing hammers were marketed specifically  for children.  They were sized "OOO" to "4″,  with size "000″ used 5 year olds, "00″ for 6, and so on.    Small pieces of rock candy was given as rewards for the children upon meeting production goals and submitting properly formatted quarterly reports."

Source:
http://jeffpeachey.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/a-short-history-of-electric-hammers/

I'm trying to figure out how to tell the difference between a backing hammer and a cobbler's hammer or a saddler's hammer.
But the electric hammer?!!   A friend, in a moment of whimsy,  put a claw hammer in a garage sale and marked it "Cordless!"  Now I find that a corded hammer does exist...

I have followed the career of Jeff Peachey for a long time. Prior to venturing into bookbinding, he was known well known as a Meadow Muffin Conservator.

Interesting excursion into satire!

Having read Charles Dickens stories of the delights of the work houses, and sweat shops of that era, I imagine the children had lots of "fun" playing alongside the adults, binding books.   

Quote from: Branson on January 05, 2013, 08:58:26 AM
I'm trying to figure out how to tell the difference between a backing hammer and a cobbler's hammer or a saddler's hammer.
But the electric hammer?!!   A friend, in a moment of whimsy,  put a claw hammer in a garage sale and marked it "Cordless!"  Now I find that a corded hammer does exist...

Difference is, that pic is of cobblers hammers. Nothing I have ever found equates those to book binders hammers. All the ones I've seen in old material had a peen that reminded one of a hammer-head shark in profile, not like the sloped back area on the cobblers hammer that remained the same width all the way to peen.

Like johnsiron said, the guy that wrote that article is a Meadow Muffin Conservator, or, as we call them here in the hills, a b@llsh!tter!!!!

BTW: the "electric" hammer in the article is actually a French Pattern book binding hammer. I think this author did some of the brown acid in '69 at Woodstock and never quite made it back to reality.

NOTE:  The claim is that each and every one of those hammers pictured in the OP are stamped "Made For Children".  I have to take their word for it, as I can see that level of detail in the pictures.

There were plenty of children reworking used shoes back in the day also.....

Quote from: rusty on January 05, 2013, 05:41:50 PM

There were plenty of children reworking used shoes back in the day also.....

Are you mocking my ability to mount catspaw heals & rubber soles to well worn shoes Rusty?
Damn, I can still smell grinding them down to size on the Landis shaft.

Man, it sounds like we should all just join in the classic Joni Mitchell song....(made famous by Crosby Still and Nash)
I I came upon a child of God, he was walkin' down the road and I asked him where was he going and he this he told me......
I'm goin' down to Yazgur's Farm gonna join in a rock 'n roll band and camp out on the land and set my soul free"


"We are stardust, we are golden, and we've got to get ourselves, back to the Garden".....and that's about all of it I can do off the to op of my head...lol)



Cool find regardless there Oily

DM&FS