Porter’s Plumb and Level: Where Innovation Meets Artistry
by Madison Nelson
The time I spent in the Historic Deerfield Summer Fellowship Program through a Continuing Education Scholarship from the Decorative Arts Trust changed the lenses through which I view history. Deerfield Fellows gain knowledge and perspectives from experts regarding all aspects of New England material culture, including metalworking, cabinetmaking, printing, textile development, and trade (figures 1 and 2). Additionally, we learned the significance of archival materials, such as wills, probate inventories, and genealogies, to the study of objects.
Figure 1. Examining a drawer of Thomas and John Seymour’s sideboard (1805–15, HD 85.018).
Figure 2. Experiencing a historic corset in the textiles gallery.
One of my favorite parts of the program was the opportunity to conduct an object study of a plumb and level indicator (figure 3) created by Rufus Porter (1792–1884), recently given to Historic Deerfield by Julie Lindberg, a Trust member. A man of many trades and talents, Porter was primarily a painter but also a musician and an inventor. He founded Scientific American, a weekly newspaper aimed at those who were intellectually curious and stimulated about the mechanical nature of inventions, which remains in production today. There is even a museum in Maine devoted to his life and career.
Figure 3. Rufus Porter, Plumb and level indicator, New York state. c. 1846. Wood, glass, metal, paper, ink. Gift of Juliene and Carl M. Lindberg, Historic Deerfield, HD 2023.8.24.
Around 1846, Porter invented a plumb and level to aid masons, bricklayers, carpenters, and millwrights. The plumb and level is roughly 9 ½ by 9 ½ inches. Surrounded by a wooden frame, the plumb and level is glazed and contains an image of two masons at work with tools in hand, standing in front of a brick wall and gazing at the scenic landscape beyond. They are looking out on the clearing, where a lush field of trees, water, and mountains can be seen. Shown sitting upon the brick wall, they are undoubtedly using the plumb and level to carry on their work. Another plumb and level (figure 4) at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art contains a colored version of the print.
Figure 4. Rufus Porter, Plumb and level indicator, c. 1846, New York state. Wood, glass, metal, paper, ink. Gift In Memory of Robert Lindsay Thayer, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, 2018.24.
Although the object is aesthetically pleasing, one questions its practicality in an occupation such as masonry due to its delicate nature, artistic adornments, and careful manufacturing. The fragility of the plumb and level indicator is in great contrast to later examples that were used in the construction trades. The 1874 manual of American Engineers & Surveyors1 recommended a 20-inch level that includes telescopes with eyeglasses for optimal viewing, an eyepiece and pinion, and an adjustable tripod socket. According to the manual, proper use of this contraption required stability.
Porter created a device that was quite different. He was a fan of inventing portable instruments and other tools that were generally directed at saving time and labor. He had several plans for mobile items, including a transportable fence, boat, and pocket chair. None of these ideas were truly realized by Porter in past plans and sketches, but he represents the attitudes of the progressive thinkers of this time.2
The smaller and more compact nature of this object was consistent with trends of industrialization at the time. It also showcased Porter’s creative flair and out-of-the-box thinking. He was an inventor who did not gain much traction with his peers. He had hundreds of plans that remained as rough drafts in his sketchbook, and the unique quality of his works are often emphasized today. Against a broader picture of the United States in the mid-19th century, Porter’s focus appears to take inspiration from societal changes. In Rufus Porter’s Curious World, Laura Fecych Sprague and Justin Wolff acknowledge Porter’s role in the 19th-century art world as well as American society as a whole, stating that Porter “participated in America’s transformation from an agrarian republic to a connected and participatory democracy.”3 Porter’s art and inventions are significant because they represent his response to contemporaneous ideals concerning nature, the beautification of everyday life, and the movements toward industrialization and the optimization of mechanical tools and objects.
It was a busy summer but a fulfilling one. Connecting with the material world in a physical and direct way has deepened my love for history. The coastal New England trip in the final week of the program was quite the treat, and each town we visited demonstrated the way that New England history—and United States history—is interconnected. I am grateful to the Decorative Arts Trust for underwriting my scholarship. I learned much throughout my summer in Deerfield that I will take with me for the rest of my life as a historian.
1. A Manual of the Principal Instruments used in American Engineering and Surveying, published by W. & L.E. Gurley, 1874, Troy, NY.
2. Jean Lipman, 7, in Laura Fecych Sprague and Justin Wolff, Rufus Porter’s Curious World: Art and Invention in America, 1815-1860, (The Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, Bowdoin College Museum of Art).
3. Laura Fecych Sprague and Justin Wolff, Rufus Porter’s Curious World, 1.
Madison Nelson is a history major at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN.
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