[Fwd: Identification of trade goods from la Salle's ship La Belle [Query]]

[DEMEULENAERE Christiane <christiane.demeulenaere AT culture.gouv.fr>]

--
Christiane DOUYERE-DEMEULENAERE
conservateur en chef du patrimoine
Centre historique des Archives nationales
  - Section du XIXe siècle - 
60, rue des Francs-Bourgeois, 75003 Paris
tél. 01 40 27 62 94 
fax 01 40 27 66 47

--- Begin Message ---

• From: Simon Kitson <S.K.KITSON AT BHAM.AC.UK>
• To: H-FRANCE AT lists.uakron.edu
• Subject: Identification of trade goods from la Salle's ship La Belle [Query]
• Date: Tue, 9 Aug 2005 18:05:07 +0100
• Approved-by: S.K.KITSON AT BHAM.AC.UK

-----Original Message-----
From: Philip Whalen
Sent: 09 August 2005 17:56
To: French History discussion group
Cc: Helen Dewolf
Subject: Re: identification of trade goods from la Salle's ship La Belle
[Query]


Dear List Members (Early-Modernists and Colonialists
especially),

I am posting this question for a colleague, Helen
Dewolf, chief conservator (and historical
archaeologist) at the Conservation Research Lab (CRL)
an arm of the Center For Maritime Archaeology and
Conservation (CEMAC) at Texas A&M University:

*************************************************************Presently
we (CRL) are conserving the artifacts and hull of René
Robert Cavalier Sieur de la Salle's ship La Belle
which sank in Matagorda Bay, Texas 1686. I am hoping
that you may be able to direct me in my quest for the
identification of the artisans who manufactured some
of the trade goods found on the vessel, more
specifically those found within a box. This box
(approximately 30cm X 30cm X 70cm) contained a variety
of artifacts: wood combs, brass "jesuit" rings, sewing
needles, clasp (folding) knives, brass straight pins
and what I believe are pocket mirrors (8-10 small
concave discs of mirrored? glass in small tin
canisters). According to records (naval archives and
personal journals) the colonizing expedition of 1684
sailed from La Rochelle and some of the trade goods
originated in the same area. We have been able to
recover some maker's marks on trade goods including
the clasp knives but have not been able to find any
resources to help identify these maker's marks.

I would appreciate any suggestions on where I should
be looking for this type of information. Thank you for
your time.

Best regards,

Helen C. Dewolf, Ph.D.
Chief Conservator,
Conservation Research Lab
Adjunct Professor,
Nautical Archaeology Program
Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation
TAMU 4352
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843-4352
979-458-2078
fax 979-862-7792
crl2 AT tamu.edu
http://nautarch AT tamu.edu


crl2 AT tamu.edu



--- End Message ---