Tower Clock Gears, made by E. N. Byram of Sag Harbor

Curated by Richard Doctorow
Opening reception: Friday, July 20th from 6:00 to 8:00pm.

Living in a time when virtually every object we use in our daily lives is made of metal, plastic or some new cutting-edge, high-tech material, it is hard to imagine a time when almost everything was made of wood.  But for the first two centuries of America’s history, wood was not only the most prevalent choice of material, it was often the only choice – so much so that historians sometimes call the years 1650 to 1850  “America’s Wood Age.”

When The World Was Wood explores this amazing period in America’s history by presenting some 100 objects (primarily from the 19th century) that are made of wood.  Not only objects that we might expect - utensils, bowls, barrels, buckets, signs, toys and tools - but also those that are delightfully surprising, including a tricycle, gears for a tower clock, and even a washing machine manufactured right here in Sag Harbor in the 1860s.