This is Amy Wagenaar from the Historical Society of Michigan with a Michigan history moment. Our Michigan forefathers and foremothers were quite good at wasting not. For example, after caring for their hair, women would clean their brushes and save the loose strands in a special jar called a hair receiver. Eventually, when they collected enough, they'd use the discarded locks as stuffing, such as for pin cushions. Saving pottery, porcelain and china proved to be a considerable challenge for our frugal ancestors. Glues that would permanently bind those fragile items were out of reach until the 1960s. So innovative minds crafted a different repair method, one using metal rivets or staples, which gave fractured ceramics a second chance and unfortunately, a very distinctive Frankenstein like appearance used for centuries. Metal riveting, also called metal clamping or stapling, could do what glues could not form a lasting bond on broken porcelain pieces that was impervious to water, soap and grease. Over the years, diverse hands created diverse versions of metal riveting repairs, but one thing was always constant. Those hands had to be highly skilled. Metalsmiths, jewelers, traveling repairmen known as tinkers, or other talented artisans would begin their mending by figuring out where to place each rivet or staple. The metal staples needed to cradle the break to hold the two fragments together and be spaced along the entire length of the crack. This became quite a puzzle for ceramics that had multiple fractures and pieces. Next, holes were hand drilled into the back of the pottery for each leg of every staple. The depth and angle of the holes generally depended on two important factors, the thickness of the porcelain and the ability of the craftsman. Sometimes holes went clean through to the front side, and sometimes they stopped midway. And some holes were drilled perfectly straight, while others were angled slightly toward the break, which created a bit of friendly tension in the finished product. Then the staples were fashioned out of brass, iron, or another metal. Finally, the repair person fit each staple into its first hole, stretched it across the break, slipped the other leg into the hole on the other side, and filled the holes with plaster or lead solder to keep the staples in place. The result was a lasting, although unsightly bond, which was stronger than the pottery itself. This Michigan history moment was brought to you by michiganhistorymagazine.org.