I W / I Walton

IW an early mark for I Walton / In Reading?

In GAWP5, IW has been put forward as an initial stamp believed to have been used by John Walton Jr. of Reading MA. Two planes are reported: a crown molder marked IW and a coping / round molder stamped with both the IW and I Walton / In Reading imprints. On the molder, a question arises as the IW initial mark appears to stamped over the I Walton / In Reading mark ...which doesn't make sense if the IW mark came first. In the close-up photo of the molder, look at both the O and the N of Walton ... where they intersect with the IW imprint. (The trailing middle of the O overlays the lower I. The center of the N crosses at the top half of the I and the lower part of the N intersects the upper leading end of the W.)
A third plane, marked IW, has been reported by Artie Scipione, May 29-2025. The wedge and chamfer stop details follow those of the coping / round plane mentioned above.

Imprint details on the overstamped coping / round, the IW crown and a typical I Walton / In Reading plane.

Question 1 How do the stamps appear to the reader? Is the IW stamped over the I Walton??

Reader input for Question 1:

Steve Frazier in 2022 (Rhykenology Group on Facebook): "Pat, based only on the area where the Reading "G" should be, it looks to me like the area around the top part of the G is fully debossed, leading my opinion to be that the IW was the second stamp".

Crown molder comparisons

Separately, compare the IW crown molder with an early I Walton crown molder. The end chamfers are identical, while the IW tote is similar but different from the I Walton example. Both crown molders have inked prices on the heel and a 1775 document written and signed by John Walton is included as a comparison. The molder and the IW crown both have an incuse owner's mark J + C.

The "5" of the "51" inked on the I Walton crown molder appears to match the "5" of the "15" and the "1775".

Third IW plane reported 5-2025 by Artie Scipione.

This IW molder in fruitwood, is 10 1/8" long. The wedge finial matches those of John III and the middle "period" John Jr. while the chamfer stops match those on the middle "period" planes for John Jr. If the IW planes with the middle "period" chamfer stops are the earliest planes made by John III, then these are chamfer stops otherwise not yet documented on John III planes.

(Proposed "early", "middle" and "late" plane detail "periods" are presented as a working description of planes made by I Walton Jr. This material can be found in the Plane Gallery Section.)
(The John Walton Jr. "period" plane details and IW assessment is being forwarded by the editor as a working document ... and does not necessarily reflect the opinions held by other serious investigators.)

The IW planes are being proposed as having been made by John III during the time frame his father John Jr. was making his middle "period" planes, based on the chamfer stops and wedge finial details. (Note that John III's planes marked IB Waltons, have wedge cutouts that are deeper and more curved.) These planes also have a "later" chamfer stop design which end with a step followed by a short turn out.

In review, the IW planes are being proposed as the first planes made by John III while the IB Waltons planes are his next phase made in conjunction with his brother Benjamin. John moved to Cambridge in 1771 so the IB Walton planes were only made for a couple of years.

A similar parallel situation may well be found with Samuel Doggett Sr. and Jr. Here, a few rare planes have been found which are characterized by their heavy flat chamfers and bold "gouge" cut chamfer stops. The planes were likely made at the same time .... mid / late for Sr. and early / apprenticeship period for Jr. It is interesting to note that while the chamfers and chamfer stops were of the same design in these planes, their respective wedge profiles were different. In these planes and in the other known Doggett Sr. and Jr. planes, the wedges for both Sr. and Jr. followed their own, "established" but separate wedge outlines. (Also see the entry for S White.)

The IW molder plane.