in the online OED there's a definition of "rubber" as "a metal or stone
implement used for rubbing, esp. in order to smooth or flatten a
surface. now chiefly hist."

in the examples, there's one by holtzapffel from 1850: "the rubber used
by masons and statuaries is frequently a slab of grit stone, to which a
handle is attached by means of an iron strap". there's also one from
e.h. knight in 1875: "in the moldings of stone, an iron rubber mounted
on a wooden stock is employed for fillets, beads, and astragals."

bill felton, ca

On Aug 10, 2012, at 3:09 PM, Sgt42RHR@a... wrote:

> Tom, having recently spent days in the Sussex County VA County Clerks
> =20 office looking at early 19th century hand written land records,
> deeds, wills, > and the like, how certain are you that the writing
> actually says "rubber"?
>> Just a thought. Also, what is the earliest use we have of the
>> word =20
> Rubber? What do period dictionaries say? Grasping at straws here, but
> just> coming at from another angle.
>> Cheers,
> John
>> Would it help if I mentioned that most of the carpenters on the
>> payroll of> Hudson's Bay Co., which operated Fort Vancouver, were of
>> French Canadian> origin? Could something have been lost in
>> translation between a list=20
> provided by a semi-literate French-speaking carpenter and the English
> clerk who> was compiling the inventory of the shop? Still a
> puzzlement.
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