Having done soap, I turn to nails. Jefferson had a nailery at Monticello in
the 1790s and early 1800s (until he was run out of business by cheap British
imports) where he set to work slaves aged 10-16. A dissertation says that
Jefferson's local competition for his nailery was the Virginia State
Penitentiary. The designer of the 'pen,' Benjamin Henry Latrobe, consulted
with Jefferson on the design. The new prison was supposed to reflect the
most advanced "liberal" thinking on prison reform. I'm digging into the
sources, but does anyone know anything about the nailery at the state
prison? I'm wondering if it was Jefferson's idea, Latrobe's idea, or someone
else's.  

Henry Wiencek