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