Over the years doing construction I have done a lot of demolition. I have found money in walls and money in attics. Trinkets behind installed counter tops, cabinets, welders gloves in old horse hair insulation, bottles in foundation digs, old hand planes, hammers, rusty screwdrivers.. the list goes on and on. Nothing is quite as neat as when you are inspecting a board or an old piece of lumber and you find something like the photo here. This was found on the back of a piece of base molding. The molding was given to me to use in a cabinet build. the material appears to be poplar which is signed, E. SP. Cole Tonewanda Esq. N.Y. March 8, 1890.
A good friend of mine that I have worked with for about 10 years. He is a cussing and spitting Irishman, love him to death. He does this as well. You would never guess the places. But some years down the road maybe a couple green peas will demo some of his work and see his signatures. Super neat.