From The Washington Post, Sept. 21, 1975:
Riggs Place, between 16th and 17th Streets NW, operates like a remodeling commune. Just about every house in the block has been remodeled--most of them with the help of the same radial arm saw borrowed from one homeowner's relative.
Another house owns the duct snippers, a third has the electric screwdriver, and so on. When someone has to have a big, expensive industrial tool none can afford, such as a floor sander, they try to get together to rent it for a weekend, with everyone taking a turn at using it. They plan soon to order a communal run of plaster ceiling moulding, cheaper in large lots. --from "Rerigging Riggs Place: Trading the Tools of the Trade: Form and Function" by Sarah Booth Conroy
A nice reminder that the sharing economy didn't start recently. It's only gotten a boost from our modern technology. Though, can you imagine trying to coordinate the sharing of a tool or the rental of a floor sander without email?