1 AL L UNIVt HSU i UHBAHi 11 'Tl I Kradij Garvarr JECIKJNr of AMERICANA) O1 a [FRANCIS PATRICK GARVAN, HA489} .SCHOOL OF THE FINE ARTS, Early American Craftsmen PAUL REVERE From the crayon portrait made by Fevret de Saint-Memin in 1804. (=T=f Early American Craftsmen By Walter A. Dyer Author of "The Lure of the Antique," etc. Being a Series of Sketches of the Lives of the more important Per sonalities in the Early Development of the Industrial Arts in America, together with sundry Facts and Photographs of Interest and Value to the Collector of Americana. ( f * New York. The Century Company London it Copyright, 1915, by The Century Co. Publisked, October, iqij Printed in U. S. A. CT> -»v I ut„ j~Am~ il. - ! AMERICAN WINDSOR CHAIRS Common New England loop-back side chairs, $ 3. Very fine loop-backs, 5. The same with back braces, i£. New England loop-back armchairs, 15. The same, with back braces, 25. New England fan-backs, 7.50 Finer examples of the same 10. to 15. The same, with back braces, 25. to 40. Plain Jersey fan-backs, 15. Comb-backs, all sorts, 30. to 60. The Windsor chair is one of the few things still to be picked up about the countryside by the sharp-eyed collector, and he can afford to be a bit discriminating. Let him look for deep and well designed turning, for widely raked legs, for side chairs with the seats well shaped and cut in deeply at the sides, for just the right slant to back and arms, and for grace of line and proportion. These are the things that count in the Windsor chair. [103] CHAPTER V THE CLOCKMAKERS OF CONNECTICUT A HUNDRED years ago there lived and worked in the State of Connecticut a little group of clockmakers who were destined to leave a distinct impress on the industrial history of their country. Through their native ingenuity they discovered how to make clocks inexpensively and so to place them in large numbers within the reach of our growing population. Austere, industrious, shrewd old Yankees were these clockmakers of Connecticut, for the most part self-made men, achieving success through the Puri tan virtues of perseverance, long-headedness, and sobriety. Their work was excellent mechanically and by no means lacking in a certain quaint artistic charm. While clocks were made in Connecticut as early as the middle of the eighteenth century and perhaps before that, it was not until after the Revolutionary [104] Clock made by Daniel Burnap in 1799. Now owned by Miss Mary W. Andrews, Hartford, Conn. Tall clock made by Silas Hoadley after 1 8 1 4, wi th a painted metal dial bearing the maker's name. CLOCKMAKERS OF CONNECTICUT War that the industry reached noteworthy propor tions. The group about whom interest centers worked chiefly in Litchfield County and consists of a line of teachers and pupils beginning with Thomas Harland and running down to the sons of Eli Terry and Seth Thomas. Harland learned his trade in England and came to Boston in 1773 in the ship from which the tea was thrown overboard in Boston Harbor. Very likely he and Paul Revere brushed elbows on Beacon Hill. He settled in Norwich, Connecticut, later in the same year and opened a clockmaking shop which he con ducted until his death in 1807. Here he made "spring, musical, and plain clocks; church clocks; regulators, etc.," and engraved and finished clock faces for the trade. His clocks, like most others of the period, had brass works, with a pendulum forty inches long, swinging every second. They were made to stand in cases about six feet tall, though sometimes they were hung without cases and were then called wag-on-the-wall clocks. It was custom ary for peddlers about the country to sell these clocks without cases, the latter often being built by local cabinet-makers. The cases, therefore, vary widely and are seldom an indication of the make of the works. [107] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN Harland's fame as a master clockmaker spread throughout the Colonies and he received into his shop numerous apprentices who subsequently went forth to ply their trade in various parts of New England. One of these apprentices was Eli Terry, who became, with the possible exception of Seth Thomas, the most famous clockmaker in Connecticut. Another early clockmaker who should be men tioned at this point was Daniel Burnap. Very little is known about him except that he made clocks be tween 1780 and 1800, first at Andover, Connecticut, and later at Hartford, Plymouth, and East Windsor, Connecticut. His clocks had tall cases and brass works, and often moon phases and calendar attach ments. He was a skilled engraver, and his silvered dials were often beautifully etched. One characteris tic of Burnap's clock faces was the absence of span drels at the corners. It was from him that Eli Terry is said to have learned the art of engraving. "The man above all others in his day for the wood clock was Eli Terry," writes Chauncey Jerome in his "History of the American Clock Business," published in i860, when Jerome was sixty-seven years old. Terry was born April 13, 1772, at East Windsor, now South Windsor, Connecticut. He was an ingenious youth and he made a few old- [108] CLOCKMAKERS OF CONNECTICUT fashioned, hang-up clocks before he was twenty- one. It was probably during his apprenticeship to Har land and Burnap, or immediately after, that he built his first tall clock, in 1792. The case was graceful but not elaborate, and the silvered dial was engraved with his name. This clock is now owned by his descendants and is still running. In 1793 he moved to Northbury, then part of Watertown, and began the manufacture of clocks on his own account. Here he married Eunice Warner, who died December 15, 1839, and by whom he had nine children. In November, 1840, he married Harriet Peck, a widow, who bore him two sons. At first business was dull in Northbury, and Terry eked out a living by repairing clocks and watches, engraving on metal, and selling spectacles. His first clocks were made by hand, partly with jack-knife and saw, and partly by means of a hand engine for cutting the wheels. Later he introduced water power into his shop, being the first clockmaker to make the venture. His first clocks were made with both brass and wooden works and sold for about $25 apiece for the movement and dial alone. But he soon discon tinued the brass works, finding the wood as reliable [109] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN and, because cheaper, more salable. Some of these early clocks had silver-washed brass dials. Probably the first clock patent ever issued in this country was taken out by Terry in 1797. In that year he also invented a clock registering the differ ence between mean and apparent time. About 1800 he engaged two assistants and began to start his clocks a dozen at a time. Two or three times a year he started out with horse and wagon and peddled them about the country. Tall clocks were then selling at prices ranging from $18 to $70. The higher priced ones had a dial and hand for seconds, displayed the moon's phases, and included handsome cases. Early in 1807 Terry sold his old plant to Heman Clark, an apprentice, and bought an old mill, with water power, at Greystone, in the southern part of Plymouth. He obtained a contract from a firm in Waterbury to deliver 4,000 clocks in three years at $4 apiece. They were to be 30-hour clocks, with wooden works, one-second pendulum, dial and hands included, the purchasers furnishing the ma terials. It was a big undertaking in those days, but Terry carried it through successfully and it marked the be ginning of his prosperity. In 1808 he made the first [110] Seth Thomas. From a steel engraving in "The History of Litchfield County.'' Silas Hoadley. From a portrait owned by Carleton E. Hoadley, Esq., New Haven, Conn. CLOCKMAKERS OF CONNECTICUT 500 of these clocks — the largest number ever started at one time in one shop. By 1809 the business was the largest in the coun try. In 1810 Terry sold out to two of his em ployees, Seth Thomas and Silas Hoadley, and re moved to Plymouth Hollow. By this time the price for the ordinary wooden clock works had dropped to $10 and finally to $5, and Terry began to cast about for a new line. Most of the clocks of that day were either eight- day brass clocks or thirty-hour wooden clocks, with pendulums beating the seconds. A few thirty-hour brass clocks were made with a shorter pendulum, beating half seconds. These were fairly expensive, and because they were adapted to short cases were called shelf clocks. While at work on his three-year contract, Terry conceived the idea of a thirty-hour wooden clock with half-seconds pendulum, which would be much cheaper than the brass shelf clocks. He made sev eral hundred of these clocks without dials, but with the figures painted on the glass front. But Terry was not satisfied with this clock and dis continued its manufacture after a year. It was not until 1814 that he perfected a shelf clock to his sat isfaction. The new movement included several [H3] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN radically new inventions making for economy of space. It revolutionized the clock-making industry and sounded the knell of the more costly brass shelf clocks. The new type of works was not patented. It was taken up rapidly by other makers and re mained in vogue for twenty-five years until the use of sheet metal came in about 1837. In connection with the new movement Terry in troduced in 1814 his "pillar and scroll- top case," which he patented. It was a rectangular case, about twenty-five inches. high, with small feet and a top cut in a scroll pattern. At the sides of the front were small round pillars, twenty-one inches long, three-fourths of an inch in diameter at the bottom and three-eighths at the top, resting on a square base and surmounted by a turned cap. The dial was about eleven inches across, with a panel below painted on glass. Spandrels were painted at the corners of the face. This clock became at once immensely popular. Seth Thomas paid $1,000 for the right to manufac ture it, and he and Terry each made about $6,000 the first year. Later the output was doubled. The retail price was $15 each. In addition to this clock, Terry made other mantel clocks, both plain and elegant. He also [114] Tall clock made by Eli Terry in 1794- Now owned by Mr. A. C. Bunnell. Ridley Park, Pa. An early tall clock with wooden works made by Terry. Owned by Mrs. James W. Cook of Providence. CLOCKMAKERS OF CONNECTICUT made brass works, adjusted with extreme care, which he sold as regulators to watchmakers for $100 to $200 each. Tower clocks were also part of his trade. These were of excellent quality, as a rule, and were af fected as little as possible by the weather. Most of them were operated by separate sets of weights for chronometer, dial wheels, and striker. The clock which is still telling time from the gable of the Con gregational Church in Terryville is said to have been the first of Terry's tower clocks. It was a gift to the church, which was built in 1835. Another tower clock was built by Terry for the city of New Haven. It was placed in the Centre Church on the Green. It told the mean time while the Yale College clock told apparent time. This led to confusion and a lively controversy. In 1830 Terry invented a new form of gravity escapement, and he continued active as an inventor and designer the rest of his life. It is not too much to say of him that this shrewd, ingenious Yankee did as much toward the advancement of clockmaking as any other one man in history. At least, he was the father of the modern cheap clock which Seth Thomas did so much to popularize. In 1838 and 1839 Terry built two houses in that [H7] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN portion of Plymouth which later became known as Terryville. In one of these he lived until his death, which occurred on February 24, 1852, at the age of eighty. In 1814, when Terry started his big contract he took two of his sons in with him and taught them the trade. Henry continued the business at Ply mouth Hollow until about 1840, when he turned to the manufacture of woolen goods. The other son, Eli, Jr., started a shop of his own in 1826, when he was twenty-five, and became the wealthy and hon ored founder of Terryville. A third son, Silas, was less successful in a business way, but was nearly as great an inventor as his father. Seth Thomas, who was even more of a self-made man than Eli Terry, was born at Wolcott, Connecti cut, August 19, 1785, the son of James and Martha Thomas. His education was limited to the meager advantages of the district school, and while still a youth he served his apprenticeship as carpenter and joiner. For a time he worked on the construction of the long wharf at New Haven. When he became of age he returned to Litchfield County with his kit of tools and a small sum of money. He soon found work as a joiner in Eli Terry's factory, making clock cases and later assem- [118] Face and works of an early wooden clock by Eli Terry. j . £lx 4 "^F 'liilffiittfflWilBt 1 : i Vi..;•¦¦ ' jTfl 12 ; ¦ I) J ;.'s -« < + 1 * A good example of the pillar-and-scroll- top style made by both Terry and Thomas. A later type of shelf clock made by Seth Thomas. Owned by Mr. L. A. Klein, Ridley Park, Pa. CLOCKMAKERS OF CONNECTICUT bling wooden works. By 1808 he had risen to the position of foreman of the case shop. Prior to this time clockmaking had been an indi vidual trade, like that of the village cobbler. In 1810, after buying out Terry's interest, Thomas & Hoadley continued in the manufacture of tall clocks. In 1812 or 1813 Hoadley bought Thomas out and the latter moved to Plymouth Hollow, in the west ern-part of the town, and engaged in the manufac ture of brass-movement clocks on his own account. This business grew from twenty to nine hundred operatives, and in 1853 Thomas, having made a for tune, incorporated the Seth Thomas Clock Company which is to-day doing a world-wide business. He also built a cotton mill and a brass rolling and wire mill. Seth Thomas was a solid, Puritanical character, a staunch Whig, and a prominent member of the Con gregational Church. He was twice married — to Philena Tuttle on April 20, 1808, who died March 12, 1810, and to Laura Andrews on April 14, 1811, who survived him. He was the father of nine chil dren, three of whom died in childhood. Seth Thomas died at Plymouth Hollow on Janu ary 29, 1859. Shortly after, that portion of the town was named Thomaston by act of Legislature. [121] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN The business was incorporated, with his sons, Aaron and Seth, Jr., as officers. They enlarged the factory and broadened the business. Later the fac tory, under the guidance of Seth E. Thomas, son of Seth Thomas, St., made every kind of timepiece from a watch to a tower clock, and sent them all over the world. Silas Hoadley was born at Bethany, Connecticut, on January 31, 1786. Like Thomas, his education was meager and he was bound out at an early age as apprentice to his uncle, Calvin Hoadley, who taught him the trade of carpenter, which he followed till 1809, when he entered the Terry shop as a joiner. After the final dissolution of the partnership in 1814, Hoadley continued the works at Greystone, Plymouth, until about 1849. He made both man tel and tall clocks, the former in limited quantities, apparently. His tall clock cases, while not as orna mental as those of some other clockmakers, were al ways tasteful and well proportioned, and compare favorably with anything Terry or Thomas ever did. In spite of the fact that he was in business for him self for some thirty-five years, his clocks to-day are very rare. Though not possessing the inventive genius of Terry and Thomas, Hoadley was a good business [122] CLOCKMAKERS OF CONNECTICUT man and prospered. He was a prominent citizen of the town, an active Episcopalian churchman, and a high Mason. He was a Democrat and was three times elected to the State Assembly and once, in 1844, to the State Senate. He died at Plymouth December 28, 1870, leaving five children. Another important figure in the Connecticut clock industry, though the years of his chief activity ex tend well into the nineteenth century, was Chauncey Jerome. In i860 he published the story of his own life, in connection with his "History of the American Clock Business," and an interesting story it is. He, too, was a lad of small schooling but marked native ability. He was born at Canaan, Connecticut, June 10, 1793, the son of a poor farmer and black smith and one of six children. In 1797 the family moved to Plymouth, where the father set up a black smith shop and engaged in the manufacture of hand- wrought iron nails. Until he was nine years old Chauncey worked on the farm, with the exception of three months in the winter, when he went to school. Then he went to work in his father's shop until the latter's death in 1804. From then until he was fourteen young Chauncey worked for different farmers and suffered many hardships. In 1807 he was bound out to a carpenter [123] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN until he was twenty-one, working for his board and clothes. He became fascinated with the idea of learning the clockmaking trade, but his guardian would not permit it, saying that Terry was a visionary fool. But Chauncey persisted and in 1811 made a bargain with his master, whereby he was allowed to have four months to himself each winter if he would buy all his own clothes. The first winter he went to Waterbury to work for one Lewis Stebbins, who taught him the art of mak ing dials and clock cases. The following winter he was engaged by a Plymouth clockmaker named Hotchkiss to go to New Jersey to make cases for works that Hotchkiss had previously sold there. Two peddlers went with him to sell more works. It was a wonderful journey, made in a lumber wagon, and the venture was reasonably successful. Jerome volunteered for service in the War of 1812, and after that, for several years, experienced the privations of poverty. At the age of twenty-dne he became his own master and secured work at wages of $20 a month, on which he married. It was in that year that he bought his first pair of boots. Hard times continued until 1816, when he went to work for Eli Terry, making the new shelf clocks. Terry [124] Congregational Church, Terryville, Conn. The clock was made by Eli Terry in 1835. The original works, with their wooden wheels, remain in the Terryville church clock, but are now regulated by an electrical connection. CLOCKMAKERS OF CONNECTICUT began to install circular saws and other machinery, and Jerome learned to use these in the making of clock cases. In 1818 Jerome started in business for himself in a small way, buying clock works in Plymouth and making mahogany cases for them. An order came at last from the South for a number of clocks at $12 each, and Jerome delivered them himself. This was the turning point in his fortunes, and in 1821 he was able to move to Bristol and set up a new business. In 1822 he engaged a clockmaker — Chauncey Board- man — to make brass works for him, and in 1824 he formed, with Nobles Jerome and Elijah Darrow, the firm of Jeromes & Darrow. In this year he ex ported the first clock sent from this country to England. Success followed, but Jerome's later history scarcely belongs within the period of old clocks, which ended about 1837. He introduced new ma chinery and cheapened the cost of manufacture until he was able to make clocks for $2 and even $1. In 1844 he moved to New Haven, where his concern made 600 clocks a day, or 200,000 a year. His re tirement followed, then the loss of money by his partners, and a new start in life at the age of seventy as superintendent of a Chicago factory. Jerome's [127] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN life displays remarkable evidences of strict integrity and Spartan courage. Besides those clockmakers whose names have been mentioned, there were others at work in Connecticut who are entitled at least to passing notice. Isaac Doolittle, a clockmaker, lived in New Haven from 1748 to 1810. In Hartford, Enos Doolittle was making clocks about 1772, including some very handsome ones in cherry cases, with dials and hoods more elaborate than those of Terry or Thomas. In 1783 a patent was issued to Benjamin Hanks of Litchfield for a self-winding clock. Silas Merriam and Timothy Peck of Litchfield were at work about 1790, and Benjamin Cheney in Manchester about 1780. James Harrison was a successful clockmaker at Waterbury; he sold his first clock in 1791 for about $16.50. In Bristol, Joseph, Chauncey, and Lawson Ives were contemporary with Jerome; Joseph invented an eight-day brass clock about 1818, which Lawson later manufactured for about $20. Other prominent Connecticut clockmakers of the early nineteenth century were Joseph Clark of Dan bury, Heman Clark of Plymouth Hollow, Daniel Clark of Waterbury, Asa Hopkins of Litchfield,' who invented several improvements in clock-making machinery, and others. [128] CLOCKMAKERS OF CONNECTICUT There was something solid and admirable in the characters of this group of old Yankees that makes them good to consider. They represent so com pletely the sterling traits of their period and give us such a clear idea of the sort of men that built up the early industries of this country. And apparently their thrift and mechanical ingenuity did not ex clude all feeling for the beautiful, for some of their designs are not without artistic merit, and all are quaintly original. Clocks of all these makers are still to be found, but those of Terry and Thomas are the most numer ous. The old wooden works are apt to be somewhat the worse for wear and are often quite useless, but the old cases are a joy to the collector. The collector's chief concern should be to learn which clocks originally contained wooden and which brass works. A brass movement in a clock originally intended for wooden works naturally indicates a more or less recent substitution. An old clock with wooden works that still tells the time is indeed a treasure. The old tall clocks are the rarest and most valu able. They may be worth from $100 to $350, according to condition and the quality and design of dials and cases, which vary widely. Terry and [129] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN Thomas clocks are worth very nearly what they brought when new. One New York dealer who specializes in American antiques has made a business of collecting Terry shelf clocks, which he repairs and refinishes, putting in new brass works, and sells at a flat price of $35 each. Other wall and shelf clocks are worth, under ordinary conditions, from $15 to $40. ii^k [130] ¦Al 1 afc- Jfe ' \5JB1* sjgwtf**'-' . jH :. y. . •m • Wk ¦ £>'-i *. aW?n 19 Hf^'1' ¦'•'' Jh Bl. . - ¦%? ''JMk^ma) ¦isi ¦ -'-*y&Vy>F'i>^am Pf it ; 9 ^H^'' *' 'J/i^^$ijsjm K'**?'. \^J?&tmt • ' iiimi '¦ :¦ v ,• mp* v : ........ B,- " r- 4 .- Ptnifl Mm SB ^ffl W$m fe^' M litfti&ruJ^yJ^BM . ' Hr - Hp^ . t%»- — -t,^ ^^^B ° : H*"*^*' if;. ffl£"-AAM±*yA M ammri.'ia)fl n*^" ' *r- '-MH L ^^ j.-*""' >^^B H _ ¦Ib^^Lj Simon Willard. From a portrait owned by the Misses Bird, Dorchester, Mass. CHAPTER VI THE WILLARDS AND THEIR CLOCKS CONNECTICUT and Massachusetts were not as close together a century ago as they are to-day, yet there was undoubtedly some rivalry between the clockmakers of the two States. The Yankee ingenuity of Terry and Thomas in con structing good clocks at cheap prices undoubtedly affected the industry about Boston after 1800, for we find the prices there taking a decided drop. The same rivalry still persists in a mild form between the descendants and adherents of the Wil- lards and those of the Connecticut group. Each claims sole credit for revolutionizing the art of clock- making in this country, and a fair comparative ap praisal of their work is not easy to arrive at. Simon Willard was making clocks before Eli Terry was born, and therefore has the advantage of priority. In the matter of design, the clock-cases of both Simon [133] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN and Aaron Willard surpassed anything made in Con necticut, with the possible exception of Terry's pil lar and scroll-top clock. In mechanical genius, how ever, Terry, Thomas, and Jerome were the equals of Simon Willard, and it was certainly the Connecticut clockmakers who turned a journeyman's trade into a great industry. In the eyes of the collector, beauty must always count largely, and in this the palm must be handed to the Willards. Their mahogany tall clocks and their banjo clocks are a delight to the connoisseur. Simon and Aaron Willard were true craftsmen. The Willards came of good New England stock. Major Simon Willard, an ancestor, was the founder of Concord, Massachusetts, and took a prominent part in King Phillip's War. The clockmakers were the sons of Benjamin and Sarah Willard, who had twelve children. One of the elder sons was Benjamin, born at Grafton, Massachusetts, March 19, 1743. He started as a clockmaker in Grafton, where he prob ably learned his trade, and began making clocks about 1765. About 1768 he moved to Lexington, and to Roxbury about 1771, where he advertised musical clocks for sale. An advertisement in the Boston Gazette for February 22, 1773, describes [134] THE WILLARDS AND THEIR CLOCKS clocks playing "a new tune every day of the week and on Sunday a psalm tune. These tunes perform every hour." Little is known of his subsequent career, except that he got into legal difficulties about 1798 and died in Baltimore in 1803. Benjamin Willard's clocks are not as famous or as good as those of his younger brothers, but they are older and rarer. He probably made only tall clocks, some of them in handsome mahogany cases with brass dials. Simon Willard, the eighth son, was by far the most famous, though less successful in a business way than Aaron. He was born in Grafton, April 3, 1753, and his story is set forth in considerable detail in a biography written by his great-grandson, the late John Ware Willard. He spent his boyhood in Grafton, attending school there until he was apprenticed to an English clock- maker of moderate abilities, named Morris. He was helped also by his brother Benjamin and soon discovered his own mechanical genius. When he was only thirteen years old he made a tall, striking clock that was pronounced better than any of his master's, doing all the work by hand with file, drill, and hammer. Upon the expiration of his term of apprenticeship he either went to work for his brother [135] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN for a time or at once started in the business for him self. None of the Willards appear to have been ardent patriots, and their connection with the Revolution ary War was more or less perfunctory. Simon joined Captain Aaron Kimball's company of militia and marched to Roxbury at the time of the Lexing ton alarm, April 19, 1775. He served for one week. Later he was drafted, but secured a substitute and remained in Grafton during the rest of the war. On November 29, 1776, he married his cousin, Hannah Willard, who died, with her child, in 1777. In 1780 he moved to Roxbury and set up a shop at what is now 2196 Washington Street. Here he lived, with his shop back of the house, until he retired in 1839. As an advertisement he built a big double- dial clock which he hung on the front of the house next door, his own house being too small. This clock was a landmark in Roxbury until 1839, when Willard presented it to the town. On January 23, 1788, he was married again to Mrs. Mary (Bird) Leeds, a widow, of Dorchester, who died July 23, 1823, leaving eleven children. While still in Grafton, Simon Willard improved the English clock-j ack, a mechanical device for turn ing a spit in roasting meat over an open fire, and in [136] urn mW f,,jjP^ _ ,' ;. m^A' \ w f — ^ 1 i. _ ^^RHI # # n /// ,| [ )¦/*' ..;' [9 " maw A Simon Willard tall clock owned by the * Butler Hospital, Providence, R. I. A typical example of Willard tall clock, with moon's phases above the dial. THE WILLARDS AND THEIR CLOCKS 1774 he was granted the exclusive privilege for five years (signed by John Hancock) of making and sell ing his clock-jack in Massachusetts. In Grafton, he made eight-day tall clocks similar to those of his brother Benjamin, and also a neat shelf clock. In Roxbury, he made, at first, only tall clocks, but later he became equally well known for tower and gallery clocks, and for wall clocks which he always spoke of as timepieces. These clocks he made chiefly during the winter and peddled them in summer along the North Shore, going, at least once, as far as Bangor, Maine. An advertisement of this period gives the follow ing prices : Steeple clocks, one dial, $500 ; two dials, $600; three dials, $700; four dials, $900; "common eight-day clocks with very elegant faces and mahog any cases," $50 to $60; eight-day timepieces, $30; thirty-hour timepieces, $10; spring clocks, $50 to $60; one-year clocks, fine cases, $100; astronomical clocks, $70; gallery clocks, $<;$; chime clocks, six tunes, $120. He also made a sort of cyclometer for carriages at $15- In 1801 he invented the improved timepiece which has come to be popularly known, because of its shape, as the banjo clock. It was an eight-day, non-strik ing, pendulum clock, smaller and more compact than !>39] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN the tall clock, and easily fastened to the wall. It won instant success. In 1802 he got it patented, his papers bearing the distinguished signatures of Thomas Jefferson, President, James Madison, Secre tary of State, and Levi Lincoln, Attorney General. A few of these banjo clocks may have been made by him experimentally prior to 1801. In 1819 Willard took out another patent for an alarm clock, but apparently he went to no great trouble to enforce his patent rights, for the banjo clock was early copied by a number of his contempo raries, though none of their clocks equaled his. After 1802, Simon Willard largely abandoned the manufacture of tall clocks and devoted himself to the timepieces, making tall clocks to order only. He began to secure special commissions, too, for tower and gallery clocks which took him away from home, so that he gave up his peddling about 1805. In 1801 he made a large clock for the United States Senate. The principle employed in the works was a new one, so that he had to go to Washington to show the authorities how to run it. Willard's bill for this clock was $770. It was destroyed when the British burned Washington in 1814. While at the Capital, Willard met President Jef ferson, and a genuine friendship sprang up between [H°] THE WILLARDS AND THEIR CLOCKS the two men. In 1826, Jefferson gave Willard the commission for a turret clock for the University of Virginia at Charlottesville. The specifications, drawn up by Jefferson himself, were the most com plete and accurate that Willard had ever received. They called for a sixty-inch dial. Willard went to Charlottesville to install this clock, which did service for over sixty years. While in Virginia he visited Jefferson at Montecello and also Madison at Montpelier. Simon Willard was a self-educated man and was very proud of his connection with Harvard College and his friendship with its president and faculty. For years he kept the Harvard clocks in order. He presented two clocks to the college, both of which are still in existence. One, a tall clock, stands in the Faculty Room; the other, a banjo-shaped regulator, is in University Hall. Willard was also a friend of Josiah Quincy and made an elaborate timepiece for him as a wedding gift for his daughter in 1826. In 1837 he made two more clocks for the Govern ment. They were set up and tested in his son Simon's shop in Boston and he took them to Wash ington himself. One was ordered by Associate Justice Story and was placed in the old Senate [141] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN Chamber, now the Supreme Court. The other was constructed especially for a case designed by Carlo Franzoni in 1819, representing Clio, goddess of his tory. It is now to be seen in Statuary Hall. On this visit Willard met President Van Buren and other celebrities. During these years Willard installed a number of tower clocks which have become more or less famous. In 1804 he made a handsome gallery clock for the First Congregational Church of Roxbury, and in 1806 a one-dial clock for the steeple of the new meeting-house. His price was $858. In 1857 four new dials were placed on the steeple; otherwise the clock is the same. Willard had charge of the run ning of these clocks as long as he remained in Rox bury. Willard's great-grandson compiled the following fairly complete list of his public clocks : First Church of Dedham, 1820 (replaced). Old State House, Boston (now running) . U. S. Senate, 1801 (destroyed 1814). Jefferson College, afterward the University of Vir ginia, 1826 (destroyed by fire 1895). First Church, Roxbury, 1806. Park Street Church, Boston (replaced 1906). [H2] A Simon Willard presentation An Aaron Willard banjo clock timepiece, owned by Mr. Dwight Wlth a picture of the Conslitulion- M. Prouty, Boston. Guerriire battle. THE WILLARDS AND THEIR CLOCKS North Church, Newburyport, 1785 (destroyed by fire 1861). Boylston Market, Boston (still running). North Church, Portland, Maine, 1802 (replaced 1893). Chief Clerk's Office, U. S. Supreme Court, 1837 (still running). The Franzoni Clock, 1837 (stiH running). First Unitarian Church, Cambridge, 1832 (still running). First Congregational Church, Falmouth. Willard returned to Roxbury for good in 1837 and retired from business in 1839. For three years he lived with his son, Simon, Jr., in Boston, and for two years with his son-in-law, Edward Bird of Dor chester. In Boston he spent a good deal of his time in his son's shop, loath to leave the vocation he loved. In Dorchester he continued to amuse himself in the shop of Elnathan Taber, an old friend and appren tice of his. After 1845 he lived with his daughters, Mrs. Ho bart of Milton and Mrs. Isaac Cary of Boston. He retained his keen faculties to the last and died quietly at the Cary home in Washington Street on August 30, 1848, in his ninety-sixth year. [H5] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN Simon Willard was a great inventor and crafts man, but a poor business man. His fortune was but $500 when he retired and he died poor. He was honest, proud, and sensitive. He was a tireless worker, often spending twelve or fourteen hours a day at his bench. During his lifetime it is esti mated that he made about 1,200 eight-day clocks and 4,000 timepieces, besides the others. He also in vented and manufactured machinery for turning lighthouse turrets. In some respects his clocks have never been improved upon. It is, of course, the shelf clocks, tall clocks, and timepieces in which the collector is chiefly interested. The first clocks he made in Grafton were thirty-hour shelf clocks, about twenty-six inches high in plain cases of cherry or mahogany with brass dials. The movement was good, forming the basis of his later timepiece. These shelf clocks are valuable to-day because of their rarity. He also made a few minia ture tall clocks, about two feet high, with fine mahogany cases and brass dials. These are very rare. Simon Willard's tall clocks were made chiefly between 1780 and 1802. They were eight-day striking clocks with excellent works of hammered brass, cut out by hand with a file. He is said to [146] THE WILLARDS AND THEIR CLOCKS have become so expert that he could cut the teeth of the wheels with absolute accuracy by his eye, with no marks to guide him. The steel pinions were also made by hand. At one period Paul Revere is said to have made some of Willard's brass castings. Working alone, Willard could turn out one of these tall clocks in six days. Later, with better tools, he averaged one timepiece a day without case. During his latter years he made some use of an Eng lish wheel-cutting machine. The movements of these clocks, some of which have kept excellent time to this day, are wonderful examples of file work; and more remarkable still, the craftsman's hand lost none of its cunning as the years advanced. At the age of eighty-five he was as skilful as when he first opened his shop in Rox bury. The original rods of the long forty-inch pendu lums were of selected wood, baked hard and pol ished. .In most of the clocks now extant these pen dulums have been replaced by later ones. The orig inal weights were of brass filled with shot. The dials, generally of iron, sometimes of wood, were painted with eight or ten coats, each rubbed down till the finish was like enamel. A few of the earlier clocks had Arabic numerals, but they were usually [H7] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN Roman. Some of the dials were finely decorated by artists, one of whom was a Charles Bullard. Simon Willard did not make his own cases or dials, but he demanded always the best of workman ship. The cases of his tall clocks were made by Henry Willard of Roxbury, Charles Crehore of Dorchester, William Fiske of Watertown, and oth ers. They were made on the same general model, from carefully selected, well seasoned oak, ma hogany, and cherry, occasionally inlaid with satin- wood or holly. On the top of the hood were placed brass urns, balls, or spikes, rarely the eagle. Some of these tall clocks had chime or musical at tachments and the dials often told the days of the month and the phases of the moon. The patent timepiece or banjo clock of 1802 be came at once popular because of its convenience, its graceful shape and decorative finish, and its excel lent timekeeping qualities. The movement which, as well as the form of the case, was original with Willard, was designed for economy of space and ran with a shortened pendulum. There were three types of banjo clock. The first had a plain mahogany case, occasionally inlaid, with curved brass side ornaments, but with no glass front and no bracket. The second kind, which was made [148] An Aaron Willard shelf clock, forty inches high. Owned by Mr. Dwight M. Prouty, Boston. A unique gravity clock by Simon Willard. The entire clock swings like a pendulum. Mantel clock in a handsome mahog any case, made by Aaron Willard. Prouty (Collection. THE WILLARDS AND THEIR CLOCKS in the largest quantities, had a mahogany case, brass side ornaments, and glass front, but no bracket or base piece. The most ornate kind was known as the presentation clock and was of mahogany and white enamel with gilded beading and painted glass front, and with an ornamental base bracket. The presentation clocks were popular as wedding gifts and cost $80 or more. Josiah Quincy's purchase was one of these. The top ornaments varied, brass balls, urns, and brass or gilded wooden acorns being commonest. Simon Willard seldom if ever used the spread eagle, which was often added later and was much used by his imitators. The dial glasses were slightly convex. The glass fronts were painted chiefly by Charles Bullard and an Englishman whose name has been lost. The de signs were chiefly lacy arabesques and scroll work, leaf designs, etc., executed in gold leaf on a white ground. The door glasses were usually painted with bor ders of gold and black on a white ground, or various color combinations, with an oval or oblong space left in the center through which the swinging pendulum might be seen. Simon Willard did not use land scapes, pictures of battles, ships, flags, or eagles on [151] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN these door glasses, and no gilt on the wooden cases except on the gift clocks. He made a few mahogany timepieces of a slightly different design as regulators for banks and offices. His gallery clocks usually had gilt cases with large round dials surmounted with the spread eagle. The short pendulum cases had painted glass fronts and usually rested on a bracket. None of the Willards made clocks with wooden works. Simon Willard signed many of his tall clocks on the dials and his timepieces — generally "S. Willard's Patent" — on the doors of the pendulum cases. Though several of the Willards were in the clock business, they were none of them partners. Next to Simon in fame was his younger brother Aaron, who was born October 13, 1757, and may have learned his trade from Benjamin or Simon in Graf ton. In 1775, Aaron marched to Roxbury with the Grafton Militia, as a fifer, and served for a few weeks. In 1780, he moved to Roxbury and opened a shop near Simon's. He was a better business man than his brothers and he prospered from the start. He peddled his clocks along the South Shore, while Simon covered the North Shore. [152] THE WILLARDS AND THEIR CLOCKS Aaron Willard moved to Washington Street, Bos ton, about 1790, and established a factory connected with his house. A little colony of his employees and the allied trades — cabinet-makers, painters, etc. — soon grew up about him and other clockmakers were attracted to the neighborhood, so that by 1816 it had become the clockmaking quarter of the city. Here he prospered, employing twenty or thirty workmen, and retired, well-to-do, about 1823. His business was continued by his son, Aaron Willard, Jr., who originated the lyre clock and produced many styles to meet the changing demands. Aaron, Sr., died in 1844, at tne a§e °^ eighty-seven. Aaron Willard first made tall and shelf clocks, and later banjo clocks, gallery clocks, and regulators. The styles of his tall clocks varied considerably in excellence. The cases were usually of mahogany, sometimes of oak or cherry, and occasionally inlaid. He produced several styles of shelf clocks, standing about thirty inches high, of no very great distinction in design. About 1802 Aaron copied his brother's patent timepiece, changing the pattern somewhat. His glass fronts were never so finely decorated as were Simon's and he generally painted a picture on the [153] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN doors of his pendulum cases. He used gold beading and base brackets more often than Simon. In general, Aaron Willard's clocks, while not lacking in decorative merit, were somewhat inferior to Simon's. But he made more of them and they are to be found somewhat more frequently to-day. Ephraim Willard, another of the brothers, born March 18, 1755, followed the trade of watchmaker and clockmaker in Medford and Roxbury. In 1801 he moved to Boston. He made a few tall clocks which are now very rare. Two or three of Simon Willard's sons followed their father's calling. Simon, Jr., the second son, born in 1795, left school at the age of fourteen to learn the trade. A few years later he gave it up and entered West Point, remaining in the army till 1816. He started a clock business in Roxbury, but failed, and went to New York in 1826 to learn watchmak ing. He returned in 1828 and started in business again in Boston at 9 Congress Street, where he be came successful and wealthy. He invented and con structed a wonderfully accurate chronometer or as tronomical clock, which for years was the standard. He remained in business for forty-two years and died in 1874. Benjamin F. Willard, Simon's fifth son, was also [154] The advertisement label which Simon Willard pasted inside the cases of his tall clocks. A ty pi cal Sim on Willard patent timepiece or banjo clock. The eagle on top is probably a later addition. THE WILLARDS AND THEIR CLOCKS a skilled mechanic and inventor. He learned the clockmaking trade from his father. Like all of the Willards, he started as a poor lad and passed through a severe struggle before success came to him. He was born in 1803 and died in 1847. Simon Willard had many apprentices, much of whose work is worth knowing. Of these the best known was Elnathan Taber. When Willard re tired, Taber bought his tools and continued the man ufacture of the patent timepieces, most of which were sold by Simon, Jr., in his Boston store at $16 apiece. Some of these clocks are marked "Simon Willard, Boston," but should not be confused with the original timepieces marked "S. Willard's Pat ent." Other makers also made use of the Willard name in some form or other, but their banjo clocks lack the decorative grace of the originals, and the imitators more frequently used the spread eagle on top and pictures of naval battles of the War of 1812, landscapes, etc., on the pendulum cases. Sometimes they introduced striking attachments. Other apprentices who were afterward successful were Levi and Abel Hutchins, William Cummins, and William King Lemst. Among the other con temporaries who followed Willard's styles more or less may be mentioned Samuel Mulliken, David [157] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN Wood, and Thomas Balch of Newburyport, Benja min Bagnall, Jr., of Boston, Daniel and Nathaniel Munroe and Samuel Whiting of Concord, Massa chusetts. Most noteworthy of all was Lemuel Curtis, who made banjo clocks that were even more elegant than Simon Willard's presentation clocks. Curtis was born in Boston in 1790, moved to Concord in 1814, and took out a patent in 1816 on an improvement on the Willard timepiece. He moved to Burling ton, Vermont, about 1818, and died there in 1857. His clocks show much gilding and ornament, and a round instead of a square pendulum case covered with convex glass on which a landscape or some classical or allegorical subject was painted. These Willards are not to be confused with Philander J. and Alexander T. Willard, who made clocks at Ashby, Massachusetts, between 1800 and 1840. They were probably not related to the Graf ton family. As in the case of other antiques, present-day val ues depend largely upon the eagerness of the pur chaser. Willard tall clocks are now so rare as to be practically out of the market. In New York, where the highest prices prevail, they are valued at $250 to $500, according to their condition. Simon Wil- [158] Five Baron Stiegel salt cups of the fourteen owned by Mrs. Albert K. Hostetter, Lancaster, Pa. Clear and tinted pitchers and creamers in the Hostetter Collection. THE WILLARDS AND THEIR CLOCKS lard timepieces of the ordinary type, with mahogany cases and no base bracket, are priced at $75 to $85, which is rather more than they are worth, and good examples of the presentation clock, with bracket, at $100 or more. An Aaron Willard timepiece, with the picture of the battle between the frigates Guer- riere and Constitution, was recently shown in a New York shop window with a $50 price mark. Doubt less it could be bought for $35 or $40. The Aaron Willard shelf clocks are worth somewhat less, and good banjo clocks by other makers may be valued at from $20 to $35, according to style and condi tion. [161] CHAPTER VII BARON STIEGEL AND HIS GLASSWARE WHEN the assiduous historians of Penn sylvania have at length stripped bare of its mythical embellishments the story of "Baron Heinrich von Stiegel," there will still remain to us the biography of one of the most romantic characters that ever flourished on this side of the Atlantic. And there will also remain to those of us who care for such things a few pieces of the famous Stiegel glassware, among the early objects of fine domestic art manufactured in the Colonies. He was, indeed, not merely the picturesque, spec tacular figure that legend has painted him, but an ironmaster, town builder, and glassmaker, and one of the most notable of pre-Revolutionary manufac turers in America. In telling the story of Stiegel's life and career I shall endeavor to confine myself to such facts as are now generally agreed upon by the historians. His [162] Stiegel glassware, Metropolitan Museum. Examples of blown relief decoration; barrel tumbler and salt dish. BARON STIEGEL AND HIS GLASSWARE name was undoubtedly Heinrich Wilhelm Stiegel; that is the way he signed the ship's roster when he came to this country. Later, following the custom of his time, he varied it to Henry Wm. Stiegel. He was born May 13, 1729, near Cologne, on the French side of the Rhine (or, as the older tradition has it, near Mannheim, Germany), the son of John Fred- erich and Dorothea Elizabeth Stiegel. At the death of his father in 1741, he and his mother and his younger brother Anthony gathered together their worldly goods and started for the New World, where many of their neighbors had found liberty and pros perity. On August 31, 1750, they arrived at Phil adelphia on the good ship Nancy. The legend that Stiegel came with a patrimony of £40,000 has been pretty well disproved; he probably came to these shores a comparatively poor boy, seeking his for tune. The mother and brother settled in Schaeffers- town, Pennsylvania, where they lived and eventu ally died, but Heinrich traveled about the country looking for his chance. In those days there were thriving iron mines in Pennsylvania — the most pro ductive in this country — and about them had sprung up forges and furnaces and prosperous ironmasters. One of these was Jacob Huber of Brickerville, Lan- [165] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN caster County. The Brickerville situation looked good to young Stiegel, and on November 7, 1752, he married Huber's daughter Elizabeth. Two daugh ters were born to them — Barbara and Elizabeth. In 1757, Stiegel had saved enough money to buy his father-in-law's furnace property, which he promptly tore down, erecting a new and larger one, which he named Elizabeth Furnace. On February 13, 1758, Stiegel' s wife Elizabeth died and was buried in the Lutheran graveyard at Brickerville. A year and a half later he married Elizabeth Holtz of Philadelphia, who bore him one son, Jacob. He built a house near the Falls of the Schuylkill in Philadelphia, where they lived until 1765, when he made his chief residence at Elizabeth Furnace again. The business of the Elizabeth Furnace prospered from the start, and he began making an ovenless, pipeless, wood-burning iron stove which was in tended to fit into the jamb of the kitchen fireplace. On these first stoves appeared this inscription: Baron Stiegel ist der Mann Der die Ofen Geisen Kann. Which brings up the question of his alleged title of nobility. It was undoubtedly a nickname, but [166] BARON STIEGEL AND HIS GLASSWARE whether originally applied in honor or in jest, is a matter of conjecture. His extravagant habits of os tentation and the feudal elegance and lavishness of his manner of living certainly proved the aptness of the title, and it stuck. Perhaps that is all we need to know about it. At any rate, "Baron" Stie gel he will be to us so long as a piece of his glassware remains intact. Stiegel improved this stove, made a few open Franklins, and eventually perfected the ten-plate stove which served our ancestors for a hundred years. Few of these are now to be found intact, but Penn sylvania antiquarians have found it interesting to collect the iron plates. A stove-plate owned by Mr. George S. Danner bears a classic profile (the like ness of George III, perhaps) surrounded by a wreath. Below are Masonic emblems and above the inscription "Stiegel Elizabeth Furnace, 1769." By 1760, Stiegel had become one of the most prosperous ironmasters in Pennsylvania. Elizabeth Furnace was kept continuously busy and trade was growing. About seventy-five men were employed here. Near the furnace the Baron erected twenty- five tenant houses, several of which are still stand ing. The property included some 900 acres, much [167] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN of it in timber, and a gang of men was employed to cut the wood and burn the charcoal that was used in smelting the ore. Stiegel owned also stores, a mill, and a malt house. A spacious house, substantially built of sandstone, which still stands near the site of the furnace, is said to be the mansion occupied by Stiegel during his monthly visits, while his main residence was in Phil adelphia. At this house, as at Philadelphia, a corps of servants was maintained sufficient for any emer gency. The Baron's proclivity toward a feudal es tablishment was beginning to assert itself. It was about this time, too, that Stiegel began seeking business expansion and new commercial in terests. His first move in this direction was the purchase of a one-half interest in Charming Forge, near Womeldorf, Berks County, on Tulpehocken Creek. During these years of business activity Stiegel had associated himself with two shrewd brothers, Charles and Alexander Stedman, a merchant and a lawyer of Philadelphia. In September, 1762, he formed a partnership with them, paying £50 sterling for a one-third interest in the Stiegel Company and in a tract of 729 acres of land lying on the north bank of Chiquesalunga or Chiques Creek, in Lancaster [168] Stiegel glassware in the Hunter collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Salt dish and creamer in tinted ware. BARON STIEGEL AND HIS GLASSWARE County. Their plan was to develop a town here and make a fortune in real estate. Stiegel, before his departure for the New World, had received a first-class education. One of his many accomplishments was surveying, and he laid out the new town according to his own design and called it Manheim. Tradition asserts that it was originally a faithful replica of the German city of Mannheim. Here the company built and sold houses, subject to ground rental, and conducted a clever and successful boom. Within the area of the new town there were only two little log houses standing, but soon an orderly,! attractive village replaced them. Early in 1763, Stiegel, who had become greatly interested in this venture, began the building of mansion number three at the corner of Market Square and East High Street. It was a square house, forty feet on each side, and was constructed of brick which were spe cially imported from England, and were hauled from Philadelphia in the Baron's wagons. The house was two years in building. When com pleted it was elaborately furnished. The great par lor was hung with tapestries of hunting scenes (part of which are preserved by the Pennsylvania His torical Society), doors and wainscoting were heavily [171 J EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN paneled, and the mantels were adorned with blue Delft tiles. Stiegel was a religious man with a decided bent toward preaching. Half of the second floor in the Manheim house was built in the form of an arched chapel, with a pulpit and pews. Here the Baron was wont to gather his working people together, and in a pompous but solemn manner expound to them in the German tongue the doctrines of the Lutheran faith. Another unique feature of this house, illus trating his eccentricity perhaps as much as his taste for music, was a platform on the roof, surrounded by a balustrade, where a band of his employees dis coursed music on all possible occasions on instru ments of his providing. While the business at Elizabeth Furnace was pros pering, with two hundred to three hundred workmen employed, progress at Manheim was a bit too slow to suit the enterprising Baron. Some industry was essential to insure the growth of the town, so Stie gel resolved to erect a glass factory. Glassmaking had been for centuries one of the industrial arts of. the region of Cologne, where Stiegel was born, and he may have received technical training in the trade, for subsequent events proved him to be no novice. He had, in fact, been manufacturing window glass [172] baron stiegel and his glassware and bottles in a small way at Brickerville since 1763, including clear glass and several greens. The new plant was built of imported brick and was completed some time after 1765. Tradition states that it was so large that a four-horse team could be driven through the doors, turned around, and driven out again, and that it was surmounted by a huge dome ninety feet high — dimensions that should not be accepted too readily. Stiegel made a trip or two to Europe and brought back with him skilled workmen from Germany and from Bristol. After some small manufacture of window glass and bottles, the major operations were commenced in 1768, and here the first American flint glassware was manufactured. By 1769 the glass factory was running at full ca pacity, with thirty-five glassblowers employed, and its products were sold in Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York, and Boston. The Baron's annual in come from this industry alone was said to be £5,000, a tidy sum in those days. In August, 1769, the Stedman brothers sold out their interest in Manheim to Isaac Cox, and the following February Stiegel bought it for £107, lor. He was now rated as one of the wealthiest men in Pennsylvania, and he certainly lived up to that rep- [173] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN utation. He entertained lavishly at his various resi dences, and on one or two occasions George Wash ington is said to have been his guest. To give greater scope to his social activities he built, in 1769, a strange sort of tower on a hill near Schaefferstown, Lebanon County, some five miles north of Elizabeth Furnace. The hill is still known as Thurm Berg. The tower was a wooden structure, built of heavy timbers, in the form of a pyramid. Its dimensions are given as seventy-five feet high, fifty feet square at the base, and ten feet square at the top. Its ex terior was painted red. On the ground floor were banquet halls, and above richly appointed guest chambers. This tower or "schloss" came in later years to be known as "Stiegel's folly," and fell into ruins soon after his death. During these years of his prosperity the Baron's tendency toward elaborate display became more and more marked. He was accustomed to drive in state from one of his residences to another in a coach drawn by four prancing steeds (coal black or milk white, according to varying traditions), guided by liveried postilions and accompanied by a pack of baying hounds. A cannon's roar announced his coming and departure at Thurm Berg, while at Manheim he was [174 J Cotton-stem wine glasses, enameled tumblers, and tinted sugar bowls in the Hos tetter Collection of Stiegel glassware. Enameled tumblers and mugs. Hostetter Collection. BARON STIEGEL AND HIS GLASSWARE greeted by the shouts of the populace and the music of the band upon his housetop. But with all this baronial splendor he never failed to act the part of the lord of bounty. He paid his workmen well and was greatly loved by them. He furnished them religious, musical, and intellectual instruction, and was perhaps the first American manufacturer to engage in what we know as welfare work. And, above all, he was a staunch supporter of his church. At one time he had a note of £100 against the Lutheran congregation at Schaefferstown which, in a moment of generosity, he cancelled. In 1770 he aided in the establishment of the Zion Church at Manheim, providing the lot for the sum of five shil lings and the payment of "one red rose annually in the month of June forever, if the same shall be law fully demanded by the heirs, executors, or assigns." The legend states that the Baron brought a rosebush from England and planted it in the churchyard, and that this same bush is blooming still. However that may be, the "Feast of Roses" has been reestablished in Manheim. In 1891 Dr. J. H. Sieling, one of Stiegel's most indefatigable his torians, discovered among the dusty records of the [177] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN church the original deed bearing the unique rental stipulation that had been forgotten for over a cen tury. The debt, he found, had been paid in 1773 and 1774, and then, with the Baron's declining for tunes, had been neglected. In June, 1892, payment was resumed, and on the second Sunday of each suc ceeding June the pretty ceremony has been conducted by the Zion Lutheran Church at Manheim. A red rose from the churchyard is sent to one of the Baron's descendants, and piles of roses dropped within the chancel rail are sent to the hospitals. But evil days befell the princely Stiegel. His ex travagant mode of living began to tell. The market for his glassware dwindled as hard times approached and he fell more or less a victim to scheming asso ciates. The clouds of impending war shadowed all business and Stiegel found himself in a state of bank ruptcy. He did his best to ward off the inevitable, even pawning his wife's gold watch in his extremity, and his poorer friends rallied to his support. But it was all in vain, and on October 15, 1774, he was cast into the debtor's prison. The hum of industry slackened at Manheim and Elizabeth, and the once opulent Baron found himself mortgaged and penni less. By a special act of the Assembly he was released [178] BARON STIEGEL AND HIS GLASSWARE from prison on Christmas Eve, 1774. Through the sale of the glass works and most of his real estate, and with the aid of his friends, he was able to raise sufficient funds to satisfy his creditors. But his days of opulence were ended and his costly equipage sold. Robert Coleman, who had gained control by lease of the plant at Brickerville, made him foreman of Elizabeth Furnace, and he took up his work again courageously. At first it was hard sledding, with all industry crippled by the outbreak of war, but in 1776 Stiegel procured orders for cannon, shot, and shells for the Continental troops. For a time this work kept the plant running night and day. During the winter at Valley Forge, Stiegel kept open the road of com munication with Washington's army. During 1777 a band of Hessians captured at Trenton (200 of them, it is said) were sent to Stiegel to enable him to dig a canal, a mile long, to increase his water power. Toward the end of 1778 the government orders ceased, and Stiegel again faced bankruptcy. He de voted the remnants of his fortune to the satisfying of his creditors, and then, abandoning all his dreams of commercial success, he established a modest home in the parsonage of the Lutheran Church at Bricker- [179] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN ville, of which he had once been a munificent bene factor. Here, at the age of forty-eight, "a thin, bent old man," he settled down to a quiet life, gain ing a scanty living by means of preaching, teaching school, giving music lessons, and surveying. In 1780 he moved back to Schaefferstown and in 1781 to Charming Forge, where he taught school and kept books for the factory. In 1782 his wife died while on a visit in Phila* delphia, and on January 10, 1785, the day after the death of his brother Anthony at Schaefferstown, Heinrich Wilhelm Stiegel breathed his last and was presumably buried in an unmarked grave at Brick erville. Romantic as is the half-legendary story of Baron Stiegel's career, the thing which has kept his memory green outside his own section of the country is the well deserved fame of his glassware. Fortunately, the output of his factory was so great that a mod erate amount of it is still in existence, not only in Pennsylvania but in Boston, New York, and else where, and it is coming to be more and more highly prized by collectors. Glassmaking was one of the early industrial en terprises of the American Colonies, and Stiegel was by no means the first to engage in it. But to him [180] " ~: •• -... — . ..,.¦,.. i .. .^i-sjia '.-j^^mj... . Two tumblers in the Hunter collection of Stiegel glassware. A clear-glass tumbler, corrugated or fluted style, with an etched festoon border; and an example of the enameled ware — the cockatoo pattern. BARON STIEGEL AND HIS GLASSWARE remains the credit of having made the most notable and probably the first fine flint glass in America. His product included both utilitarian and art wares. For the table he made cream jugs, pitchers, sugar bowls, tumblers, wine glasses, large flip glasses, rum mers with and without covers, salt cups, pepper cruets, dishes and plates, vinegar cruets, champagne glasses, mugs, finger bowls, other bowls, molasses jugs, caraffes, and egg glasses, all of better quality than any hitherto attempted in this country. These were made chiefly in four colors — white or clear glass, blue, purple, and green, beside the enameled ware. The blues predominate and show a wonder ful depth, variety, and clearness of coloring. They range from a light sapphire to the deepest shades, and exhibit undertones of green or purple when held to the light. At least four shades of green are to be found and occasionally pieces were made in olive or amethyst. Much of the clear ware is beautifully engraved, and some of Stiegel's "cotton-stem" wine glasses rival the famous examples from Bristol. There were also made a few flint-glass articles flashed with a thin coating of white, and various two-colored pieces — blue and transparent, blue and opaque white, amethyst and transparent, etc. [183] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN Stiegel also made window glass, sheet glass, bot tles, flasks, chemists' tubes and retorts, measuring glasses, funnels, jars, jug stands, etc., as well as vases, scent bottles, and toys. The relief designs found in much of the Stiegel glass were made by blowing it in figured molds. Often the pattern was impressed in a small pattern mold and the article then blown in the open air by hand, giving such pieces a distended, asymmetrical appearance that is far from displeasing and that gives a wide variety of form among individual speci mens. The commonest design is a diamond-shaped or diaper pattern, and many pieces are found with straight or twisted fluting. The quality of the glass is such as to render it re markably vibrant. A bowl, struck sharply with the finger, will produce a clear, rich tone for fifteen or twenty seconds. Stiegel's enameled ware is particularly quaint and interesting. He was the first American manufac turer to attempt enameling on glass, and he imported skilled workmen for this purpose. Four patterns used to decorate tumblers and other pieces in bright colors are the most common, though these were varied considerably and others were occasionally used. Enameled mugs, steins, glasses, and cordial bottles [184] A group of silverware made by Paul Revere and exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1906. BARON STIEGEL AND HIS GLASSWARE were produced, as well as engraved bottles, tumblers, and flips. The most noteworthy collection of Stiegel glass is that of Mr. Frederick W. Hunter of New York, who has presented it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is now on exhibition. There are nearly three hundred pieces, altogether, including at least fifty of the remarkable blues. The Pennsyl vania Museum also owns a good collection, as does Mrs. Albert K. Hostetter of Lancaster, Pennsyl vania. The question of present values is always of prime interest to the collector. While it is impossible to be exact, it is safe to say that Stiegel glassware is worth from $5 for one of the smaller, plainer pieces to $20 or $25 for one of the larger, more elaborate examples, while $50 is not an unheard-of price for one of the finer flip glasses. Not long ago an au thentic Stiegel tumbler or salt dish could be picked up for a dollar or two, but the interest in this ware suddenly increased less than five years ago, and mar ket values advanced very sharply. A few collectors, indeed, pursued their quest with such zeal that as high as $100 was asked for a single piece. Prof. Edwin A. Barber of the Pennsylvania Museum writes : "Pieces which I could buy for $1 .50 [187] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN until a year or so ago are now quoted at $50 and up wards, which is ridiculous. I have, however, within the past few months, bought quite a number of pieces at reasonable prices, ranging from $5 to $20 each." There has been little or no attempt made thus far to fake Stiegel ware, though it has not been uncom mon for similar products of a later period to be at tributed to Stiegel by dealers and collectors. Stiegel glassware is distinguished by its brittleness and its bell-like resonance, by its light weight and thin texture, by its brilliant surface, by the beauty and uniformity of its colorings, by the quality of its relief patterns, by the decorative quaintness of its forms, and by its hand-made appearance. As ob jects of art Stiegel's best pieces are only beginning to be appreciated. Stiegel was an eccentric character undoubtedly, and he was an able man of business, who owed his downfall in part to an injudicious ambition and in part to his expensive tastes. But above all else he was an artist, a craftsman. True, he employed workmen of the highest skill and training, but they produced only so long as they felt the stimulus of his inspiring personality and enthusiastic direction. He alone was responsible for one of the most dis tinguished products of pre-Revolutionary America. [188] The famous Sons of Liberty punch bowl made by Revere in 1768; now owned by Marsden J. Perry, Esq Providence R T Th, salt cellar, another patriotic Revere piece, is the property of R. T. Haines Halsey, Esq., New York. ' CHAPTER VIII THE VERSATILE PAUL REVERE SINCE Fourth Reader days we have known of the midnight ride of Paul Revere. As a patriot and a soldier he made a place for his name in American Revolutionary history. But the collector and the student of early American crafts finds him no less interesting as an engraver and as the designer and maker of some of the most ex quisite old silverware that has come down to us from Revolutionary times. In the recently awakened enthusiasm for Ameri cana, old silver naturally has its place, and in that department of craftsmanship the interest is strongly focused upon Revere, partly because of his character and exploits, partly because of the exquisite quality of his workmanship, and partly because there is so much of it, comparatively speaking, to be found in private and public collections. But Revere's activities did not stop even here. He was a goldsmith and an engraver and a publisher of historical and political cartoons. He was a manu- [191] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN facturer of gunpowder, church bells, and rolled cop per. He even kept a hardware store in Boston, where he sold jewelry, picture frames, and false teeth. He was a high Mason and an industrial or ganizer, a Son of Liberty and a colonel in the army. Paul Revere was born in Boston January l, 1735 (December 21, 1734, old style), and lived in Bos ton all his life. He was the third of twelve chil dren and was named after his father, a Frenchman, who was christened Apollos Revoire, but changed his name to Paul Revere after coming to America. Paul Revere the elder was born at Riancaud, France, the son of Huguenot parents. In 1715, at the age of thirteen, he was sent to a brother in the Island of Guernsey to learn the trade of goldsmith. He came to America in 1723 and settled in Boston, being apprenticed here for a short time to John Cony. On June 19, 1729, he married Deborah Hichborn. He was successful in his calling, for a large part of .American wealth in his day was centered in and about Boston and there was a growing demand for the silverware which it was part of the goldsmith's business to produce. He died in 1754 an<^ his wife in 1777. Paul the son — the man known to history as Paul Revere — went to school in Boston to the famous [192] THE VERSATILE PAUL REVERE Master Tileston at the North Grammar School. While still a youth he entered his father's shop to learn his trade, which included the designing as well as the making of silver pitchers, ewers, tankards, cans, teapots, spoons, porringers, etc. It also in cluded chasing and engraving, and at this young Paul became an expert. On his father's death, when he was nineteen years old, he took charge of the shop. He joined a local artillery company, of which he became second lieutenant, and in 1756, when he was twenty-one years of age, he was sent on the expedi tion against the French at Crown Point. He served for six months at Fort William Henry on Lake George, but saw no action. Returning to Boston he devoted himself whole heartedly to his trade and began turning out cred itable silverware of his own designing. On August 17, 1757, he married Sarah Orne. She died May 3, 1773, after bearing eight children, and five months after her death Revere married Rachel Walker. The silver engraving interested Revere so much that he began experimenting on copper plate also, drawing some of his own subjects. By 1765 he had become known as a clever if somewhat crude carica turist as well as a skilled engraver. Although we are at present interested in Paul [193] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN Revere chiefly as a craftsman, no sketch of his life can well be presented without some account of his patriotic activities in the early days of our national struggle for independence. He belonged to that group of young and ardent patriots who kept affairs in Boston pretty well stirred up for a dozen years before the Revolution. He was a member of sev eral patriotic committees and on December 16, 1773, he took part in the famous Boston Tea Party. He was an accomplished horseman and often acted as messenger for the Committee of Safety. Twice in 1774 he rode to New York and Philadelphia to secure support and cooperation among the Colonies, once carrying with him the Suffolk Resolves — the forerunner of the Declaration of Independence. On December 13, 1774, he carried to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the news of the embargo on muni tions of war and the British plan of sending a strong garrison to Fort William and Mary at New Castle. As a result of his warning, the New Hampshire Sons of Liberty armed and surprised the fort on the night of December 14, capturing one hundred pounds of powder and fifteen cannon, which were later used with effect at Bunker Hill. This was the first or ganized, armed resistance to British rule. Most of us know of Revere's famous midnight [194] A silver tea set of extraordinary grace made by Paul Revere in 1799 for presentation to Edmund Hartt, constructor of the frigate Boston. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Silver sauce pan of unusual design, by Paul Revere. THE VERSATILE PAUL REVERE ride from the poetic version, which is not entirely accurate. His own narrative is given in a letter to Jeremy Belknap, published in the Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Revere was at this time a vigorous man of forty, an active member of the Sons of Liberty, and one of thirty volunteer night watchmen whose duty it was to keep in touch with the British movements in Bos ton, both military and political. They were well aware of the British plan to raid the stores at Con cord and Lexington and on April 18, 1775, reported that the time had arrived. There was also a price on the heads of Hancock and Adams, who were at Lexington, and on the night of the 18th Dr. Warren sent William Dawes and Paul Revere by different routes to warn them and the patriots at Concord. Dawes started first, but arrived later than Revere at the home of Rev. Mr. Clarke in Lexington, where Adams and Hancock were housed. It is hardly fair, however, that all the credit should be given to Revere. Revere set out from Charlestown at about eleven p. m., riding Deacon Larkin's horse. The incident of the lanterns in the church steeple was a matter of minor importance. Not far outside of Charlestown he was surprised [197] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN and pursued by British horsemen, but escaped through Medford, arousing the minute-men along the way. He arrived at Lexington with his mes sage about midnight. About an hour later Revere, with Dawes and Dr. Prescott, started out for Concord. They had not gone far before they were surrounded by British sol diers. Prescott promptly turned his horse, and leap ing a stone wall, escaped, but Dawes and Revere were captured. They started back toward Boston, but before long the soldiers became alarmed by signs of gathering minute-men and relaxed their vigilance. Dawes started up his horse and dashed down the road, hotly pursued by three troopers. The story has it that as he approached a darkened farmhouse, he called loudly, "Hello, boys, I 've got three of 'em," whereat his pursuers turned without further ado and fled. Revere was not so lucky. His horse was taken from him; but later, in the confusion, he man aged to slip away. On the following day, the 19th, occurred the skirmishes at Concord and Lexington and "the shot heard 'round the world." Most of the stores, thanks to the timely warning, had been safely hidden. Revolution having become more important than business to Revere, he arranged to have his affairs [198] THE VERSATILE PAUL REVERE in Boston cared for while he moved to Charlestown and devoted himself largely to public activities. There were more important journeys on horseback to New York and Philadelphia and there was mili tary service. In November, 1775, Revere was instructed, while in Philadelphia, to inspect the powder mill there, as Massachusetts badly needed one. The owner of the factory, jealous of his rights, would not give the emissary any information or permit him to make any drawings, though he allowed him to walk through the plant. Revere kept his eyes and ears open. He possessed a working knowledge of chemistry and of manufacturing processes in general, and when he re turned he was fully prepared to engage in the manu facture of gun powder for the Continental Army. The rebuilding of an old powder mill at Canton, Massachusetts, was begun in February, 1776, and was completed in May, and Revere took charge. He was able soon to supply tons of powder for the army. In 1776 he was also employed to repair the cannon left spiked at Castle William by the British on the evacuation of Boston. In July of that year he was made a major in a regiment organized for local de fense, and in November became lieutenant-colonel [199] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN of a regiment of state artillery, in which his son Paul, a lad of sixteen, became a lieutenant. The regiment saw some service in both Massa chusetts and Rhode Island, but was stationed at Cas tle William the greater part of the time. Revere was in command of the fort during most of 1778 and 1779. In 1779 he took part in the ill-fated and misman aged expedition to Maine, having charge of the artil lery train. Commodore Saltonstall failed to co operate, discipline among the state troops was weak, and the expedition was broken up by the British gar rison at Penobscot. Very likely Revere became in subordinate under these trying conditions, but it is not to be believed that he was cowardly. However, serious charges were preferred against him and he was removed from his post at Castle William. He was arrested on September 6 and held a prisoner in his own home for two or three days, and then re leased. Revere demanded a thorough investigation and would not remain satisfied with semi-acquittals, but it was not until February 19, 1782, that he at last obtained conclusive vindication from a competent court-marshal. His personal reputation seems not to have been seriously impaired, but his chances were [200] Part of the exhibit of Revere silverware at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1906. THE VERSATILE PAUL REVERE spoiled for securing a coveted commission in the Con tinental Army. The year 1780 found Paul Revere back at his trade in Boston. During the war his business had naturally suffered, though he had profitably con ducted the powder mill at Canton and had been em ployed by the Government to oversee the casting of brass cannon. Also he had been engaged to super vise the making of our first national paper money. On May 10, 1775* the second Continental Congress in Philadelphia voted to authorize the issuance of two million Spanish dollars in bills of credit. John Adams and Benjamin Franklin were members of the committee which gave Revere the contract for en graving and printing. He constructed his own presses for this work. In December of the same year the Massachusetts Provincial Congress gave him a similar contract. Revere also found time to de sign and engrave a state seal for Massachusetts in 1775, and a second one, for the new State, in 1780. He was now forty-five years old, with a wife and eight children. One son, Paul, had learned the goldsmith's trade and another, Joseph Warren, was associated with him in various business enterprises. In spite of the fact that trade had been dull and a [203] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN good deal of Revere's money had been tied up by the war, he was fairly well-to-do. For a few years Revere devoted most of his atten tion to the rehabilitation of his silverware business. In 1783 he opened a sort of jewelry store — called a "hardware shop" in those days — in Essex Street op posite the old Liberty Tree. Here he sold gold necklaces, bracelets, lockets, rings, and medals ; dies, seals, etc. ; silver pitchers, teapots, spoons, sugar bas kets, spectacle bows, knee and shoe buckles, candle sticks, etc. Many of these things Revere made in his own shop. In spite of the hard times, a fairly good business with the wealthier families was developed. He also made frames for Copley's famous portraits. In 1789 he started an iron and brass foundry at the lower end of Foster Street, near Lynn Street, now the Causeway. In 1792 he took his son Joseph into this business. They began the casting of church bells and built up a considerable trade in this line throughout eastern Massachusetts. In 1794 they began the casting of brass cannon and the manufacture of metal fittings for ships. They were the first concern in this country to smelt copper ore and to refine and roll it, and were very successful in the handling of malleable copper. In 1798 they made the bolts, spikes, pumps, etc., for the [204] THE VERSATILE PAUL REVERE United States frigate Constitution — "Old Iron sides." In 1801 they purchased the powder mill at Can ton and commenced the erection of new buildings there. In 1802 they furnished the metal — over six thousand square feet of it — for recoppering the dome of the State House in Boston. They also made cop per bottoms for seventy-four new gunboats for the Government. In October, 1804, the roof was blown off the fac tory in Boston and they moved the works to Can ton, retaining business headquarters in Boston. In 1809 they made the copper sheets for two boilers for the Livingston and Fulton steamboats on the Hud son River. Joseph Warren Revere continued this business at Canton after his father's death. Paul Revere was one of the best known members of the Masonic fraternity in America. He entered St. Andrew's Lodge in 1760, became Master in 1770, and was Grand Master of the Massachusetts Grand Lodge from 1795 to 1797. In this capacity he as sisted Governor Samuel Adams in laying the corner stone of the State House, July 4, 1795. He made jewels and insignia for the Masons and engraved and printed elaborate membership certificates, etc. Revere was largely instrumental in founding the [205] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics' Association in 1795 and served as its president till 1799. He was also one of the incorporators of the Massachusetts Mutual Fire Insurance Company in 1798. He died at his home in Charter Street, Boston, May 10, 1818, at the age of eighty-three, and was laid to rest in the old, historic Granary Burial Ground. He had been successful in business and left a fortune of $31,000. He was distinctly a man of the times, and was greatly honored in his com munity. He was a big, virile man, active and in his youth fiery, but possessing also a strong vein of artistic feeling and creative impulse. Apart from his ability as a manufacturer, Paul Revere was a true craftsman, and his craftsmanship was threefold: he was a bell founder, an engraver, and a silversmith of great skill and talent. He learned the art of bell casting from Col. Aaron Hobart. Only a few large bells had been made in this country prior to 1770, including the historic Lib erty Bell of Philadelphia. Revere had been a mem ber of the guild in charge of the eight-bell chime in Christ Church and had long been interested in the subject. His first attempt was in recasting the old bell of the New Brick Church, afterward known as the Second Church of Boston, in 1792. [206] Revere's bookplate, drawn and engraved by himself A Revere teapot of great beauty. Clearwater Collection. THE VERSATILE PAUL REVERE This early work was rough and unsatisfactory, but the subtleties of the art were soon mastered, and by 1803 the concern had cast sixty church bells. Their advertisement read as follows : "Paul Revere and Son at their Bell and Cannon Foundry at the North part of Boston Cast Bells and Brass Cannon of all Sizes and all kinds of Composition Work. Manufacture Sheets, Bolts, Spikes, Nails, &c, from Malleable Copper and Cold Rolled. N. B. Cash for Old Brass and Copper." In 1804 Revere sent his son, Joseph Warren, to England and the Continent, to study the art, and this expedition, together with their own experience, taught them how to perfect their product. Their masterpiece was the bell cast in 1816 for old King's Chapel to replace the one that was cracked in tolling the Peace of 1814. This bell was paid for at the rate of twenty-five cents per pound. Its strong, mel low reverberation is still to be heard from the mas sive tower. Between the years of 1792 and 1828, when Joseph Revere ceased casting bells, three hun dred and ninety-eight of them were turned out from the factory, of which at least seventy-five are still in use. These were nearly all marked Paul Revere, Paul Revere & Son, or Revere & Co., with the date. Paul, Jr., the eldest son, continued in business with [209] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN his father until 1801, when he started out for him self. His bells were usually marked Revere, with no date. As a copper-plate engraver, Revere was self- taught, and between 1766 and 1775 he turned out considerable work. In 1765 he engraved the scores for "A Collection of Psalm Tunes," published by Josiah Flagg and himself in Boston. This was fol lowed by other music books, book illustrations, seals and book plates, paper money, portraits, and his torical and political cartoons. As a caricaturist he gained a wide reputation, due as much to his cleverness in selecting his subjects, perhaps, as to his style of delineation. This style was crude, somewhere between Hogarth and the comic valentines of a decade ago; but it was not en tirely without merit and it deserves our considera tion because of its place in the history of the art of engraving as well as in the history of American in dependence. The most famous of the old prints is the Boston Massacre, published in 1770. With the inscrip tions it measures eight and one-half by nine and three-fourths inches, and was somewhat crudely col ored by hand. One of the rarest subjects and one of the most [210] — _^ — r j *" «*^«*f! ' The Boston Massacre," the most famous of Revere's engravings. ** ' I, "¦' "r ^mrp i » j » ¦ ¦ ! •_ ¦ ¦ i^ijfmtifil. ' Harvard College," by Joseph Chadwick and Paul Revere. THE VERSATILE PAUL REVERE popular when published was the Harvard College group, drawn by Joseph Chadwick and engraved by Revere. Others of particular interest are the Repeal of the Stamp Act, published in 1766, a View of Bos ton Harbor, showing the location of the British ships of war, published in 1770; the Landing of the Brit ish, published in 1774. In all, Revere engraved three different views of Boston Harbor. He also engraved portraits and caricatures of prominent men. In 1775, when Revere was commissioned to make our first national paper money, copper plate was so scarce in this country that he took half of the Har vard College view and engraved the new bill on the back of that. This plate is preserved in the archives of the Commonwealth. Other special work by Paul Revere includes the seal of Phillips Andover Academy, still in use; the first state seal of Massachusetts, made in 1775, and the second state seal, 1780. He is also known to have made a number of bookplates, though only a few of these can now be identified. Among those which he signed were bookplates made for Gardiner Chandler, David Greene, Epes Sargent, William Wetmore, and himself. After 1775 the war took up most of Revere's at" [213] '1PP EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN tention, and after 1780 his manufacturing enter prises, so that practically all his engravings are pre- Revolutionary. The illustrations shown herewith are the famous Harvard College and Boston Massacre views, both the property of the Essex Institute, Salem, Massa chusetts. The latter has been copied, both honestly and fraudulently, but only three or four authentic originals are known to be in existence, though there must be many others tucked away in storerooms and garrets. Harvard owns one of these originals, for which the university or its benefactor is said to have paid about $700. The interest in Revere silver is indicated by the fact that sixty-five pieces were shown at the splendid exhibition of American silverware at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in 1906. Nearly every col lection boasts its Revere pieces, and it is safe to say that the work of no other American silversmith has attracted so much attention or is valued more highly to-day. Paul Revere's silverware is distinguished by ex quisite beauty of design and workmanship. Its great variety of form is shown in the accompanying illustrations. His style was based upon that of the [214] Repousse sugar bowl. An example of Revere's later A Paul Revere pitcher owned by Mr. George Francis Dow work, . Salem, Mass, THE VERSATILE PAUL REVERE English silversmiths of the eighteenth century, known as the Georgian style, but he added thereto the touch of his own master hand and a superb feel ing for grace of line and proportion. His work com pares favorably with that of the best English silver smiths of the period. The decoration of Revere silver is of equal merit. The old Boston families, with their mingling of aris tocratic and democratic tastes, were fond of crests, armorial designs, and cartouches enclosing initials, names, or inscriptions. This gave Revere a rare opportunity to exercise his talent for engraving and repousse work. The fact that there were three silversmiths by the name of Paul Revere has occasioned some slight con fusion, but by far the greatest quantity of ware was produced by the patriot. That attributed to his son is practically negligible. Some of the work of his father still exists and shows considerable merit, but it is exceedingly rare. There are no certain rules for distinguishing be tween the wares of father and son. Practically all the pieces bearing the signature p. revere were un questionably the work of the father, though this mark appears also on a few pieces that bear evidence [217] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN of a later craftsmanship than his. It is possible that the patriot may have used his father's mark for a short time after the latter's death. The father's earliest mark consisted of the initials P R in a straight-topped shield, surmounted by a crown. Most of his existing work bears the mark p. revere in a narrow impressed rectangle. This mark the son changed slightly, using the name and narrow rectangle, but leaving off the initial of the first name, and substituting a small dot in its place. This mark appears on most of Paul Revere's silver, but occasionally he used a script monogram, PR, in an oval or rectangle, especially on his spoons. Paul Revere's most famous piece, and the premier piece of silverware in this country, is the large punch bowl made for the Sons of Liberty and now owned by Mr. Marsden J. Perry of Providence. There are in existence a few other pieces of historic significance, but for the most part Revere produced the type of domestic ware generally in fashion at that time. The early American silversmiths and their work will be discussed more fully in another chapter. It is impossible to place a correct money value on Revere silver. Perhaps $50 to $100 an ounce comes fairly near to an average estimate, but much of it is practically priceless. [218] CHAPTER IX OTHER AMERICAN SILVERSMITHS THAT silversmithing was one of the most ex tensively practised industrial arts in this country, not only in the eighteenth but also in the seventeenth century, is evidenced by the amazing number of men engaged in it. Mr. R. T. Haines Halsey has collected the names of about four hundred who plied their trade in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia before 1800, and Mr. George Munson Curtis has recorded the names of over two hundred who worked in the State of Connecticut prior to 1830. Add to these the names of those in Baltimore, Newport, and elsewhere, and the list assumes astonishing proportions, quite at variance with our ideas regarding the poverty of the Colonies and the young nation. The present widespread interest in American sil verware is of recent development. In fact, a decade ago the notion was prevalent that most of the old [219] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN silver in this country was of English origin. The splendid loan exhibition of American silverware held at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in 1906 was largely instrumental in dispelling this idea. On that occasion three hundred and thirty-two pieces of early American silverware were shown, including the work of some ninety silversmiths of the seven teenth and eighteenth centuries, and the American public had its eyes opened to the excellence and beauty of their craftsmanship. Again, in 1909, at the Hudson-Fulton Celebration in New York, about one hundred and fifty pieces of American silver were on exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum, includ ing the work of forty silversmiths of New York State. The excellent work of Mr. R. T. Haines Halsey and Mr. John Henry Buck in preparing the catalogues for these exhibitions had much to do with our present knowledge of and interest in this subject. The process of manufacture, which is described in detail by Mr. Halsey in a footnote in the Boston Museum catalogue, consisted, briefly, in casting the metal in sheets thinner than an ingot, and fashioning the various pieces from these sheets. They were first rolled or hammered to the requisite thickness, cut out with shears, and hammered, in the case of hollow ware, over a mold or form. The finer finishing was [220] ^ collection of silver ^fg^^^S^I^S^^aiS^Wi^ a^Swfn?" " °~' ^ OTHER AMERICAN SILVERSMITHS done with the hammer. Handles, etc., were cast in pewter, lead, or sand molds and finished by hand tools. Engraving was the principal form of decora tion relied on, with some repousse work. During the last half of the eighteenth century the style of these decorations was for the most part armorial and rococo. The older ware, which was made from rolled and hammered ingots, presents a softer sheen, more pleasing to the connoisseur, than the harder polish of the later ware made from thinner metal sheets. "This silver," to quote Mr. Halsey, "is of the period when the ancient geometrical shapes held sway among craftsmen; when purity of form, sense of proportion, and perfection of line were preferred to elaborateness of design." For sheer grace of form, indeed, it would be difficult to improve upon the best examples of this period. In New York, Dutch and Huguenot elements en tered into the development of style, but in New Eng land the ideals of the Scotch and English designers of the time formed the basis of the work, producing a sort of modified and simplified Georgian. But the American silversmiths did not copy — they created. They made no attempt to reproduce the more elabo rate styles of English baronial and ecclesiastical [223] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN plate, but worked along more austerely classic lines, softened by the magic touch of native artistry. Marks on American silver are not an infallible guide to their age or origin, for there was no hall or guild in America such as exerted so complete a con trol over the craft in England. American silver bears no date letter as English ware does. The American silversmiths did mark their work, however, and pretty generally with their names or initials, so that the questions of where made and by whom can usually be answered satisfactorily. As a rule the earliest marks were fashioned after those used by the English silversmiths of the period, and consisted of the initials of the makers enclosed in shields or circles, sometimes surmounted by a crown. Some makers also used personal emblems, such as John Cony's rabbit and Andrew Tyler's cat. After about 1725 the initials gave place generally to the full surname, often preceded by the first initial or the given name. Mr. Buck, in his "Old Plate," reproduces the more important of the American marks. Probably the earliest piece of silverware made in this country was the spoon. The constantly chang ing shape of this article presents an interesting study in style development which lack of space forbids our [224] Communion cups owned by the Congregational Church at Stratford, Conn. The six caudle cups are by Conv. Noyes, and Cowell, the two beakers by Hurd, and the chalice by Dummer. Baptismal basin by Kneeland (Boston, about 1735); caudle cups by Dummer and Dixwell. Owned by the Center Congregational Church, New Haven, Conn. Alms basin by Revere, flagons by the Burts, beakers by Hull, Dummer, and others. Owned by the First Church of Christ, Marblehead, Mass. OTHER AMERICAN SILVERSMITHS going into here — the fig-shaped bowl and hexagonal stem of the seventeenth century followed by the oval bowl, flat stem, trefoil handle, and the rat-tail junc tion of stem and bowl ; then the rounded stem, with the handle turning upward on the front side; the double drop and turned-down handle; after 1760 the pointed ends and heart-shaped bowl, then the round ends, and the fiddle pattern. This develop ment has been traced very minutely by Mr. Luke Vincent Lockwood in Country Life in America for December, 1913. Among the pieces most interesting to collectors are the porringers. This name was originally ap plied in England to a two-handled cup, often with a cover, similar to what became known in this country as a caudle-cup. In America the name has been uni versally applied to round, saucer-like vessels with flat, open-work handles or "ears," which were made in considerable quantities up to 1825. It has been variously stated that they were used for eating por ridge, for heating liquids over lamps, for wine tasting, and, especially in England, as physicians' cupping and bleeding bowls. This last is a tradition that dies hard, but there is certainly no evidence in this country that the porringer was ever used for any thing but a general utility table dish. Usually only [227] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN one or two were owned in a family, while actual por ridge dishes would be likely to be found in sets. So far as our evidence goes, the porringer was used on the table for sauce, preserves, gravy, etc., and per haps occasionally for some beverage. At any rate, the porringer is a quaint vessel, no longer in use and hence definitely belonging to an elder day. The variation in the patterns of the handles forms an indication of the period of manu facture, and this development has been studiously traced by Mr. Lockwood. In depth and diameter these porringers varied, too, most of them being five or six inches across, but some larger and some smaller than that. This variation in size and form is, indeed, one of the charms of old silver, and is easily explained. The silversmith did not make up a stock of goods, many from one model, and though he often copied his own patterns there was always a greater or less variation. Then, too, the ware was made usu ally from the actual coin brought in by the customer, and the amount of this often determined the size of the piece. No two pieces, therefore, are exactly alike, unless ordered at the same time — a condition which never fails to appeal to the collector. Drinking vessels of various sorts, with and with out handles, were very numerous. Drinking, as a [228] Old silver beaker from New York, Dutch type, maker unknown; and communion beakers by Dummer and Hull. A remarkable teapot in the Clearwater Collection. Probably made by Daniel Rogers in Newport about 1750. OTHER AMERICAN SILVERSMITHS social and ceremonial custom, was more common in the eighteenth century than it is to-day, and its equipment was somewhat elaborate. Tippling, in fact, was a prevalent American vice, and there were the proper vessels in both silver and glass for rum, wine, beer, cider, toddy, punch, and flip. In New England, especially, the quantities of cider consumed were astounding, the good fathers apparently living according to the letter of the text, "Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples." There were tankards, six or seven inches high, with S-shaped handles, straight, tapering sides, and hinged covers; cans or mugs, somewhat smaller, usually with curved sides and without covers; flagons, like larger tank ards, commonly used with communion services; tumbler-shaped beakers, chalices, and caudle-cups. Most of the silversmiths made ecclesiastical plate, including communion services, alms basins, and bap tismal basins. Many of our older churches still treasure their original pieces. Tea and coffee pots were not common here till about 1730, but they are to be found among the finest examples of the Revolutionary period. The teapots were oval, round, bell-shaped, pear-shaped, conical, or rectangular, with straight or S-shaped spouts, the earlier ones being very small. The first coffee pots [231] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN were plain, tapering, and cylindrical in form; later examples were curved and more ornate. There were beautiful hot- water urns ; braziers, the forerunners of the modern chafing-dish; candlesticks, rarely found to-day; sauce-boats, creamers, salt cel lars, lemon strainers for punch, sugar bowls, punch bowls, trays, plates, platters, and other pieces, most of which have been carefully analyzed and classified by Mr. Lockwood. Of the silversmiths themselves a large volume could be written, for they were numerous and their position in early American society was an honorable one. Many of them were wealthy and, like Paul Revere, held positions of importance in the councils of the Colonies and of the young nation. Some lived lives of adventure and romance. In the pres ent discussion, however, we can but mention a few of those who exercised the most telling influence on the development of their craft in this country. Boston, in those days, was our wealthiest and most cultured port, and it was there that the silversmiths thrived in the greatest numbers and produced the largest amount of silverware to be found to-day. Much of it was made from Spanish coin taken in trade with the West Indies. [232] OTHER AMERICAN SILVERSMITHS Of the seventeenth-century silversmiths in Boston, the most famous was John Hull. His diary, pub lished by the Massachusetts Historical Society, re cords the life of a successful merchant prince of old New England. He was born in 1624 in Leicester shire, England, came to Boston in 1635, learned the goldsmith's trade, and became a Freeman in 1649. He acquired wealth in his craft and as a merchant engaged in the West Indian trade. He was also a banker, like other men of his calling. He was active in public life, serving as town treasurer in 1660, as Representative from Wenham in 1668, and as treas urer of the Colony in 1676. He was also a captain in the old Artillery Company. He was a man of learning and a devout church member, being one of the founders of the old First Church of Boston. Antedating Hull was Robert Sanderson, who came over to Hampton in 1638, became a Freeman in 1639, and settled in Watertown, Massachusetts. In 1652 and General Court of Massachusetts, disregard ing the higher Court of England, ordered that a mint be set up in Boston and appointed Hull mint-master. He chose Sanderson as his colleague, and also made him a partner in the silversmith trade. They ob tained dies from Joseph Jenks of Lynn, our first iron [233] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN founder, and continued for thirty years to coin the famous pine-tree shillings. Hull died in 1683 and Sanderson ten years later. Jeremiah Dummer (1645-1718) was the son of one of the early settlers of Massachusetts and was an apprentice of John Hull, having been bound to him from 1659 to 1667. He became a man of im portance and substance as well as a skilled silver smith. He served as an officer in the artillery, as selectman, justice of the peace, treasurer of his county, a judge of one of the inferior courts, and one of the Council of Safety of 1689. In 1710 he en graved and printed the first paper currency for Con necticut. He was the father of Lieutenant-Gov ernor Dummer of Massachusetts. His silverware was represented in the Boston exhibition of 1906 by twelve pieces. The next eminently prosperous silversmith in Bos ton was John Cony (1655-1722). He was a brother-in-law of Dummer and very likely learned his trade from him. He was an engraver as well as a silversmith and is supposed to have made the plates for the first paper money in America. Cony was a prominent member of the Second Church of Boston and in 1689 was one °^ ^e original subscribers toward the erection of King's Chapel. [234] Mugs or cans by Andrew Tyler of Boston and Caesar Griselm of Philadelphia. Clearwater Collection. Loving cup by R. Swan and a plain silver tankard made by Cary Dunn about 1780. OTHER AMERICAN SILVERSMITHS John Edwards (1687-1743) was the son of a Boston surgeon and a man of education and high social position. He was a maker of fine silverware, with a shop at 6 Dock Street, and was one of the wealthy men of his time. The inventory of his estate showed a value of £4,840. His son Thomas (1725-55) carried on his business after him; his brother Samuel and his nephew Joseph were also goldsmiths, and his brother-in-law, John Noyes. The most interesting Boston silversmith of the first half of the eighteenth century, and perhaps the finest craftsman of them all, was Edward Winslow. He was born in 1669, being the grandson of John Wins low, who came over in the Fortune in 1623. On his mother's side he was descended from Anne Hutchin son. He received his goldsmith's permit from the selectmen in 1702. He served as constable, tithing- man, overseer of the poor, colonel of the Boston Reg iment, captain of the Artillery Company, sheriff of Boston from 1728 to 1743, and judge of the Court of Common Pleas from 1743 till his death in 1753- Other Boston silversmiths whose work has proved especially fascinating- to collectors were David Jesse (died 1708), John Dixwell (1680-1735), James Turner (middle of the century), William Cowell [237] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN (1682-1736), William Cowell, Jr. (1712-1761), and Andrew Tyler (1691-1741). After Winslow's day the trade gradually became concentrated more or less in the hands of the Hurds, the Burts, and the Reveres. John Burt, who died in 1745, is thought to have been an apprentice of Timothy Dwight (1654- 1692). He was a prominent Bostonian and very wealthy for that time, his estate being appraised at £6,460. He produced a considerable amount of fine silverware, being represented at the Boston exhibit by a dozen pieces. He was succeeded by his two sons, Samuel (1724-1754) and Benjamin (1729- 1804). To the latter we are indebted for a large proportion of the finer ware of his time. Captain Jacob Hurd (1702-58) was one of the largest producers of his craft, eighteen examples of his work being exhibited in Boston in 1906. He was succeeded by his sons Nathaniel and Benjamin. The former (1729-77) became famous as a copper plate engraver. He made portraits of prominent men, English and American, as well as American scenes and bookplates. The old Harvard College bookplates were made by him. Daniel Henchman (1731-1775), Jacob Hurd's son-in-law, was also a silversmith. [238] A teapot by Cony and a coffee pot by Winslow. From the ClearwaterCoUection. Coffee pots by John Cony and Pygan Adams. OTHER AMERICAN SILVERSMITHS Although nearly two hundred silversmiths plied their trade in New York prior to 1800, there is com paratively little old silver of New York origin to be found to-day outside of the old churches. While New York in the early days was an important trad ing center, money was scarce and silverware an un known luxury in most of the homes. Up to the middle of the eighteenth century the New York silverware was chiefly Dutch in style; after that the English influence became predominant. The church communion services, with their engraved beakers and later chalices, and household plates, mugs, tankards, flagons, and teapots comprise the major portion of early New York silverware now extant. The tankards were especially fine. Nor do the names of the early silversmiths of New York suggest as much of romance or historical inter est as do those of Boston. They were, nevertheless, men of importance in the community. One of the earliest of the Dutch silversmiths was Ahasuerus Hendricks, who was born in Holland and came to this country at some time prior to 1675. He held the offices of constable and collector and was a prominent member of the Dutch Reformed Church. He lived in Smith Street. A contemporary was Carol Van Brugh, who lived [241] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN in the Fort. He was the son of an alderman and himself became high constable in 1689. He was the maker of a gold cup presented to Governor Fletcher in 1693. Le Roux was the name of a family of Huguenot silversmiths who worked in New York for over half a century. Bartholomew Le Roux, the earliest of them, took a prominent part in the Leisler Rebellion in 1689, as did also John Windower, another silver smith. Le Roux later became a constable, assessor, collector, and assistant alderman. He died in 1713. Jacob and Hendrick Boelen, father and son and also partners, were Dutch silversmiths who came to New York shortly after 1680 and enjoyed a large share of the trade in that city during the closing years of the century. The father was an assessor, brant- master, and alderman. Among the earliest native silversmiths were Jacobus and Johannes Van der Spiegel. The for mer was an assessor and constable. Others of Dutch descent were Garret Onclebagh, an alderman who was convicted of coining money; Cornelius Kierstede, a man of high social connections who afterward moved to New Haven; Bartholomew Schaats; and the Van Dycks, who held a large part of the silver trade for half a century, beginning about 1700. [242] Brazier by Edward Winslow. A rare piece of silverware — two-tined fork by John Noyes, first half of the eighteenth century. A brazier made by Jacob Hurd of Boston, showing exquisite workmanship. Clearwater Collection. OTHER AMERICAN SILVERSMITHS Peter Van Dyck was a native New Yorker who may have learned his trade from Bartholomew Le Roux. He was a constable and an assessor and withal a craftsman of artistic gifts surpassing those of most of his contemporaries. Charles Le Roux, the son of Bartholomew, carried on his father's business after his death and also fig ured as an engraver and as sealmaker to the city. He also became an alderman and an attorney. His gold and silver snuff-boxes were famous. Of the eighteenth-century silversmiths in New York there were William Huertin, a Huguenot; George Ridout, who came from London in 1745; John and Peter Targee; Richard Van Dyck, son of Peter, whose store was in Hanover Square; Cary Dunn, who worked from 1765 to 1796 and made popular the pineapple style; Adrian Bancker, Free man Woods, Myer Myers, Jabez Halsey, and a hun dred others of greater or less importance. In Philadelphia about one hundred silversmiths had been at work prior to 1800. One of the earliest was Caesar Griselm, or Ghiselin, who came over with William Penn and who made silver spoons of Eng lish design. Among the most prominent silversmiths in Phila delphia were Philip Syng (1676-1739) and his son [245] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN Philip, who was born in 1703, retired in 1772, and died in 1789. The son was a personal friend of Benjamin Franklin and a member of the American Philosophical Society. He made the famous ink stand, now in Independence Hall, in which the quills were dipped that signed the Declaration of Inde pendence. Others whose work was of superior quality were John Hutton (1684-1792), John David (1763- 1797), Elias Boudinst or Boudinot, who worked about 1747 to 1749, Joseph Anthony, Joseph Shoe maker, and Daniel Dupuy. Newport was another town where the craft flour ished, for it must be remembered that it was a wealthier place than New York from 1726 until the Revolution. The principal silversmith there was Samuel Vernon (1687-1737), who made quantities of tankards, pitchers, porringers, cups, spoons, pep per shakers, knee and shoe buckles, etc. His mark consisted of the initials S. V. above a clover leaf or cross inside a heart. Other Newport silversmiths, thriving about the middle of the eighteenth century, were Jonathan Otis and Daniel Rogers. After the Revolution, Providence became the center of the trade for Rhode Island, the prominent names being Saunders, Pitman, and Cyril or Seril Dodge. To a [246] OTHER AMERICAN SILVERSMITHS later period belongs Jabez Gorham, born in Provi dence in 1792, and founder of a celebrated house of silversmiths. The most romantic figure among the Rhode Island silversmiths was Samuel Casey, who was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to be hanged for counter feiting. The night before the execution was to take place he was rescued, was placed on horseback, and escaped, never to be heard from again. As Mr. Curtis's investigations have shown, the towns of Connecticut supported a large number of skilled silversmiths. The earliest on record was Job Prince of Milford, who died about 1703 and about whom very little is known. In Norwich Rene Grignon, a Huguenot, made silverware for a short time between 1708 and 1715. New Haven was the city of first importance in Connecticut for this trade, with Hartford second. The pioneer in New Haven was Cornelius Kierstead (or Kierstede), who came from New York in 1722. Others followed, including Captain Robert Fair- child, Abel Buel, and Ebenezer Chittenden in New Haven; John Potwine, Colonel Miles Beach, James Ward, and James Tiley of Hartford; Major Jona than Otis of Middletown; and Captain Pygan Adams of New London, who was a prominent mer- [247] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN chant, church member, and member of Assembly, and one of the best of the Connecticut silversmiths. The trade seems to have thrived more or less in various Massachusetts towns — at Newburyport, Sa lem, Worcester, Roxbury, Hingham, and Hull. In Newburyport the Moulton family monopolized the trade for one hundred and twenty years, beginning with William Moulton in 1690. Joseph Moulton, who practised his craft during the last half of the eighteenth century, added to his fortune by fitting out privateers to prey upon British commerce. Baltimore, Albany, Troy, Trenton, and other cities had their famous silversmiths, as well as many of the smaller towns. In fact, almost every Amer ican town in the eighteenth century had its silver smith, who may also have been the clockmaker, blacksmith, or innkeeper, and who made spoons and silver plate to order, made and repaired jewelry, and did engraving. As the nineteenth century advanced these local craftsmen became fewer until, about the middle of the century, the trade came into the hands of large manufacturers. Collectors have fully appreciated the beauty and historic interest of American silverware for only a few years, but it is now being sought for more ear nestly than that of English make. The result has [248] Silver porringer made by Samuel Vernon of "Newport, about 1725. Truax Collection. —r ¦ ¦ -~-- - -¦ '—- •A-- .. •>:--—;-5^?y __,. 11 \mmmammamammaaaamaaaama Silver sweetmeat box made by Winslow in 1702. Now owned by Mr. George S. Palmer, New London, Conn. OTHER AMERICAN SILVERSMITHS been a rapid increase in values. The record price of $1,650 an ounce, paid at Christie's in London for a piece of Charles II silver, has not been approached in this country, and it is doubtful if such inflated values will ever be reached here. Several hundred dollars for a single tankard, however, is not uncom mon, though most of the finer pieces are out of the market and are not purchasable at any price. It would be almost impossible to appraise accurately rare examples of Vernon's, Winslow's, or Peter Van Dyck's work, or the best of Paul Revere's. As a rough basis for the valuation of ordinary beakers, tankards, porringers, and other hollow ware, the following figures may serve : Pieces made up to 1750, $20 or more an ounce; 1750 to 1800, $5 to $10 an ounce; 1800 to 1840, $1 to $5 an ounce. Plates and other flatware usually bring lower figures, while spoons are comparatively common. Eight eenth-century spoons are worth $8 or $10, and nine teenth-century spoons $2 to $3 apiece. With such values current, there is naturally a temptation to counterfeit old silver; but while a set of rules for determining authenticity could be given, none would prove infallible. The only safe way is to secure the services of an expert in making any considerable purchase. [251] CHAPTER X AMERICAN PEWTERERS AND BRASIERS PEWTER ware, of both American and foreign manufacture, was very common in this coun try from 1650 to 1800. In fact, it was in more general use here, particularly in the rural sec tions where the people could not afford much silver, than it was in England. After 1780, and especially after 1800, there was a tendency to vary the alloy, so that much of the later ware cannot be classed as genuine pewter. By 1825 its use had been prac tically superseded by china and britannia ware, though it was made in limited quantity as late as 1840, not to mention the modern reproductions. Pewter is an alloy, the chief ingredient of which is tin, with usually a fairly large percentage of lead, though copper and other metals were used to some extent. There was no Pewterers' Company or other guild in this country to control the manufacture, but the alloy was much the same as that required in [252]. Ladle, dish, and sauce boat in the Bolles collection of American pewter at the Metro politan Museum. Pewter plates in tlie Bolles Collection. AMERICAN PEWTERERS AND BRASIERS England. A more detailed description of the material and the processes of manufacture is hardly necessary in the present discussion. The forms and styles employed by American pew terers followed, in general, those of their English contemporaries. Much pewter was imported from England and it was natural for the American makers to follow its style. It is not unlikely, even, that some of our craftsmen used molds imported from England. But a few of them did add the personal touch and developed something approaching an American style. In general, pewter does not lend itself to ornate- ness, and the plainer, simpler forms, recognizing the limitations of the material, are the best. Those which attempted to ape the current styles in silver failed of their purpose. The best of the American pewterers understood this, and their work, as repre sented by the plainer candlesticks, plates, mugs, etc., often shows a fine appreciation of form and finish and the artistic possibilities of the medium in which they worked. The earlier ware, with its hammer marks, its hand made look, and its soft luster, appeals most strongly to the collector. As the alloy deteriorated after 1780, so did the forms, becoming slenderer but dis- [2551 EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN playing less of the robust grace characteristic of good pewter. All sorts of domestic utensils and many other articles were made of pewter. There were beakers, tankards, flagons, caudle-cups, mugs or cans, meas ures, pitchers, bowls, plates, platters, porringers, sometimes called posset-cups or posnets, ewers, basins, candlesticks, and candle molds. Betty lamps and rush lamps were usually made of brass, but pewter lamps for whale oil or camphine were com mon. Pewter salt cellars appear to have been some what rare here, but pewter pepper shakers are some times to be found. Old pewter teapots are very rare. They were probably not entirely successful because they would not stand the heat, and most of those to be found are of some harder alloy of a later date. Pewter spoons were common and followed in the main the contemporary shapes of silver spoons. Pewter was not a rigid enough material for forks. Pewter communion services were used to some extent in country churches, though much less than in Scotland. A little of this ecclesiastical ware is still treasured, but most of it was made after 1780 and is not pure pewter. In the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries much of the household pewter was made not by pro- [256] American pewter jugs. Bolles Collection. Pewter beakers. Bolles Collection. Jugs or flagons. Bolles Collection. AMERICAN PEWTERERS AND BRASIERS fessional pewterers, but was cast in molds, more or less crudely, by various individuals. There were a few pewterers here as early as the seventeenth cen tury, however, chiefly English craftsmen who settled in Boston, Salem, Plymouth, and, somewhat later, in New York. By the middle of the eighteenth cen tury there were native craftsmen at work in all the larger cities. The early American pewterers followed the English custom of impressing a touch or trade-mark on their ware, the eagle being a favorite emblem. Often, though not always, this was accompanied by the maker's name. The earlier touches are generally the clearest and best. The later pewterers often used only the name, and many American pieces bear no mark at all. It is therefore often difficult to deter mine age, maker, or authenticity. No one name stands out as that of the master pewterer of the period, as is the case in some of the other crafts, and there were doubtless many skilled craftsmen whose names have been lost to us entirely. Mr. Edwards J. Gale has compiled the longest list; and that contains only forty-four names, dating from 1650 to 1825, and must of necessity be very incom plete. We know less about these pewterers than about the silversmiths. For one thing, theirs was a [259] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN humbler and less remunerative trade. But there are a few whose names deserve to be permanently recorded. At first Boston was the principal seat of the man ufacture and distribution of pewter, but by the mid dle of the eighteenth century New York had become a close rival and there were other places where the trade flourished. Mr. Gale gives the names of twenty-one New York pewterers and only fourteen Bostonians, but that is partly because of the accessi bility of the New York names in the city directories of 1786 and after. Two of the most important of all — Boardman and Danforth — lived in Hartford, Connecticut. The name Boardman is one that appears fre quently on pewter and may give rise to some confu sion. In the first place, there was a well-known pewterer named Thomas Boardman, who was at work in London about the middle of the eighteenth century. His work, however, being of an earlier period, can easily be distinguished from that of the American Boardmans. He also used a different touch, with the name Boardman or Thomas Board- man. In the second place, there was more than one Boardman concern in this country. In the New [260] AMERICAN PEWTERERS AND BRASIERS York Directory of 1824 the name appears as Timo thy Boardman & Co., at 173 Water Street. In the 1828 directory, Boardman & Hart are found at 178 Water Street — probably the same Boardman. In 1832 they appear to have moved to Burling Slip, where they made britannia ware until 1841. Some of their ware was marked with the firm name. The most famous pewterer of the name, however, was Thomas D. Boardman of Hartford, who did his best work about 1825. Only his earlier ware is worth consideration, for much of his metal is of inferior quality and he soon went into the britannia business. On his larger ware his mark was an eagle with Thomas D. above and Boardman below. On his smaller ware he used a different eagle, with T. D. B. below. The word Hartford in a plain rectangle generally appears as a separate mark. Samuel Danforth, also of Hartford, worked some what earlier in the nineteenth century. His touch was a spread eagle with Samuel above and Danforth below, accompanied by the word Hartford in a sep arate rectangle. He also frequently used hall-marks consisting of his initials, a spread eagle, and an eight- pointed star, arranged in a row. The Gallatin Reformed Church of Mount Ross, New York, owns two beakers, a plate, and a flagon [261] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN by Boardman, as well as a plate by Henry Will (New York, 1765-86). Two Danforth beakers are owned by the First Presbyterian Church of Orange, New Jersey. Though the names of Boardman and Danforth are as well known as any, their work should not be ranked high either in respect to age or quality. In fact, some of our finest pewter is by unknown makers. The earliest American pewterers on record were the following, all in Boston: Thomas Bumsteed, 1654; Thomas Clarke, 1683; J°nn Comer, 1678; Henry Shrimpton, 1660-5; anQl Richard Graves, 1639, who appears to have worked also in Salem. The dates indicate the earliest mention of their names. In the Revolutionary period Thomas Badger was a pewterer of some prominence. He had a shop on Prince Street, and his name appears in the Boston directories from 1789 to 1810. His touch was round at the top and square at the bottom, with Thomas above a spread eagle and Badger below. He also used the separate stamp, Boston. It has been stated that Paul Revere added pewter- making to his many other accomplishments, but I have discovered no evidence of it. [262] Pepper shakers of American pewter. Bolles Collection. -— ¦ ¦ - -- Five pewter porringers and a strainer. Bolles Collection. AMERICAN PEWTERERS AND BRASIERS Early in the nineteenth century Mary Jackson, at the Sign of the Tankard, Comhill, had one of the largest pewtering establishments in Boston. It was famous for its porringers. Not much more is known about the New York pewterers than about those of Boston. In 1743, John Halden advertised pewter ware made and sold at his shop at Market Slip. In 1744, James Leddel was selling pewter at the Sign of the Platter, in Dock Street; at the end of that year he moved to the foot of Wall Street. In 1745 we find Robert Boyle dealing in pewter ware at the Sign of the Gilt Dish in Dock Street. It is doubtful, however, if Leddel or Boyle manufactured extensively. The only pewterers mentioned by trade in New York's first City Directory in 1786 were Francis Bas set, 218 Queen Street, William Kirkby, 23 Dock Street, and Henry Will, 3 Water Street. In 1794 we find the trades of plumber and pewterer combined in an advertisement of Malcolm McEwen & Son, Water Street and Beekman Slip. Philadelphia's earliest known pewterers were James Everett and Simon Edgell, first mentioned about 1718. There was also a Cornelius Bradford before the Revolution, but most of the names belong to the later period. Charlotte Hero, widow, 230 [265] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN North Second Street, and William Will, 66 North Second Street, are given as pewterers in the Phila delphia Directory of 1796. The names of C. & I. Hera — probably the same as Hero — appear again in the Philadelphia Directory of 1810. Three plates made by this firm are owned by the Princeton Theo logical Seminary, together with other old American pewter. Providence supported several pewterers of distinc tion, notably William Calder, of 166 North Main Street, and Samuel E. Hamlin, 109 North Main Street. Both are mentioned in the Providence Di rectory of 1824, though Hamlin at least was at work several years before that. At about the same time G. Richardson was a pewterer at Cranston, R. I. All three used the eagle in their touches. Pewter was also made in Baltimore, Cincinnati, and else where, but no records have been gathered of the pew terers. Though pewter was very common during the eighteenth century there is less of it to be found to day than might be supposed. Quantities of it were melted up in the stern days of '76 and were turned into Revolutionary bullets, and much of the later ware found its way to the junk heap when pewter went out of fashion. [266] AMERICAN PEWTERERS AND BRASIERS American pewter, therefore, is well worth collect ing, particularly the earlier ware. Of course, some discrimination should be exercised, as not all of it was good in form or finish. When obtainable, American pewter is not exces sively valuable to-day. The hollow ware is worth rather more than the flatware. Tankards are worth from $8 or $9 apiece to $15 or $18, according to age and style. Teapots are worth from $10 to $20 if genuine pewter; the later alloys have little value. Sugar bowls and porringers are worth $4 or $5, pepper shakers $2 or $3, plain bowls about $2, and spoons $1 or $2 for the ordinary types. The smaller plates may often be bought for $1 each, and are seldom worth over $3 or $4. Medium-sized plates and trenchers are worth from $3 to $6, and the largest plates and platters from $6 to $10. In spite of these comparatively low prices, pewter has been faked to a considerable extent. Pewter- making is not a lost art, and counterfeiters have dis covered how to make it look old. Some of it has even been made from the original molds, and the counterfeit is not at all easy to detect. Within the past ten or fifteen years there has been a considerable traffic in bogus jugs, flagons, porringers, plates, pep per shakers, spoons, and whale-oil lamps. While it [267] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN is frequently possible for the expert to detect the fraud, the average collector will do well to verify the individual history of the piece he purchases. COPPERSMITHS AND BRASIERS Of the early American coppersmiths and brasiers even less is known than of the pewterers, though there were doubtless several of them among our early immigrants. During the first half of the eighteenth century a number of them came from England and settled in various parts of the country, and there were evidently Dutch and German brasiers in New York and Pennsylvania. They employed largely the forms in vogue in the old countries, so that their work is not readily distinguished from the imported ware. By the middle of the century we were mak ing a large part of the brass and copper ware used here. Among the brass articles that were made in this country were tea-kettles, jugs, sugar bowls, milk cans, pitchers, big round kettles, pipkins or coal scut tles, fenders, andirons and fire sets, braziers, whale- oil and camphine lamps, candlesticks, door knockers, snuffers and candle trays, tobacco boxes, thimbles, drawer pulls, handles and scutcheons, hinges, locks, eagle ornaments for Revolutionary accoutrements, [268] American pewter lamps. Bolles Collection. AMERICAN PEWTERERS AND BRASIERS and buttons. About 1780 the character of the brass ware changed somewhat owing to the introduction of a new method of casting the copper and zinc to gether. Much of the old brass and copper ware was made by obscure local craftsmen whose names have not been preserved. One of the earliest brasiers on rec ord here was Henry Shrimpton of Boston, who died in 1665. Another famous New England brasier was Jonathan Jackson, who died in 1736. He made brass pots, kettles, skillets, hand basins, plates, saucers, spoons, knockers, candlesticks, stirrups, spurs, staples, fire-dogs or andirons, and warming- pans. At his death he left a fortune of over £8,000. His widow, Mary Jackson, and his son William continued the business at the Brazier's Head, Cornhill, Boston, though they may not have manufactured anything. Edward Jackson, another member of the family, was also a brasier. In New York we find this advertisement dated 1743: "John Halden, brasier, from London, near the old Market Slip in New York, makes and sells all sorts of copper and brass kettles, tea-kettles, cof fee potts, pye pans, warming pans, and all sorts of copper and brass ware, also sells all sorts of hard metal and pewter wares." [271] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN The 1786 New York Directory gives the names of James Kip, 59 Broadway, and Abram Montayne, 13 King Street, brass founders. In 1802 a brass foundry called Probes' Furnace was set up in West Liberty, Pennsylvania, by an Al satian who made many kinds of brass and copper vessels. Such are the meager accounts that have come down to us of the brasiers. Most of them were also coppersmiths. Of those who worked in copper, Paul Revere & Son were the most notable examples. Though many of our copper utensils were im ported, it is probable that local coppersmiths made tea kettles, warming-pans, ladles, kettles, basins, can dle-sticks, measures, cans, and pots. American cop per hot-water urns are very rare. Copper chafing- dishes and braziers, with tea-kettle and charcoal pan, were made by the Reveres. They were usually called copper furnaces. A very fine one, of hand some design, is owned by the Concord Antiquarian Society. While every collector appreciates the beauty of old brass and copper, it is rather difficult to attempt making a specialty of American ware. The same is true of Sheffield plate, which was probably not made in this country at all until after 1800. [272] CHAPTER XI EARLY AMERICAN POTTERS THE history of American ceramics tells a story of slower development than that of most of the other industrial arts. Building bricks were made in Virginia as early as 1612, and in New England about 1641 ; coarse earthenware was made in several places late in the seventeenth century; white ware was first manufactured at Burlington, New Jersey, about 1684; terra cotta roofing tiles were made in Pennsylvania prior to 1740. But no pottery of any consequence was made here till after the middle of the eighteenth century and the most significant part of the history lies within the nine teenth century. Hard porcelain was not manufac tured in America till 1825. During Colonial and Revolutionary times table ware was imported from England, France, and China, and it is for that reason that most of our col- [273] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN lecting has been of English, Canton, and Sevres wares. Staffordshire tableware especially was made in large quantities for the American market, and it was apparently difficult, with this competition, for American manufacturers to get a foothold. Nevertheless, with the awakening interest in American antiquities, greater attention is now being paid to such early American pottery as exists. Thus far the demand has been for Bennington and other of the later wares, but the Pennsylvania slip-deco rated ware and some of the earlier pottery is now coming to the front. Little or nothing is known of the potters who op erated the small kilns that turned out the coarse domestic earthenware of the seventeenth century. Previous to 1649 there were a number of such humble potters in Virginia, and the Dutch settlers of Manhattan produced a ware not unlike Delft. In 1683 a potter and glassmaker by the name of Joshua Tittery came to Pennsylvania to practice his art, and in 1690 there was at least one potter and one maker of clay tobacco pipes in Philadelphia. In New England John Pride of Salem was regis tered as a potter as early as 1641, and soon after there was a flourishing brick and tile works at Dan vers. Here William Osborne started in business [2741 Eighteenth century pewter cider jug and whale-oil lamp. Bolles Collection. EARLY AMERICAN POTTERS and for two centuries he and his descendants carried on the manufacture of plain earthenware or red clay pottery. About 1684, Dr. Daniel Coxe of London, one of the proprietors and later Governor of West New Jersey, caused a pottery to be erected at Burlington, New Jersey, which was conducted by John Tatham, his agent, and Daniel Coxe, Jr., his son. They were probably the first to make whiteware in the Colonies, For fifty years the industry seems to have been more or less at a standstill, though the obscure mak ers of plain earthenware continued to flourish in many parts of the country. Then, in 1735, John Remmey, a German, started a stoneware factory in New York. This business was continued by three generations of John Remmeys and was discontinued about 1820. In 1742 the firm name of Remmey & Crolius appears, and after 1762 Clarkson Crolius conducted a similar business on his own account. Perhaps the most interesting of all the early American pottery is the slip-decorated and sgraffito ware made in eastern Pennsylvania from about the middle of the eighteenth century, or possibly before that, until well into the nineteenth. This ware was made chiefly by Germans who brought their methods and designs with them from the Rhine. There were [277] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN a few English potters among them, undoubtedly, but dishes bearing English legends are very rare. The Pennsylvania Museum has collected a large number of good examples of the ware, which has recently be gun to attract the attention of private collectors as well. The slipware is a common red, brown, or buff pot tery upon which the decoration was applied in the form of a clay batter poured through a quill and al lowed to dry before firing. This "slip" was cream colored, or tinted green, blue, pink, etc. The de signs consisted of crude representations of men and women, birds, beasts, and flowers — the tulip pre dominating — executed in a sort of futurist style and often accompanied by dates, names, and legends. Cooking pots, vinegar and molasses jugs, jars, tea caddies, mugs, pitchers, coffee pots, sugar bowls, pie plates, meat and vegetable dishes, bowls, and toys were made in this ware. The sgraffito was a similar earthenware, coated with a lighter-colored slip, in which the decorations were scratched or incised, exposing the darker body below. A transparent glaze was then applied, and after the final firing the ware showed a greenish mottled surface with dark red intaglio decorations. A number of small potters appear to have been [278] EARLY AMERICAN POTTERS engaged in this industry, some of them perhaps being farmers who employed their winter months in this way. One of the earliest on record was an Englishman, Joseph Smith, who made pottery at Wrightstown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, as early as 1763. George Hiibener, in Montgomery County, was the creator of some of the most elaborate designs made prior to 1786. Toward the end of the century some of the best of the ware was made by John Leedy, near Souderton, Montgomery County. His tulip designs were particularly good. One of the Germans who appears to have attained considerable prominence in this trade early in the nineteenth century was Johannes Neesz. He oper ated a pottery near Tyler's Port, Montgomery County, about four miles from Souderton. He manufactured plates, mugs, vegetable dishes, etc., in both slip and sgraffito ware, and also clay toys. One or two pieces of his finer work at the Pennsyl vania Museum show him to have been a craftsman of no small ability, and his decoration was always more finished and in better drawing than that of most of his contemporaries. His son, also a potter, changed the spelling of the name to John Nase. David Spinner, a potter from before 1800 until [279] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN 1811, on Willow Creek, Milford Township, Bucks County, enjoyed considerable local fame. His father, Ulrich Spinner, came to America from Zu rich, Switzerland, in 1739. A number of Spinner's signed pieces are in existence and they include some of the most interesting examples of Pennsylvania- German pottery. He used a variety of flower motifs, the fuchsia being a favorite with him. His pictorial treatments were more ambitious than those of most of his contemporaries and were better drawn. They included gay and courtly ladies and gentlemen, gallant soldiers, and spirited hunting scenes. Dr. Barber gives, all told, the names of twenty- two of these potters, the majority of which are Ger man names. There is still a possibility of picking up this ware in Eastern Pennsylvania, and a few pieces have already found their way to the shops of dealers. They are worth anywhere from $1 up, and the values are bound to increase with the demand. A neighbor of mine recently paid $25 for an unsigned slip-decorated plate bearing a peacock and the date 1788. During the last half of the eighteenth century cups and saucers, plates, platters, pitchers, bean pots, and jugs of coarse earthenware were being produced [280] Two Pennsylvania German sgraffito plates made by David Spinner in 1801. Metropolitan Museum Collection. Pennsylvania German red clay slip-decorated ware, dated 1788, and bearing the peacock motif that was the favorite of Georg Hiibener. It is a meat or vegetable dish, 14 inches in diameter, and a rare specimen. Owned by Mr. Renwick C. Hurry- EARLY AMERICAN POTTERS in increasing quantities. In 1751 Edward Annely of Whitestone, Long Island, advertised flower pots, garden urns, etc. At about the same time a pottery was started at Huntington, Long Island, by a man named Scudder for the manufacture of earthenware and salt-glazed stoneware. In 1775 the Hunting ton works passed into the hands of one Williams, and were continued under various proprietors until 1903. From the middle of the century until 1823 an earthenware pottery was operated by Thomas, John, and Paxson Vickers, successively, at West Whiteland, Chester County, Pennsylvania. From 1791 to 1811 John Curtis made a good quality of pottery in Philadelphia. In New England, particularly in Connecticut, there were several thriving earthenware potteries. As early as 1760 a pottery and glass works had been established by Joseph C. Palmer and Richard Cranch at Germantown, now a suburb of Quincy, Massachusetts. About 1765 Abraham Hews started at Weston, Massachusetts, a pottery for the manu facture of earthenware milk pans, bean pots, jugs, pudding dishes, etc. He appears to have been a man of some prominence in his community, serving as postmaster for fifty-one years. Later the pottery became famous for terra cotta jardinieres, garden [283] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN vases, etc. Abraham Hews died at the age of eighty-eight, when his son moved the works to North Cambridge, where the business has been con ducted continuously ever since by the grandson and great-grandson. In 1796, C. Potts & Son perpetrated an uninten tional pun by starting an earthenware pottery on Bean Hill, Norwich, Connecticut. In 1775 a potter named Upton went from Nantucket to East Green wich, Rhode Island, and made plates, cups, saucers, and bowls of red clay. In 1793 there was a flour ishing pottery at Quasset, Windham County, Con necticut, conducted by Thomas Bugbee. He made bean pots, jugs, jars, milk pans, and ink-stands which he peddled about the country. A little later Adam States of Stonington, Connecticut, made red earthenware and also gray jugs, jars, and pots with a salt glaze. A factory at Norwalk made mugs, teapots, jars, and milk pans of red ware with a lead glaze, and also stoneware as early as 1780, and in 1790 John Souter started an earthenware enter prise in Hartford. In 1793 John and William Norton went from Connecticut to Bennington, Ver mont, and started the red earthenware works that later developed into the famous Bennington pot teries. [284] EARLY AMERICAN POTTERS At Morgantown, West Virginia, slip-decorated ware and lead-glazed pottery were made prior to 1785 by a man named Foulke, who was succeeded about 1800 by his foreman, John W. Thompson. Some of Thompson's ware was interesting in form and beautifully colored. The first attempt to manufacture fine china in the Colonies was in 1769, when a pottery was erected for the purpose in Philadelphia by Gousse Bonnin and George Anthony Morris. They made bone china and cream-colored ware, both plain and deco rated in blue. It is not likely that they attempted to make real porcelain. The works were run for two years and were then closed. In the same year, 1769, efforts were made to start and maintain a china factory in Boston. Appar ently this proved abortive, but the attempt attracted the attention of English potters who began coming to America. In 1774 and 1775 Jonathan Durell of New York advertised "butter, water, pickle and oyster pots, porringers, milk pans of several sizes, jugs of several sizes, quart and pint mugs, quart, pint, and half pint bowls, of various colours, small cups of different shapes, striped and coloured dishes of divers colours, pudding pans and wash basins, sauce pans, and a [285] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN variety of other sorts of ware, too tedious to particu larize, by the manufacturer, late from Philadel phia." With the beginning of the nineteenth century there were many other potters in the field and it will be necessary to mention only the more important en terprises. Philadelphia became the center of the industry. Here Andrew Miller, who had conducted a pottery on Sugar Alley since 1791, was succeeded in 1810 by Abraham Miller, one of the most progres sive potters of his day. At his factory at Seventh and Zane Streets he undertook the manufacture of glazed wares, soft-paste porcelain, white ware, Rock ingham, and silver luster. He was a prominent citizen, being a leading member of the Franklin In stitute and representing his district in the State Senate. In 1808, Binney & Ronaldson made red and yel low coffee and tea sets in South Street. From 1808 to 1813 the Columbian Pottery, Alexander Trotter proprietor, manufactured tea and coffee pots, pitch ers, basins, ewers, and baking dishes, also jugs and goblets of queensware. From 1808 the Washing ton Pottery, John Mullawney proprietor, made bricks and earthenware. David Freytag was mak ing fine decorated china in 1811 and George Benor- [286] Two sgraffito plates with the popular tulip motif, dated 1810 and 1818. Metropolitan Museum Collection. Porcelain vases, Sevres style, probably made at the American China Manufactory in Philadelphia about 1833 — the first American porcelain. Hurry Collection. EARLY AMERICAN POTTERS ton in 1817, and from 1817 to 1822 David G. Seixas made white crockery. In 1812, Thomas Haig, who came from Scotland, where he had learned his trade as a queensware potter, started the Northern Liberties Pottery and turned out an excel lent quality of glazed red and black earthenware — teapots, coffee pots, pitchers, strainers, cake molds, and pans. During the first quarter of the century successful potteries were established also in New York, Al bany, Troy, Utica, Baltimore, Lancaster, Pittsburg, Allentown, Elizabeth, New Jersey, Middlebury, Vermont, and Jaffrey, New Hampshire. The term antique can hardly be applied to pot tery and china made after 1825, yet there are cer tain wares and factories of later period that are of interest to the collector and to the student of the history of American ceramics. In 1825 the Jersey Porcelain and Earthenware Company was incorporated and erected a factory in Jersey City. For two or three years soft-paste porcelain was made here. The works were pur chased by D. & J. Henderson about 1829, and stone ware was manufactured. In 1833, David Hender son organized the American Pottery Manufacturing ' Company, which turned out a variety of wares, hav- [289] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN ing chiefly a buff body of excellent quality, and including the first transfer-printed china made in this country. Some of the pitchers made by this company are especially sought by collectors, particu larly toby pitchers, 1840 campaign pitchers, and the Greatbach hound-handled pitcher which was later improved upon at Bennington. A large portion of the product of this factory was marked with its name. After 1850 the establishment became known as the Jersey City Pottery. Most important of all the developments of the second quarter of the century was the work of Wil liam Ellis Tucker and his American China Manufac tory in Philadelphia. To him is due the credit of making the first American hard porcelain on a suc cessful commercial scale. He was the son of Benja min Tucker who kept a china shop on Market Street from 1816 to 1822. In the rear of this shop a small kiln was built for the use of the son in decorating the imported china. He began experimenting with various materials in this kiln, and about 1825 he undertook the manufacture of porcelain as a business venture. In spite of failures and discouragements he persisted until he was turning out a very fair grade of porcelain. After the death of William Tucker in 1832, the [290] M * f - **. | - -4£M> ^ £ i *T*w*m'n™^ " . >¦*"•;:.,¦... C: ;': jitu^ ft- ¦#£* ^¦n ... [£& mmmW^ ^g£S ' '\ _ ¦ VWt ¦-A..A:- mmmjgUtB^ammmmmmmmmmm\\ Christopher Webber Fenton. Alanson Lyman, EARLY AMERICAN POTTERS business was continued by his brother, Thomas Tucker, in partnership with Judge Joseph Hemp hill. They imported foreign artists and began to devote a good deal of attention to form and decora tion. They turned out a great variety of orna mental and utility ware which enjoyed a consider able vogue among the well-to-do people of Pennsyl vania and New Jersey. Some of the vases, pitchers, and table pieces were close copies of Sevres forms, and as many of them are unmarked they are often mistaken for French porcelain. The business did not prove a complete success financially and was dis continued about 1838. A similar ware was made in Philadelphia about 1830 by Smith, Fife & Co. The pottery at Troy, Indiana, is interesting chiefly because it was started by James Clews, the eminent potter of Cobridge, England, who made some of the American views familiar to collectors of old blue Staffordshire ware. He came to this country after closing his English works in 1829 and, with a num ber of capitalists, incorporated the Indiana Pottery Company in 1837. Though started under the best of auspices, this factory was never conspicuously suc cessful. Blue, yellow, and Rockingham wares were made here, but nothing of superior excellence. Mr. Clews returned to England, where he died in 1856, [293] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN and the business led a desultory existence for a few years longer. Mr. Clews was a skilled and enter prising potter and deserved better success here. He was the father of Henry Clews, the New York banker. Charles Cartlidge was another potter of unusual ability who came from England, where he had worked for William Ridgway. With a Mr. Fergu son he organized the firm of Charles Cartlidge & Co. and started a pottery at Greenpoint, Long Island, in 1848. They first made porcelain buttons, and later a fine quality of decorated table china, bone porce lain tea sets, pitchers, bowls, ornaments, door plates, door knobs, curtain knobs, etc., besides some very •excellent jewelry cameos and portrait busts in biscuit porcelain. Cartlidge was a man of artistic instincts and em ployed the best talent he could find. His chief de signer and modeler was his brother-in-law, Josiah Jones, who executed some beautiful portrait busts and ornamental ware. Other skilled decorators employed by him were Elijah Tattler and Frank Lockett. The factory was closed in 1856 and Mr. Cartlidge died in i860. He was prominent in his community, a leading churchman, and an authority on church [294] A group of Bennington pottery in the Pitkin collection at the Hartford Athenaeum, showing Rockingham and parian ware, figure and pitchers. Here are the poodles, cow creamers, a toby, the exquisite figure in parian of the girl tying her shoe, and th famous hound-handled pitcher. EARLY AMERICAN POTTERS music. I know of no special attempt having been made to collect Cartlidge china, but it would cer tainly repay the offort. Pottery enterprises were also started previous to 1850 in New York, Philadelphia, New Brunswick, New Jersey; South Amboy, New Jersey; Louisville, Kentucky; Strasburg, Virginia; at East Liverpool, Ohio, where American Rockingham ware was first made by James Bennett in 1839; and at Benning ton, Vermont, where Christopher Fenton started his famous pottery in 1846 and began the production of the first American parian ware. [297] CHAPTER XII THE" POTTERS OF BENNINGTON TO class Bennington pottery with Revere silver or Stiegel glass, or with the sgraffito and slip- decorated ware of the early Pennsylvania potters, would be to commit an anachronism, for the best of the Bennington ware was made but three score years ago. In the matter of genuine artistic merit, too, it suffers by comparison with some of the other crafts. The fact remains, however, that its unique quaintness and comparative rarity have won for it, in the interest of collectors of Americana, a place beside the products of earlier craftsmen. As has been pointed out, the making of pottery and porcelain as an industrial art was not one of the first to be developed in this country. Much of the earlier product was plain, crude, and lacking in the elements of variety and charm that appeal to the collector. Comparatively speaking, Bennington ware is antique. The products of which we are speaking were made [298] THE POTTERS OF BENNINGTON chiefly between 1847 and 1857, though the old pot tery dates back half a century earlier. It was in 1793 that Capt. John Norton and his brother Wil liam moved from Sharon, Connecticut, where they had no doubt been engaged in making the coarse red earthenware famous in that section, and settled in Bennington, Vermont. Here they started an earth enware kiln, and in 1800 added the manufacture of stoneware. This pottery was conducted almost continuously by John Norton, who died in 1828, his son Luman, and his grandson Julius, until about 1846, when Julius Norton formed a new firm with Christopher Weber Fenton and Henry D. Hall. In the north wing of the old factory they began the manufacture of white and yellow crockery and Rockingham ware, the last being a yellow ware covered with a dark brown glaze, often mottled by spattering the glaze before firing. Most of the modeling was done by John Harrison, a potter who learned his trade in England. The mark on this ware was "Norton & Fenton," impressed. It is very rare but is occasion ally to be found. Though this pottery was in the hands of the Norton family exactly one hundred years, it was Fenton who was the soul of the enterprise, the [299] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN craftsman of Bennington. He came to Bennington about 1840 and was taught the finer elements of the potter's trade by Luman Norton. It was to Fen- ton's skill, energy, and imagination, together with the discovery of fine kaolin clay and useful minerals in Vermont, that we are indebted for what we know as Bennington ware. About 1848 the partnership was dissolved and Fenton formed the firm of Lyman & Fenton with Alanson Lyman, a Bennington lawyer. A little later we find the firm name changed to Lyman, Fenton & Park. The new firm made white and yellow crock ery, salt-glaze stoneware, Rockingham, and a thin, white porcelain called parian ware — the first to be manufactured in the United States. On a few pieces of parian the mark "Fenton's Works, Ben nington, Vermont" appears in a rectangular border, which may indicate that Fenton was in business alone for a short time before the partnership was formed. In 1849 the firm was reorganized as the United States Pottery and a new factory was erected across the river. The old Norton plant was operated inter mittently, making the plainer wares, until it was sold out in 1893, having been once burned and re built in the '50's. [3°°] Four of the types of Bennington pitchers from the collection of Mr. William A. Cahill, Hoosick Falls, N. Y. From left to right they are the branch-handled pitcher, a plain pattern in scroddled ware, the tulip pattern, and Greatbach's Bennington hound-handle. Hound-handled pitchers from the Jersey City or Trenton potteries, probably de signed by Greatbach. Note the differences in the modelling of the head and fore legs of the Bennington hound above. THE POTTERS OF BENNINGTON The United States Pottery at once undertook the production of the finer ornamental wares — Rocking ham, parian, white granite ware, and a little soft- paste porcelain. In 1849 Fenton took out a patent for the coloring of glazes and for a flint-enameled ware. This was an improvement on the Rocking ham and a product of great strength and variety of coloring. It included plain, mottled, and scroddled or striped ware, composed of different colored clays. The mark adopted about 1853 for the parian ware and porcelains consisted of a raised ribbon loop bear ing the unpressed letters U S P and the number of the pattern. That on the new ware was composed of the following legend, impressed, in a large oval, often nearly obliterated by the glaze: "Lyman, Fenton & Co. Fenton's Enamel. Patented 1849. Bennington, Vt." Some later products of the con cern bear a smaller oval mark and the words "United States Pottery Co. Bennington, Vt." The pottery's principal artists were Theophile Fry, who came from France or Belgium, and Daniel Greatbach, an Englishman. The latter, because he was responsible for some of the most popular de signs, and because we are interested in craftsmen, de serves fuller mention. Daniel Greatbach came from a family of noted [303J EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN English potters and is said to have been at one time a modeler for the Ridgways in England. He came from Hanley, England, about 1839, and modeled some of the best wares produced at the famous pot teries at Jersey City between 1839 and 1848. After that he was employed at various times in Peoria, Illinois, in Trenton, New Jersey, and in Bennington. In 1852 he established a pottery at South Amboy, New Jersey, in partnership with James Carr, but the enterprise failed. He was an artist, not a busi ness man, and he died in poverty in Trenton. He was a remarkable character and endowed with great talent. He is described as a large, handsome man, always well dressed, and extremely courteous. Greatbach was the originator of many of the models most popular between 1840 and i860 in this country. Some of those which he conceived in Jer sey City he altered more or less and reproduced in Bennington. Notable among these was the hound- handled pitcher, which was made at Jersey City, at Bennington, and later, in inferior quality, at Tren ton. This has given rise to some confusion among collectors. But the Bennington product was much the finest, and can be distinguished by the better modeling and by the space between the hound's nose [304] THE POTTERS OF BENNINGTON and the edge of the pitcher. It is a shapely piece, a greyhound forming the handle and the body deco rated with a hunting scene in relief. The Ben nington model was produced soon after Greatbach arrived, in 1850, and was made in three sizes and in brown, blue, and green glazes — chiefly brown. In two or three years the new concern found itself in a flourishing condition with over a hundred hands employed. In 1853 the works were enlarged so that the factory was 160 feet long, and six improved kilns were erected. The machinery was run by water power. There were few china stores in those days and pot tery goods had to be distributed largely by peddlers in both city and country. The company's selling headquarters were in Boston. For some reason the pottery's prosperity was com paratively short-lived, and by 1857 much of the manufacturing was discontinued. The plant was closed in 1858 and most of the potters moved away to Trenton, Ohio, and Illinois. In 1863 it was re opened long enough to make use of the materials stored there and then the books were closed for good. The buildings were torn down in 1870, and in 1873 most of the patterns were destroyed by fire. [305] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN In 1858 Fenton moved to Peoria, Illinois, and in 1859 started a new pottery with Decius W. Clark, his former superintendent in Bennington. They commenced the manufacture of white granite and cream-colored wares, but the venture did not prove a success and was abandoned after about three years. Fenton was born in Dorset, Vermont, in 1806 and learned the rudiments of his trade in a common red- clay pottery at that place. For a decade he was one of the foremost potters in the United States. He died in Joliet, Illinois, November 7, 1865. His for mer partner, Alanson Lyman, died in 1883, at the age of seventy-seven. Collectors of Bennington ware have been, to a large extent, somewhat lacking in discrimination, valuing a brown pudding dish almost as highly as a finely modeled blue-and-white parian pitcher. The Rockingham and flint-enamel figures possess the quaintness that is the first attraction of Bennington ware, but the finer porcelains display more of those qualities of design and texture that ordinarily ap peal to the connoisseur. It is well, therefore, to keep in mind the various kinds of china and pottery made at Bennington, and perhaps this can best be fixed by means of a recapitulation : [3o6] The recumbent cow and two kinds of tobies. Owned by Mr. William A. Cahill. Pudding dish, coffee pot, and candlesticks in the collection of Bennington pottery at the Metropolitan Museum. Poodles and coachman bottle from Mr. Cahill's collection. The white poodle is rare and valuable. THE POTTERS OF BENNINGTON 1846-1848. Norton & Fenton. White and yel low wares and Rockingham. 1848-1849. Fenton's Works, Lyman & Fenton, and Lyman, Fenton & Park. Salt- glaze stoneware and parian added. 1849-1858. United States Pottery. The above, and also white granite, variegated and scroddled wares, the patent flint-enameled ware, and a small amount of soft-paste porcelain. While in many respects the Bennington figures owe much of their quaintness to a certain naive crudity of design, they were far more carefully mod eled than most of the products of other factories of the period and the glaze was more uniform, brilliant, and evenly applied, with a rich, velvety sheen. Moreover, it requires a certain sort of genius to de sign such fierce lions, such motherly cows, such jolly tobies. The range of coloring in the Rockingham and flint-enamel wares included olive, green, brown, yel low, and various mixtures. In the variegated pieces the mottling and scroddling was done with an evident effort at uniformity and evenness. Brown [3°9l EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN was the commonest color used, varying from a creamy tint to almost black. Some of the finest pieces are a deep, darkly shaded brown, slightly mot tled, or in tortoise-shell effects, and bearing a hard, metallic luster. A mustard color is common, but the majority are a rich chocolate color. The parian ware was oftenest a grayish white like marble, occasionally cream, fawn-colored, or a delicate brown. On some pieces the decoration con sisted of sharply raised figures in pure white on a pit ted blue ground of different shades. A descriptive list of all the models turned out by the United States Pottery would constitute a formid able catalogue. Table ware, toilet sets, mantel or naments, toys, plain crockery of all sorts up to a half- bushel bowl, door plates, foot warmers, door knobs, curtain knobs, and a host of other articles would have to be included. For the present purpose it will be sufficient to mention a few of the pieces most interest ing to collectors. In the Rockingham ware, pitchers, mantel orna ments, and flasks are most sought after. The orna ments include lions, dogs, deer, cows, particularly the recumbent cow, and toby jugs. A flask in the form of a book, bearing the title "Departed Spirits," is to be found in almost every collection. Rocking- [310] THE POTTERS OF BENNINGTON ham candlesticks and even picture frames are occa sionally to be found. The flint-enameled ware, usually plain brown or mottled, included ale jugs, jolly Dutchman and monk bottles, small figures, shovel-and-tongs rests, door plates, goblets and tumblers, goblet-shaped vases, milk and sap pans, pitchers, cuspidores, toby jugs and tobacco jars, bean pots, cracker jars, picture frames, candlesticks, book-shaped hot-water bottles, teapots, curtain knobs, toy banks in the form of grotesque heads, match safes, and a host of other forms. Popular among the figures were a lion with fore- paw resting on a ball, a girl on horseback, and a poodle carrying a basket in his mouth. There were two slightly different forms of the jolly Dutchman or coachman bottle, about eleven inches high. The figure is of a man wrapped in a cloak, clutching a small mug, and wearing a high hat which forms the neck of the bottle. Another popular piece was a small creamer in the form of a smiling cow, which was also used as a mantel ornament. A lid on her back could be opened to admit the cream, which was poured out through her mouth. The pitchers alone offer a wide field for the col lector. They were of all sizes, from small cream- [3H] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN ers to large cider jugs. There were various plain, fluted, octagonal, and decorated forms, the most famous and the most valuable to-day being Great bach's hound-handled pitcher. The branch-handled and tulip designs are also in demand. The parian ware was more costly and was mod eled with greater care. The vases and pitchers were particularly graceful in outline, more or less ornate, and light in weight. Some of the forms deserve a high rating as examples of the ceramic art. In this porcelain bisque were also made match holders, mustard cups, various dishes, cane handles, and man tel ornaments, including the figures of birds, swans, sheep, and children. The Bennington poodle, a sit ting spaniel, and a cow were also made in parian, but are very rare, as are also the white toby and hound-handled pitcher. A famous piece was the large Niagara Falls pitcher, the pattern representing a cataract flowing over the sides to rocks beneath. Table and toilet services were extensively manu factured in white and marbled bodies, sometimes with a gold band. Utility wares were also made to a limited extent in green and cobalt blue glazed ware. Toilet sets, pitchers, and ornaments were made in white granite ware and porcelain decorated with gold [312] The Bennington deer, one of the most popular figures. From the collection of Elihu B. Taft, Esq., Burlington, Vt. The Bennington cow creamer. Owned by Miss Mary ri. Northend, Salem, Mass. THE POTTERS OF BENNINGTON and colored designs, the pitchers sometimes bearing the names or initials of the owners. Among the white granite ornaments were the swan, the cow creamer, and the figure of a little girl praying. Bennington ware was originally moderate in price and considerable quantities of it were sold. Some of the finer parian pieces cost several dollars, but the small flint-enameled ornaments were peddled from door to door at fifteen to twenty-five cents apiece. There came a period, naturally enough, when Ben nington ornaments began to look old-fashioned, and hundreds of them were doubtless thrown away. That fact and the natural tendency of pottery to get broken account for the comparative scarcity and high value of the ware to-day. A collection of Bennington ware was shown at the Pan-American Exposition in 1901, and since then it has steadily gained in popularity among collectors. It is now nearly as rare and as valuable as Lowestoff. An idea of the high prices that have occasionally been paid for coveted pieces may be gathered from the fact that at an auction sale in Boston in March, 1914, a pair of flint-enameled Bennington poodles brought $340. Of course, that was exceptional, but the demand for Bennington ware has been extraor dinary and the average dealer expects to get pretty [315] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN high prices for authentic pieces. A great deal de pends on the color, and, as a rule, dishes and utility wares are of less value than the figures. I have found the following prices quoted by dealers : $50 to $100 for a good lion; $25 to $50 for the dogs, cows, and deer; $75 to $150 for the white dogs; $25 to $50 for swans; hound-handled pitcher, $35 to $50; tulip pitcher, $30 ; other pitchers, $25 to $35 ; tobies, book bottles, monk and coachman bottles, etc., $15 to $25; candlesticks, $10 or $15 a pair; cow creamer, $10; small novelties, $5 to $8. The finer parian ware and the rarer pieces in green or blue glazes bring even higher prices. On the other hand most collectors have found it possible to pick up their specimens for much less, though the picking is by no means as easy as it was five years ago. One such collector gave $1 and $2 respectively for two tobies; $5 for a coachman bot tle; $5 for a book bottle; the same for a friar or monk bottle; $8 for a wash bowl and pitcher. The collector will do well not to be carried away by the high quotations of dealers, for the values are apt to be inflated, and while such prices are fre quently obtained, they are really no fair indication of the real value of Bennington. To strike a fair average, cows, deer, and dogs in [3i6] Examples of blue and white parian ware made at Bennington. From the collection of Mr. Charles S. Sherman, Glens Falls, N. Y. White parian owned by Mr. Andrew B. Oatman, Bennington, Vt. The pitcher is the daisy pattern: the white swan is very rare. THE POTTERS OF BENNINGTON good condition should be worth about $10; book bottles, $10; plain pitchers, dishes, etc., $5 to $7; coachman bottles, $12 to $15; hound-handled pitch ers, $20; small novelties, $3 to $5; the finer parian, $25 to $50. Such pieces as the white dogs and the recumbent cow are becoming very rare and are likely to bring higher prices. Already faking has been indulged in to some ex tent, the cow creamer having been reproduced and Jersey City hound-handled pitchers having been worked off as Bennington, but the collector is in little danger who takes the trouble to become familiar with the modeling, coloring, and general appearance of the true Bennington. [319] CHAPTER XIII AMERICAN FURNITURE MAKERS THUS far I have made no attempt to cover one of the most interesting and fruitful of all the industrial arts — furniture making. The chapters on Windsor chairs and Duncan Phyfe deal with but two of the many interesting subjects to be discovered in this field. Nor shall I, in the present chapter, attempt anything like detailed de scription or analysis, for the simple reason that an entire volume would be required to do the subject anything like justice. Nevertheless, a discussion of early American craftsmanship would be so glaringly incomplete without some attention being paid to the cabinet-makers, that I have decided upon a brief out line of the history of furniture making in America, with apologies for its necessarily superficial charac- [320] Seventeenth-century turned chair (Harvard chair) and oak wainscot cha At the left, American Queen Anne fiddle-back chair, Dutch type, with Spanish feet, about 1710-20; right, a somewhat later style, with cabriole legs and ball-and- claw feet. Bolles Collection. AMERICAN FURNITURE MAKERS ter. My purpose is not so much to impart definite information as to indicate certain directions that further investigation well may take. Generally speaking, we know more about English than Ameri can furniture, and there are fascinating quarters of this field still practically untouched. As to the craftsmen themselves, their name is legion, and it is difficult to single out the most im portant or most interesting. In Colonial days every small town had its joiners and chairmakers, while in the cities the trade was a well established and generally profitable one. Judging by the examples of their work extant, many of them must have been skilled craftsmen. Unfortunately, but few of their names have been preserved, and most of those are merely names. We have no means of knowing who did some of the finest work. Among the early colonists in New England there were a number of joiners, turners, cabinet-makers, and carvers, some of whom had undoubtedly learned their trades under the best English and Dutch mas ters and who were capable of reproducing the styles of the day in native woods. Many of them settled in and about Boston and worked at their trade dur ing the last three quarters of the seventeenth cen tury. In 1642 there were twenty joiners and over [323J EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN thirty turners in Boston. In 1690 the Handicrafts Guild of that city had registered more than sixty fur niture makers and over forty upholsterers. Miss Singleton gives the names of about forty members of the craft who were at work in Boston between 1635 and 1700. She gives the names also of furni ture makers in Salem, Charlestown, and Newbury, Massachusetts, and eight in Maine. The earliest name on record appears to be that of Phineas Pratt, who was at work in Weymouth, Massachusetts, as early as 1622, while Kinelm Wynslow was promi nent in Plymouth Colony prior to 1634. In Virginia, Maryland, and the Carolinas, practi cally all the furniture was imported during the seventeenth century. New York and Philadelphia had their local joiners but seem to have preferred the imported furniture. Most of the American- made furniture of the seventeenth century, therefore, was of New England origin. While the Colonial joiners, like their fellow crafts men abroad, employed oak and walnut for their finest work, they were also willing to make use of such native woods as came easily to hand — ash, elm, maple, pine, and cedar — frequently painting the softer woods. Their work was chiefly to order, or "bespoke." [324] AMERICAN FURNITURE MAKERS In these materials they produced the current Eng lish styles of the period as well as local adaptations and variations of those styles. The chairs they made were chiefly of four types — a few carved or paneled wainscot chairs, solid turned chairs, leather and "Turkey-work" chairs of the Cromwellian type, and the earlier forms of the slat-back chair. Such cane-and-walnut chairs of the Restoration period as are to be found in this country were imported. Solid, high-backed settles, gate-leg tables, desks and Bible-boxes, chests, cupboards, etc., were all made in this country in the contemporary styles. By 1700 we find the industry well established in various parts of the country. Boston continued to be the principal center, with Philadelphia a close sec ond toward the end of the eighteenth century. Miss Singleton gives the names of a score of cabinet-mak ers, joiners, and chairmakers at work in Boston be tween 1707 and 1773. The Boston Directory of 1789 records the names of thirty- three engaged in various branches of the business, and that of 1796 some forty-five firms and individuals. Miss Single ton also found over fifty joiners, cabinet-makers, and chairmakers at work between 1703 and 1780 in Lynn, Ipswich, Marblehead, Salem, Newbury, Bev erly, Gloucester, and neighboring towns. After the [325] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN Revolution Samuel Phippen of Salem, who died in 1798, was a well known manufacturer. During this period the finest furniture was either imported from England or made especially to order for the homes of the well-to-do, but the Massachu setts manufacturers turned out a large quantity of stock patterns which were not only used locally but were shipped South. Newport homes contained some fine furniture, but for the most part Connecticut and Rhode Island used furniture of local manufacture, made chiefly of cherry, cedar, whitewood, and black walnut, slat- back chairs being the commonest type until the Windsors came into vogue. Very little mahogany was used by the Connecticut makers. In New York furniture makers became more numerous after the middle of the century. For the more fashionable trade they used black walnut, wild cherry, curled maple, sweet gum, white cedar, and mahogany. New York imported considerable cedar from Bermuda and the Barbadoes and mahogany from the West Indies. Among the New York furniture makers Miss Sin gleton found the following: John Tremain, 1751; Robert Wallace, Beaver and New Streets, 1753; Solomon Hays, Beaver and Broad Streets, 1754; [326] At the left, Charles II or Restoration style, with Flemish feet, 167S-1700; center, the second stage, bannister-back with Spanish feet and Restoration features; right, third stage, with spindles rounded on the back. Metropolitan Museum. At the left, bannister-back armchair with spindles rounded on the back. Metropoli tan Museum; right, bannister-back armchair with flat, grooved spindles, about 1740-50, owned by the author. AMERICAN FURNITURE MAKERS Henry Hardcastle, Burling Slip, 1755; John Brin- ner5> Broadway, 1762; Gilbert Ash, Wall Street, 1759. The New York Directory of 1786 gives the names of only half a dozen, but that of 1789 records nineteen cabinet-makers and nineteen chairmakers. During the first half of the century Philadelphia had several upholsterers and importing houses, but few cabinet-makers. After 1750, however, several furniture makers advertised in Philadelphia papers. In 1785 Philadelphia had over fifty furniture-mak ing concerns beside about eighteen chairmakers. In 1796 Baltimore had twenty-six cabinet-makers and several chairmakers, and thirty-seven in 1810. Charleston in 1803 had thirty-six. The popular styles underwent several changes during the eighteenth century. From 1700 to 1725 the American furniture makers used chiefly a com bination of William and Mary and Dutch styles. From 1725 to 1750 American-made furniture was chiefly along Dutch lines, with local adaptations and variations. Between 1750 and 1775 the furniture made here compared favorably with that brought from Eng land. Mahogany became more common and our furniture makers gained a more secure footing. Dutch styles gradually gave place to early Georgian [329] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN and finally Chippendale. Between 1760 and 1770 a number of American cabinet-makers reproduced the designs from Chippendale's books, with little or no variation. In Philadelphia Janies Gillingham and in New York James Rivington and John Brin- ner produced mahogany furniture of high quality in the Chippendale style. Chippendale's influence per sisted longer in this country than in England, and was followed by Hepplewhite and Sheraton styles late in the century. The American chairs of the eighteenth century fall roughly into five groups: those which followed fairly closely the most popular styles in England, the roundabouts, the upholstered wing chairs, the rush-bottomed slat-back and bannister-back chairs, and the Windsors which have already been described in another chapter. The first group includes the Queen Anne and Dutch types with high backs, vase-shaped, solid splats, and cabriole legs. They were made in solid and veneered walnut and other woods and were fash ionable from 1700 to 1750 and even after that. About 1750 a pierced splat and the ball-and-claw foot began to appear, to be followed soon by the Chippendale designs. Mahogany became more com mon, and during the Revolutionary period we find [330] AMERICAN FURNITURE MAKERS a number of Hepplewhite designs, followed, toward the close of the century, by Sheraton. From 1700 to 1750 the roundabout was a popular chair in America, and is to be found in Queen Anne, Dutch, Georgian, and turned styles, with many local variations. They were particularly in vogue about 1735-40. Some were made in the cheapest woods with rush bottoms, and some in cherry, black walnut, and mahogany, with seats covered with leather or cloth. Mahogany roundabouts in Chippendale pat terns became popular about the middle of the cen tury. More definitely American were the various types of turned and rush-bottom chairs, which, being less expensive, were more common in the average home. These were made in New England, New York, and Pennsylvania, and were of walnut, oak, hickory, cherry, maple, ash, poplar, apple, pine, and various combinations of these woods, usually painted. After 1700 the later forms of the slat-backs and ban nister-backs appeared. These will be discussed more in detail later. The most interesting American-made tables of the period, perhaps, were the tripod tilt-tables, tea tables, and candle stands, made first of walnut, cherry, and other woods, and later of mahogany. They also [331] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN followed the prevailing English forms, including the pie-crust top, with some variations, chiefly along the lines of simplicity and plainness. Before 1775 the tops were mostly round or scalloped ; after the Revo lution the octagonal form appeared. There were also plain, heavy tables of solid mahogany, and numerous variations of the Georgian styles in card tables, dining tables, etc. Beds were largely of American make because of the difficulty of importing such large pieces. The finest ones were carved four-posters following the Georgian styles. Tent beds, with curved rods for the canopy, were also common. There were also plain four-posters and low-posters and many which were rather poor attempts to improve on the English styles. Highboys, chests of drawers, lowboys, and dress ing tables of various woods were common from 1725 to 1750. They were chiefly of local design with cabriole legs and other Dutch characteristics. From 1750 to 1775 high chests of drawers, dressing tables, and desks, with elaborately carved scroll and broken- arch pediments, were made in Philadelphia and New York. In New England the block front was origi nated and was used on low chests of drawers, bu- [332] Early slat-back armchair and later four-back chair. Metropolitan Museum. At the left, early roundabout with solid splats and Dutch feet, owned by the author; right, later roundabout, Chippendale style, in the Bolles Collection. AMERICAN FURNITURE MAKERS reaus, dressing tables, chests-on-chests of drawers, desks, and secretaries. Most of the desks and secretaries used here prior to the Revolution were probably imported, though a few old walnut ones are to be found which were undoubtedly made here, as well as later ones of ma hogany. After the Revolution they were made in increasing numbers, particularly bookcase desks and secretaries. They range from the very simple to the very elaborate — some severely square and plain, and some with serpentine and block fronts and carved pediments. Mahogany veneer was the common material used. A few fine examples of low-top desks are to be found, with tambour fronts and deli cate inlay, indicating Shearer or Sheraton influence, and dating about 1790. The last quarter of the eighteenth century found a large number of skilled cabinet-makers at work. Of these Duncan Phyfe was the chief, but there were many others in various cities who produced fine furniture, particularly while the Sheraton influence prevailed. They seem to have caught the spirit of his delicate art to a remarkable degree. Until 1810 this influence was strong, but it gradually gave way to the Empire craze which modified all our designing [335] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN and resulted in the so-called American Empire style. By 1825 this had become heavy and ornate and but little superior to the machine-made furniture that followed. The most interesting chairs of the early nineteenth century were the definitely Sheraton types, the Phyfe productions, the late Windsors, and the "fancy" chairs. These last were made in New York in con siderable quantities between 1800 and 1830 and were highly favored for both dining-room and cham ber. They were light chairs of soft wood, with rush or cane seats, straight, turned legs, stiles bending slightly back, with or without arms, and with two or more horizontal slats across the back, sometimes ornamented with spindles or balls. They were us ually painted black and decorated with gilt, and a yellow or gilt design of fruit or flowers was painted on the broad slat at the top of the back. Sofas were made in the same style. The "fancy" chair was introduced in New York as early as 1797 by one William Challen who came from London. In 1802 William Palmer, 2 Nassau Street, advertised black and gold "fancy" chairs with cane and rush bottoms. In 1806 William Mott, 51 Broadway, advertised similar chairs, also green, white, and gilt ones. In 1812 Asa Holden, 32 [336] AMERICAN FURNITURE MAKERS Broad Street, advertised ball and spindle back "fancy" chairs, and in 1817 Wharton & Davies in troduced a line of "fancy" chairs both painted and of curled maple — side chairs, armchairs, rocking- chairs, settees., and sofas. Unpainted curled maple chairs in this style are still to be found in the vicinity of New York. Of a later period, but still of interest to collectors, are the mahogany veneered chairs of the American Empire type which were made from 1830 to 1840. They had heavy, curved backs and vase-shaped splats and were originally copied after the chair in the library of Napoleon I at Malmaison which was given by Louis Philippe to the Marquis de Marigny at New Orleans. Early nineteenth century tables included some delicate Sheraton types, but these all too soon gave place to heavy affairs with round, octagonal, or lyre- shaped pedestals and four scroll feet. Their saving grace was the occasional beauty of the veneer. The American sideboards and bureaus of the period are sought to some extent, though the later forms show the same Empire heaviness. The side boards often have three drawers, with three cup boards below, the middle one being wider and fitted with two doors. Some fine sideboards were made in [337] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN the South, with serving boards and cellarettes. After 1820 a sideboard was introduced with four legs, turned feet, and turned pillars at the corners, and with one cupboard and with sometimes a butler's desk in place of the middle drawer. Desks and sec retaries followed the same style tendencies as the other furniture. The French or sleigh bed which was made from 1820 to 1840 is not without interest. It had low, rolling head and foot boards and broad legs, and was usually of mahogany veneer. In addition to these more familiar types, there are one or two others that are worthy of mention. Dur ing the Washingtonian enthusiasm of 1789-90, the American eagle became a popular design motif for various purposes. Mr. R. T. Haines Halsey of New York has collected several pieces of what he calls Washington eagle furniture, made in New York, Baltimore, and Albany. One is a four-poster bedstead, carved with eagles, and the others are pieces of the Sheraton type with the eagles appear ing in the form of finely inlaid medallions. This may suggest an interesting if somewhat limited field for other enterprising collectors. Contemporary with the slip-decorated pottery of western Pennsylvania was a type of painted furni- [338] ' American-made chairs of the Chippendale type, 1760-70. At the left, American chair of the Sheraton type, about 1800; right, " fancy " chair, early nineteenth century. Metropolitan Museum. AMERICAN FURNITURE MAKERS ture made by these same Germans. I do not know that any persistent search has been made for it, and the only pieces I have seen have been strong dower chests, painted in what were once bright colors and bearing the bride's name or initials and often a date. My neighbor, Mr. Renwick C. Hurry, has one painted in panels, with the popular tulip on the cen tral one, and the name Anna Maria Muthhart, 1786, above. The common design motifs were conven tionalized flowers — particularly the tulip — fruits, birds, etc., and were painted in greens, reds, blues, and yellows. The collector, it will be seen, has a wide field to choose from in the work of American furniture mak ers. The Dutch and Georgian types of the eight eenth century, the later Sheraton and Phyfe furni ture, the Windsor chairs, and the slat-backs and ban nister-backs are all worthy of attention. The last- named group I have reserved for further considera tion because I believe it offers an opportunity for American collectors that has not been fully improved, though I have not thought it advisable to devote a separate chapter to this subject. The earliest chairs made in New England had rush seats and turned legs, arms, stretchers, and stiles. The stiles, legs, and arm-posts were large and [340 EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN straight and the entire chair solid and not without a certain grace of proportion. The uprights were usually of ash, arms and underbraces of hickory, and the lighter turned work of ash, hickory, or birch. These turned chairs were made from 1625 to 1700 with some variations in design. Some had vertical rods in the back. One type has been called the Carver chair because similar to Governor Carver's chair in Pilgrim Hall, Plymouth. These turned chairs were the predecessors of the slat-backs and bannister-backs, which were also the artistic descendents of the old English turned chairs and the high-backed walnut-and-cane chairs of Charles IPs time. The slat-back type, which had its counterpart in England, is older than the bannister-back. The first ones, in fact, appeared as early as 1650 and were contemporary with the Carver chairs. The slat-backs had turned stiles, legs, and under braces, and high, straight backs with from two to six slightly curved horizontal slats. They were made of native hard woods, such as maple, hickory, ash, beech, etc., with two or three kinds often used in a single chair. They were well built and were strong and useful. They were made with both rush and mat seats, the [342] AMERICAN FURNITURE MAKERS last being made of the inner bark of the basswood or linden tree and sometimes of the elm. They were called flag-bottomed, mat-bottomed, reed-bottomed, and bulrush chairs, and also, in some old inventories, "basse-bottom" chairs. In New England slat-backs were usually called "three-back chairs," "four-back chairs," etc., accord ing to the number of slats. They were made with and without arms, the armchairs being called "great chairs." The first rocking-chairs made in America were slat-backs and appeared between 1725 and 1750. Mr. Lockwood has traced an interesting style de velopment in the slat-backs. The first ones had three slats which were straight across top and bot tom, but cut down in quarter circles at the ends. Gradually the slats grew lighter, and between 1675 and 1700 were usually curved on the top side and straight or nearly straight across the bottom. After 1700 these chairs became very common in New Eng land, with three to five slats, usually curved on the upper edge, or straight across both edges. Pennsylvania slat-backs show some variations in style. There the turning was generally plain and straight, while in New England vase and bulb forms were commonest. The front legs usually ended in a [343] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN ball and the rear legs in a taper foot. Five and six slats were common, with the lower edges curved up sharply, following the curves of the upper edges. A very common type of modern piazza chair is based directly on the old slat-back form. . The first bannister-backs appeared in both Eng land and America about 1700 and were called also split-back chairs. They were very evidently a de velopment of the high-backed walnut chairs of the Restoration, for they showed the Spanish feet, carved top of back, and occasionally the carved underbrace, and the general proportions were the same. But they had rush seats instead of cane or upholstery, and in place of the cane or upholstered panel in the back there were three to five — usually four — upright spindles or balusters between turned stiles.- These balusters were turned and split, the flat side being occasionally toward the back but more often toward the front. In this country the bannister-backs were made of two or three kinds of wood in a single chair and were usually painted. They were made with and without arms. These were the true bannister-backs, but the name has also been applied to the later forms. After 1725 they were much simplified in America, the carved [344] le oak gate-leg table, of Jacobean origin, was popular in England and the Colonies during the last half of the seventeenth century. This one, a fine example of American workmanship, is in the Bolles Collection. An unusual form of tripod table with inlaid top; 1780-1800. Bolles Collection. A not ungraceful table of the Dutch type, American manufacture; 1750— 75. Bolles Collection. American mahogany table with reeded legs, Sheraton style; about 1800. Owned by Mrs. W. A. Dyer. AMERICAN FURNITURE MAKERS tops and Spanish feet disappearing and giving place to plain curved or horizontal pieces at the top of the back, and straight, turned legs and underbraces. After 1735 or thereabouts the turned and split balus ters became less common and in their place appeared plain or grooved uprights, flat on both sides. This form was common up to 1750 and persisted to some extent till about 1775, being gradually superseded by the more comfortable Windsors. [347] CHAPTER XIV OTHER CRAFTS AND CRAFTSMEN BEFORE closing this volume it may not be un interesting to take a passing glance at some of the minor crafts and craftsmen that form a part of the early history of industrial arts in Amer ica. EARLY CLOCKMAKERS Two chapters have already been devoted to clock- making, but the Willards and the Connecticut group were not the only clockmakers worthy of considera tion, though they were the most important. Clockmakers came here from England and Hol land early in the seventeenth century, but little is known of them or of their work. The names of most of the clockmakers of the first half of the [348] OTHER CRAFTS AND CRAFTSMEN eighteenth century are also missing. Clockmakers did not commonly sign their work until later; the practice of pasting a paper of directions inside the case did not become general until about 1800. Many an interesting old clock is owned to-day about which practically nothing is known as to history or maker. One of the earliest names on record is that of William Davis, who was making clocks in Boston in 1683. James Batterson was at work and adver tised there between 1707 and 1730 and Thomas Bodeley in 1720. The clocks of these early makers are very rare, and offer but little opportunity for the collector. The most prominent name found among the Bos ton clockmakers of the first half of the eighteenth century is Bagnall. Benjamin Bagnall made tall, eight-day clocks in Charlestown, in pine and walnut cases, as early as 1712. He was succeeded in 1740 by his sons Samuel and Benjamin, Jr., who did busi ness in Boston. The latter had a shop on Cornhill, near the Town House, in 1770. During the last quarter of the century there were many successful clockmakers in Boston, including Joseph and Robert Pope, D. F. Lanny, Richard Cranch, and others. [349] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN Early clockmaking was also carried on in Ply mouth and in other towns of eastern Massachusetts. Newbury was something of a center for the industry. Here Balch and Mulliken were prominent names. Samuel Mulliken was born in Bradford, Massa chusetts, in 1720 and moved to Newbury in 1750, where he made clocks for about six years. He was succeeded by his son Jonathan and by his grandson Samuel, who made clocks in Newburyport until about 1790. There was also a Joseph Mulliken who died in Newburyport in 1804, a Nathaniel Mul liken who lived in Lexington from 1751 to 1789, and another Samuel Mulliken who advertised clocks in Salem in 1789. Daniel Balch was born in Bradford in 1734 and moved to Newbury in 1757, where he made clocks for thirty years. He was succeeded by his sons Daniel and Thomas. Thomas kept up the business till 1818, making excellent clocks, and was then suc ceeded by his son Charles. There were also Ben jamin and James Balch in Salem in 1787. Another well known Newburyport clockmaker was David Wood (1766-1824). At a somewhat later date the name of Munroe be came famous in Concord, Massachusetts. Here Daniel and Nathaniel Munroe, brothers, made clocks [35o] Types of early nineteenth-century American looking-glasses. BoUes Collection. The first two have gilt frames of Empire type, and the third is of flat mahogany. OTHER CRAFTS AND CRAFTSMEN from about 1800. In 1808 Daniel moved to Boston and Nathaniel continued the business with Samuel Whiting until 1817, when he moved to Baltimore. They did a large business in eight-day clocks with brass works. Nathaniel also had a brass foundry where he made bells, clock works, etc. I have already made reference to Lemuel Curtis, and to Elnathan Taber and Simon Willard's other apprentices. (See Chapter VI.) In Rhode Island the Claggetts were famous clock- makers in the first half of the eighteenth century, and a few examples of their work are still to be seen. Between 1726 and 1740 H. Claggett was making tall clocks of superior quality in Newport. Thomas and William Claggett, presumably his sons, were en gaged in the business between 1730 and 1750. In 1788 Seril Dodge, who was a gold- and silver smith as well as a clockmaker, was at work in Provi dence. From 1794 to 1824 Nehemiah Dodge was engaged in these two trades, being succeeded by Ezra W. Dodge, probably .his son. Other Providence clockmakers were Caleb and Calvin Wheaton, about 1784 to 1790. The Connecticut clockmakers, beginning with Thomas Harland in 1773, have already been consid ered. (See Chapter V.) [353] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN In Philadelphia one of the earliest known clock- makers was Christopher Sower. He was born in Germany in 1693, came to Philadelphia in 1724, and engaged in the clock-making trade in German- town in 1 73 1 , when we find his name spelled Souers. He made tall eight-day clocks of good quality. Be sides being a clockmaker, he was a physician, chem ist, farmer, paper maker, book printer, and author. He also invented a cast-iron stove. Another early member of the craft in Philadelphia was Odran Dupuy, who was making clocks in 1735- John Dupuy, who was in the business in 1770, was probably his son. Augustine Neiser was a Moravian who settled in Germantown in 1 739 and made clocks until 1780. Most of these were signed with his name, but without date. Edward Duffield, a friend of Benjamin Franklin, was born in Philadelphia in 1720 and made clocks and watches there between 1741 and 1747. William Godfrey was another Philadelphia clockmaker between 1750 and 1763. The genius among the Philadelphia clockmakers was David Rittenhouse, who was born in German- town in 1732, established his trade in Norriton in 1751, and moved to Philadelphia in 1770, where he made clocks until about 1777. He was a famous astronomer and constructed a remarkable astronom- [354] OTHER CRAFTS AND CRAFTSMEN ical clock which is now in Memorial Hall, Philadel phia. He was treasurer of Pennsylvania from 1777 to 1789, Professor of Astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania from 1779 to 1782, and Director of the United States Mint from 1792 to 1795. After the Revolution clockmakers were more nu merous in Philadelphia. The directory of 1785 gives the names of nineteen and that of 1795 twenty- five. In New York imported clocks were largely adver tised during the first half of the eighteenth century, but there were also a number of local clockmakers. Among the earliest on record was Everardus Bogar dus, who was at work as early as 1698. John Bell advertised eight-day clocks in Japan cases in 1734. Long-case clocks with brass works were advertised by George Nicholls between 1728 and 1750 and by Lawrence Payne between 1732 and 1755. Thomas Perry was making clocks in Dock Street and Moses Clements in Broadway in 1749. Other pre-Revolu- tionary clockmakers in New York were George Ches ter and Carden Proctor, who were at work in 1757, John Ent and Patrick Carryl in 1758, and Joseph Clark in 1768. After the Revolution there were many more. In other cities the industry also thrived. Robert [355] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN Shearman made clocks in Wilmington, Delaware, be tween 1760 and 1770. In Baltimore, where the trade flourished after the Revolution, Alexander Vuille was at work in 1766. The most complete list of early American clockmakers appears in Mrs. Moore's "Old Clock Book." LOOKING-GLASSES AND FRAMES While most of the so-called Colonial looking- glasses in America were imported, the making of mir ror frames became a fairly profitable industry after the Revolution. The Queen Anne and Georgian types nearly all came from England. During the last half of the eighteenth century a looking-glass became popular in America which was a revival of the Queen Anne style. It had a flat frame of solid or veneered mahogany, deeply curved at the bottom and with the broken arch or some sim ilar form at the top. The frame was embellished with gilt ornaments, the eagle becoming popular about 1775. There was often a molding around the inside of the frame, and the glass, unlike its Queen Anne prototype, was squared. By 1775 looking-glasses were manufactured in considerable quantities in New England, though still, apparently, imported in New York. Between [356] American glass cup plates, 1830 to 1850. Gen. Taylor flask, Dyottville works; Masonic flask by A. R. Samuels, and bottle by S. Huffsey; about 1850. Metropolitan Museum Collection. OTHER CRAFTS AND CRAFTSMEN 1780 and 1790 the so-called Constitution mirror was in vogue. It was similar in style to the one just described, with gilt plaster ornaments mounted on wires at the sides and with a gilt eagle of carved wood or plaster in the broken arch at the top. The gilt plaster eagle in bas relief occasionally found on the flat wood above the glass belongs to a later period — about 1810. Toward the close of the century gilt-framed glasses of various types were made here. One of the finest of these was the circular bull's-eye mirror, with convex glass and with an ornate gilt frame of carved wood or molded plaster or a combination of the two. It was ornamented with heavy beading or rows of balls and frequently had a spread eagle at the top. These bull's-eyes varied from twelve to thirty-six inches in diameter, the smaller ones being frequently used in pairs. Some, called girandole mirrors, were furnished with two or more candle holders. They were made between 1780 and 1800. Over-mantel glasses of various sorts were common after 1780. They were made chiefly with three sections of glass, separated by molding, the two end sections being narrower than the middle one. After 1800 heavier pilasters divided the sections. Similar looking-glasses were made in upright form with two [359] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN sections of glass, the smaller section at the top often being ornamented with a pattern cut out of wood and laid over it. After 1800 this upper section was more commonly painted with a crude landscape or emblematic design. After 1805 Empire styles began to come into vogue. Between 1810 and 1830 the commonest form of looking-glass had a heavy gilt frame, often with an overhanging cornice at the top ornamented with pendant balls or acorns, the rest of the frame being rounded, spiral, or fluted. After 1825 heavy balluster forms appeared on all four sides. Little has been recorded of the men who made these looking-glasses. James Foddy advertised in New York in 1730 "to alter and amend old looking- glasses." George Robinson, a Boston carver, who died in 1737, is known to have made frames, and William Farris was a carver and gilder of looking- glass frames in Baltimore in 1796. Few of their names are known, however, and it is probable that most of them were among those listed as carvers in the old directories. GLASS-MAKERS Baron Stiegel, though the most interesting of the early American manufacturers of glassware, was not [360] OTHER CRAFTS AND CRAFTSMEN the first. Window glass and bottles were manufac tured in Jamestown, Virginia, as early as 1609, and another factory started there in 1621 made glass beads for barter with the Indians. Salem had a glass-house in 1639, where coarse bottles were made. Glassware was also made in Philadelphia by Joshua Tittery in 1683 and perhaps in other places, though these seventeenth century ventures were not gen erally successful. In 1739 glass works were established at Alloways- town, later Wistarburg, Salem County, New Jersey, by Caspar Wistar, and were continued by his son Richard until 1781. Here window glass and bottles of good quality were made, as well as a few beautiful specimens of higher grade glassware showing Dutch characteristics. There were two factories in New York as early as 1731, one in Connecticut in 1741, and one in Brook lyn in 1754. Crude bottles were made at Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1760. Bottles and flasks were made in Kensington, Pennsylvania, about 1771, and in 1775 Stanger Bros, started a factory at Glassboro, New Jersey. Robert Hewes of Boston started a glass-house at Temple, New Hampshire, in 1779, but it was not a success. After the Revolution other glass factories were [36i] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN started in Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Baltimore, New York, Albany, New Jersey, and New England. In 1783 William and Elisha Pitkin and Samuel Bishop were given the sole privilege of making glass in Con necticut. The Pitkin factory was located at East Hartford. The first American glass was greenish, coarse, and full of bubbles and sand. After the Revolution the quality of the material was improved as well as the designs. Salt cellars, bowls, pitchers, bottles, and all sorts of drinking glasses were made in pressed and cut glass, up to about 1810. These were followed by blown glass up to about 1827, when the modern industry was established. American drinking glasses form an interesting field for the collector, and there are various sorts of orna mental and table ware and lamps. In some respects, however, the bottles form the most alluring field. The need for bottles and flasks was felt as early as the seventeenth century, but the first ones made here were coarse and crude and in the simplest forms. Later, blue and brown glass appeared in place of the light and dark green, and more attention was paid to the matter of shape. After the Revolution bottles began to be made with some form of decoration. As early as 1790 [362] Fighteenth-century iron vessels from the Bolles Collection. Old Pennsylvania stove plates, owned by Mr. David B. Missemer. OTHER CRAFTS AND CRAFTSMEN bottles bearing the heads and busts of noted men were made in Baltimore. After 1800 curious shapes began to appear — men, animals, fishes, shells, books, violins, and pistols. About 1810 bottles were made in the form of crude busts of Washington and La fayette. The vogue for fancy bottles and pocket flasks, bearing blown decorations of political or historical significance, lasted from 1808, when they began to appear in Philadelphia, till about 1870. They were made in various colors, which do not serve as an indi cation of their date of manufacture. The designs were cut in metal molds. Of the eighty or more patterns that have been found, twenty-nine show the American eagle, nineteen are of Washington, and nineteen of General Zachary Taylor. The popularity of these bottles was in full swing by 1825, when several factories made flasks and bot tles to commemorate the opening of the Erie Canal. These included busts of Lafayette and Governor Clinton. The presidential campaign of 1840 was made the occasion for the manufacture of a large number of bottles in the form of campaign emblems, such as the log cabin, the beehive, and the cider barrel. The idea caught the popular fancy and souvenir bottles [365] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN were much in demand during the next fifteen years. The Mexican War furnished another subject and in 1848 General Taylor and Captain Bragg bottles were popular. In 1850 flasks with globular bodies and long necks were dedicated to Jenny Lind and Louis Kossuth and bore their names and likenesses. Other popular subjects were Henry Clay, Robert Fulton, and Thomas Jefferson. Not a great deal is known of the makers of these bottles. Campaign bottles of 1840 and Mexican War bottles were made at the Kensington works, which were started by Robert Towars and James Leacock in 1771, and were taken over by Thomas Leiper in 1783 and by James Rowland & Co. in 1813. The factory at Glassboro, New Jersey, which was started by Stanger Bros, in 177.5, passed into the hands of Whitney Bros, in 1840. They made whiskey bottles and also ink-stands in the log cabin, cider barrel, and beehive forms, and, in 1750, Jenny Lind bottles. Samuel Huffsey of Philadelphia also made Kossuth and Lind bottles, often using the mark S. Huffsey. These bottles make an interesting if not an espe cially beautiful or antique collection. The largest number were made between 1848 and 1852, and practically none now in existence were made before [366] One form of the old Franklin stove. Owned by the author. American iron vessels, eighteenth century. Metropolitan Museum. OTHER CRAFTS AND CRAFTSMEN 1825. They are worth from $1 to $10 apiece, ac cording to age and rarity of design. The same is true of the cup-plates — the little glass dishes that grandfather used to set his cup on while cooling his tea in his saucer. These were also espe cially popular between 1840 and 1850, and bore the campaign emblems, state coat-of-arms, and such his torical scenes as the Battle of Bunker Hill. These cup plates are worth from 25 cents to $5 apiece, $1 being a fair average value. The opal glass which was in vogue about 1820 is also interesting. It is found in lamps, candlesticks, door knobs, curtain and drawer knobs, and various small articles. IRON FURNACES The history of iron casting in America I shall not attempt to treat as fully as so important an industry deserves, for the reason that it cannot have so great an interest for collectors as some of the others. In 1630 Thomas Hudson settled at Lynn, Massa chusetts, on land near the ford of the Saugus River. His discovery of bog-iron ore in his marsh led to the establishment of the first iron foundry by Joseph Jenks. Charcoal was the fuel used, and the first casting done in America was an iron pot made in [369] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN 1642. In 1652 Jenks cast the dies for the famous pine-tree shillings. In 1646 there was also a foun dry at Braintree, Massachusetts, where pots, mortars, stoves, and skillets were made. During the eighteenth century Pennsylvania be came the center of the iron industry and furnaces were also established in Maryland, New Jersey, and elsewhere. Among the products manufactured in Pennsylvania were the five-plate and six-plate stoves which were built into the j ambs of fireplaces. They had no connection with the flue and were open on the side toward the fire. Hot coals were shoveled into them, and the heated iron, extending into the room, radiated a fair degree of warmth. The side and end plates of these stoves were cast in raised designs, and it is these quaintly decorative stove-plates that are of chief interest to the collector. The Metropolitan and Pennsylvania Museums own a number of them, and Mr. Henry C. Mercer of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, has made a particular study of them, as well as of Moravian tiles and Pennsylvania-German pottery. Another collector of stove-plates is Mr. Benjamin F. Owen of Reading, Pennsylvania. These plates are from one and one-half to two and one-half feet square, and often half an inch thick or [37o] * *!!!*• »*:• •n • •i*# •m. ¦»:,;* Mg! ,.w . .?'«;« • ? jik;#;:# ii"*; ¦••ii *n« »* *w* •"'f?»M'.«'''#Vi;«.'. •V*'*M»^ 111 \*;A" *¦ *f* m ••"«ii*v • «5*~' *'»»,* *"«' W|i: !! * -<•* l* * ">')'« .• '":.m urn • ii V • n • • n **< «•««• *H#' [|N»«i»tt mum. manm^mnmnm.nmmnm ¦<****• mum wmum "M'.iim fiNNiitt mum Hfc* ms •n«*. •ii* * ri* •'ii* ;•..»! • •ji.*h« ? ,i'i ?._. »».»¦• mum ',* u • *ii ***- mfu m. m urn ' •.ii*;** i» *5:*ii **< • i« • • n • ."•"ii • • n • • 11 #*» • m • # h • • «i • • II • • II #«- • ii • • i J * * if*' • !«'• . • 11 -*)¦• *"lf* *>« •/*.ii* • ii • • »« *i.. ••¦ii'*"'** i *. m "11 • "*)>•> "•'i».-*-t<*l • if* *I:I*-*H* • ii,«. • II sXWI '"•'ll '••*•>*! • -~*'lf *,'* ll'V ¦»"*<' »»*i An American hand-woven coverlet of the late eighteenth century. From the Metropolitan Museum Collection. OTHER CRAFTS AND CRAFTSMEN more. The tulip was a common design motif, and many of the plates bore inscriptions in German. The most interesting subjects illustrate scriptural in cidents, such as the stories of Cain and Abel, Adam and Eve, David and Goliath, Joseph and Potiphafs wife, the Miracle of Cana, the flight into Egypt, and Elijah and the ravens. Among the known makers of these stove plates were Thomas Rutter, the Durham Furnace in Bucks County, Daniel Udree at Oley in Berks County, John Potts at the Warwick Furnace in Chester County, and Baron Stiegel at Elizabeth Furnace in Lancaster County. They date from 1735 to 1790, but the best examples were made between 1740 and 1760. With the introduction of the ten-plate stove the decorations became less interesting. Daniel Udree is said to have burned 840 bushels of charcoal in his furnace every twenty-four hours, and it took twenty-two cords of wood to make that much char coal. Naturally, wood began to be less plentiful and more expensive in the region of Philadelphia, and this led to the invention of the Philadelphia fireplace to economize fuel. This was improved by Benja min Franklin, and Franklin stoves began to be made about 1745. Franklin had made a study of fire= [373] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN places, chimneys, and draughts, among his many other scientific investigations, and his own account of his invention is interesting. In his autobiography he writes as follows : "Having, in 1742, invented an open stove for the better warming of rooms, and at the same time sav ing fuel, as the fresh air admitted was warmed in entering, I made a present of the model to Mr. Rob ert Grace, one of my early friends, who, having an iron-furnace, found the casting of the plates for these stoves a profitable thing, as they were growing in demand. . . . The use of these fireplaces in very many houses, both here in Pennsylvania and the neighboring states, has been, and is, a great saving of wood to the inhabitants." The Franklin stoves were built of cast iron, to be fitted into the fireplace, or to extend out into the room, with a flue connection. Some were very sim ple in arrangement, while others had more or less elaborate systems of draughts. The old fireplaces were not always smokeless, and the new stove was an improvement in that respect. Sea coal was advertised in Philadelphia as early as 1744, and Franklin stoves were soon made with grates as well as with flat hearths for andirons. The designs were often good, the jambs curving [374] OTHER CRAFTS AND CRAFTSMEN gracefully and the proportions pleasing. They were decorated with embossed patterns in the iron and with brass or nickel knobs and sometimes rosettes and rails. They were made with and without feet. It is not impossible to find old Franklin stoves occasionally to-day, though care should be taken not to be deceived by the modern reproductions which soon get to looking old with use. The ordinary types are worth $15 or $20. Among the other interesting products of the old furnaces were decorative firebacks for fireplaces, andirons, door knockers, and building hardware. Old architectural wrought iron, such as is to be found in Charleston and elsewhere, is a subject for study by itself. THE TEXTILE ARTS We have been dealing, of course, with the work of professional craftsmen, while some of the interesting art objects of the seventeenth and eighteenth centu ries were the work of amateurs. The textile arts especially — needlework and weaving — should be classed as home crafts. Lace, tapestries, silks, the finer floor coverings, and other textiles were largely imported until well into [3751 EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN the nineteenth century, but the homespun work was not always lacking in artistic interest. As early as the beginning of the eighteenth century there were professional weavers, who, like the itinerant cob blers, went from farmhouse to farmhouse, carrying their looms with them and doing the year's stint of work. It was doubtless from these weavers that the Colonial housewives learned to improve the char acter of their own weaving, for this remained for generations part of women's work. For the collector there is perhaps nothing more interesting in this field than the hand-woven cover lets which were made in every section of the country from New Hampshire to Georgia. The art, indeed, still survives in the Southern Appalachian Moun tains. These coverlets were quaintly beautiful, and as they were often carefully preserved, not a few of them are still in existence. Some patterns were im ported from European countries by the early immi grants, and many were common to all parts of the Colonies. They were often named. Miss Hall, in her book on coverlets, has gathered a large number of these names and designs. The colors were chiefly red and white or blue and white, but green, pink, yellow, and saffron were also used. The vegetable [376] A fashionable type of needlework. "Washington Memorial" embroidery, about 1 800. Bolles Collection. a £> cd &£$, & *& I'm n- &'f vih* t u v *& ,5 * ^#*&&*^ IE 2 3 4 J -r p ^^&m &0P0 u-ttttt-K-ft-mtmu-Httf-ra American sampler, one of the less elaborate forms. Metropolitan Museum of Art. OTHER CRAFTS AND CRAFTSMEN dyes were all home-made — an art that has been all but forgotten in this country. Needlework was always considered one of the ac complishments of the gentlewoman. She made "Turkey work," hooked and braided rugs, samplers, embroidered curtains and fire screens, etc. Em broidery, indeed, became one of the most widely practised of the fine arts. The teaching of needlework was a thriving indus try in itself. In New York we find Martha Gazley advertising in 1731 to teach needlework, and similar advertisements were common after 1750. In 1769 Clementina and Jane Ferguson conducted a famous young ladies' finishing school in which needlework was one of the principal subjects taught. In Bos ton Mrs. Hiller had a similar school in Hanover Square and they were quite common during the '6o's. There is, I think, nothing in the line of needle work so interesting to the collector as samplers. They are not uncommon, though they vary widely in excellence and in human interest. The oldest ones were the work of skilled needlewomen; sam plers which were the tasks of little girls belong gen erally to some date after 1725. The history of weaving, printing, and the other [379] EARLY AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN industrial arts in America are all deserving of atten tion, but we have covered, I think, the subjects that are of the greatest present interest to collectors. This history, indeed, dull enough at first glance, soon becomes a part of the collector's treasured lore, and the collector of Americana is bound to become something of a historian. It is my hope that I may have succeeded through this volume in turning the attention of some few Americans to the collecting of Americana, and I shall be still further gratified if the recently awakened popular interest in this field may cause the directors of more of our public museums to follow the lead of those in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia and take steps toward the acquisition of comprehen sive collections of the work of our early American craftsmen. [38o] BIBLIOGRAPHY Following is a list of the books and pamphlets which the collector of Americana will find of the greatest value in a study of the subjects discussed in the foregoing pages: The Colonial Furniture of New England, by Irving Whitall Lyon. Colonial Furniture in America, by Luke Vincent Lockwood. The Furniture of Our Forefathers, by Esther Singleton. Early American Furniture, by Charles Over Cornelius. Furniture of the Pilgrim Century, by Wallace Nutting. Furniture Masterpieces of Duncan Phyfe, by Charles Over Cornelius. Historic Silver of the Colonies and Its Makers, by Francis Hill Bigelow. Old Plate, by John Henry Buck. The Old Silver of American Churches, by E. Alfred Jones. American Silver, by R. T. Haines Halsey. Early Silver of Connecticut and Its Marks, by George Manning Curtis. A List of American Silversmiths and Their Marks, by Hollis French. Makers of Early American Silver, by Robert Ensko. The Pottery and Porcelain of the United States, by Edwin Atlee Barber. Early American Pottery and China, by John Spargo. Early American Folk Pottery, by A. H. Pitkin. [38l] BIBLIOGRAPHY The Potters and Pottery of Bennington, by John Spargo. China Collecting in America, by Alice Morse Earle. Tulip Ware of the Pennsylvania Potters, by Edwin Atlee Barber. American Pewter, by J. B. Kerfoot. Pewter and the Amateur Collector, by Edwards J. Gale. Old Pewter, Brass, Copper, and Sheffield Plate, by N. Hudson Moore. American Glassware, by Edwin Atlee Barber. Stiegel Glass, by Frederick William Hunter. Early American Glass, by Mrs. Rhea Mansfield Knittle. Old Glass, European and American, by N. Hudson Moore. Old Clocks and Watches and Their Makers, by F. J. Britten. The Old Clock Book, by N. Hudson Moore. The Clock Book, by Wallace Nutting. Simon Willard and His Clocks, by John Ware Willard. A Book of Hand-Woven Coverlets, by Eliza Calvert Hall. Colonial Lighting, by Arthur H. Hay ward. American Graphic Art, by Frank Weitenkampf. The Lure of the Antique, by Walter A. Dyer. By-Paths in Collecting, by Virginia Robie. The Practical Book of American Antiques, by Harold D. Eberlein and Abbott McClure. Handbook of the American Wing of the Metropolitan Mu seum of Art, by R. T. H. Halsey and Charles O. Cornelius. The Homes of Our Ancestors, by R. T. H. Halsey and Elizabeth Tower. The Bells of Paul and Joseph W. Revere, by Arthur H. Nichols. The Life of Colonel Paul Revere, by E. H. Goss. [382] BIBLIOGRAPHY The True Story of Paul Revere, by Charles Ferris Gettemy. Sons of Liberty, by Walter A. Dyer. PAMPHLETS The Metropolitan Museum Catalogue of New York and New Jersey Silver. History of the American Clock Business, by Chauncey Jerome. American Clock Making, by Henry Terry. History of Plymouth (Conn.), by Francis Atwater. Baron Henry William Stiegel, by J. H. Sieling, M. D. Henry William Stiegel, by A. S. Brendle, Esq. Bulletins of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Antiques Magazine. [383] INDEX INDEX American China Manufactory, 290 Architecture, early American, 16 et seq. Banjo Clocks, 139, 148, 158 Bannister-back chairs, 331, 334 Beds, American, 332, 338 Bells, Revere, 204, 206 et seq. Bennington pottery, 284, 297, 298 et seq. Bentley, William, diary of, 25 Boardman, Thomas D., 261 Bookcase desks, 335 Book-plates by Nathaniel Hurd, 238 Book-plates by Paul Revere, 213 Bottles, American glass, 361, 362 et seq. Brasiers, American, 268 et seq. Brass mountings, 63 Bureaus, 337 Burnap, Daniel, 108 Burt, John, 238 Cabinet-makers, American, 43 et seq., 320 et seq. Cartlidge, Charles, 294 Carving, McIntire, 39 Carving, Phyfe, 62 Chairmakers, 43 et seq., 75 et seq., 320 et seq. Chairs : American Empire, 337 [385] Chairs (Continued) : American Windsor, 79 et seq. bannister-back, 331, 334 Chippendale style, 330 English Windsor, 96 "fancy," 336 Phyfe, 58 et seq. Queen Anne style, 330 Restoration style, 325 roundabout, 331 slat-back, 326, 331, 342 turned, 325, 331, 341 wainscot, 325 Chests of drawers, 332 Church clocks, 117, 142 Clockmakers, 104 et seq., 128, 133 et seq., 157, 34S et seq. Coffee pots, silver, 231 Collections : Blaney, 67 Bolles, 11 Clearwater, 12 Concord Antiquarian Society, Essex Institute, Salem, 13 Halsey, 13, 43, 67, 338 Hostetter, 187 Hunter, 13, 187 Jumel Mansion, New York, 13 Kerfoot, 87 Memorial Hall, Deerfield, 13 Mercer, 370 Metropolitan Museum of Art, 11, 12, 67, 370 INDEX Collections (Continued)): Mt. Vernon, 13 Owen, 373 Pendleton, 11, 13 Pennsylvania Museum, 8, 278, 370 Philipse Manor, Yonkers, 13 Pitkin, 8 Rhode Island School of De sign, 12 Ropes House, Salem, 13 Van Cortlandt House, New York, 13 Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hart ford, 8 Communion services, 231, 256 Cony, John, 234 Cook-Oliver house, Salem, 35 Coppersmiths, American, 268 et seq. Coverlets, hand-woven, 376 Cup-plates, 369 Curtis, Lemuel, 158 Danforth, Samuel, 261 Desks, 332, 335 Dressing-tables, 332 Drinking-glasses, 183, 362 Drinking vessels, silver, 228 Dummer, Jeremiah, 234 Earthenware, 274, 280, 299 Edwards, John, 237 Engravings by Nathaniel Hurd, 238 Engravings by Paul Revere, 210 Erie Canal celebration, 52 Exhibitions : Boston Museum of Fine Arts. 6, 12, 214, 220 Hudson-Fulton Celebration, 6, 44, 220 Pan-American Exposition, 315 [386] "Fancy" chairs, 336 "Feast of Roses," 177 Fenton, Christopher Weber, 299 et seq., 306 Figures, Bennington, 309, 311 Flint-enameled ware, 311 Frames, mirror, 356 Franklin stove, 374 Furniture makers, 43 et seq., 320 et seq. Glassware, American, 8, 162 et seq., 180 et seq., 361 Greatbach, Daniel, 303 et seq. Harland, Thomas, 107 Highboys, 332 Hoadley, Silas, 122 Houses in Salem, 32 et seq. Hull, John, 233 Hurd, Benjamin, Jacob, and Nathaniel, 238 Iron furnaces, 369 et seq. Jerome, Chauncey, 123 et seq. Jersey City Pottery, 289 Looking-glasses, 356 Lowboys, 332 Mahogany, use of, 57, 62, 326, 329, 33° McIntire, Samuel, 16 et seq. Mirrors, 356 Needlework, 379 Nichols house, Salem, 35 Norton family, 290 et seq. Oak Hill, Peabody, 36 Painted furniture, Pennsylvania German, 338 INDEX Parian ware, 300, 303, 310, 312 Patent for clocks, no, 140 Pewter, manufacture of, 252 Pewter utensils, 256 Pewterers, American, 239 et seq. Phippen, Samuel, 70 Phyfe, Duncan, 45 et seq. Pillar-and-scroll-top clock, 114 Pine-tree shillings, 234, 370 Pitchers, Bennington, 311 Porcelain, American, 8, 286, 290, 303 Porringers, silver, 227 Potters, American, 273 et seq., 298 et seq. Pottery, American, 8, 273 et seq., 298 et seq. Presentation clock, 151 Revere, Paul, 191 et seq. Rocking-chairs, 91, 343 Rockingham ware, 286, 293, 297, 399. 300, 303, 309, 310 Roundabout chairs, 331 Salem, Mass., 20 et seq. Samplers, 379 Sanderson, Robert, 233 Secretaries, 335 Sgraffito pottery, 277 et seq. Sideboards, 58, 337 Silversmiths, American, 191 et seq., 219 et seq., 232 et seq. Silverware, American, 12, 219 et seq. Silverware, process of manu facture, 220 Silverware, Revere, 214 et seq. Slat-back chairs, 326, 331, 342 Slip-decorated pottery, 8, 277 et seq. Sofas, Phyfe, 61 Spoons, silver, 224 Stiegel, Baron, 162 et seq. Stove-plates, 167, 370 Taber, EInathan, 157 Tables, 6r, 331, 337 Teapots, silver, 231 Terry, Eli, 68 et seq. Textile arts, 375 Thomas, Seth, 118 et seq. Tucker, William Ellis, 296 United States Pottery, 300 Values: American glassware, 369 American pewter, 257 American silverware, 251 Bennington ware, 315 et seq. clocks, 129, 158 Phyfe furniture, 68 Revere silver, 218 Stiegel glass, 187 Windsor chairs, 99 et seq. Van Dyke, Peter, 245 Vernon, Samuel, 246 Washington eagle furniture, 338 Washington medallion, 36 Washington Square, Salem, 36 Weaving, 376 Willard, Aaron, 152 et seq. Willard, Benjamin, 134 Willard, Simon, 135 et seq. Windsor chairs, 79 et seq. Winslow, Edward, 237 Winthrop, bust of Gov., 39 [387]