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If you are interested in
the craft of making silverware as it began in Colonial America, here are some online
locations to pursue:
From
Colonial Williamsburg site:
The 18th-century
silversmith was thought of as someone akin to a sculptor. Both had to know how
to shape their materials with artistic talent, taste, and design.
A contemporary observed
that the silversmith was:
“employed in making all
manner of utensils…either for Ornament or Use. His work is either performed in
the Mould, or beat into Figure by the Hammer.”
From
history.org
A silversmith works with
precious metals such as gold and silver. Often in the 18th century,
a silversmith would call himself a goldsmith for the added prestige. The “smith”
part of the name indicates that hammers are used for shaping the silver (the
word smith derives from the word smite, meaning to hit or strike). Flatware
(knives, spoons and forks), hollowware (hollow vessels) and jewelry are all
crafted in this manner.
From
“Colonial American Silver” by Aims C. Coney
The relationship of
historical events with the progress of the silversmith’s art has been continuous
for many centuries in all parts of the civilized world; in America, however, it
is much more sharply focused on a short period of time, to the extent that
individual pieces can in many cases be directly related to the stirring events
in the early life of the colonies, or to the careers of striking and important
personalities, acting their parts on the great stage setting of Early America.
Please bear in mind
these few dates: The Plymouth Colony (or Plantation, as it was then known) was
founded in 1620. This was the very beginning of life in New England. The first
American silver of consequence appeared about 1660, and the last of any great
note was the work of Paul Revere who died in 1816. Thus we have, in New England
at least, a term of only 150 years which includes the entire great period in
the history of American silver—and incidentally American gold, since many of
the best silversmiths were goldsmiths as well. Unhappily, almost all of the
gold has disappeared, as it was doubtless too valuable to keep. It would be
hard to find in all our history a period more stirring than that which
commenced with the Mayflower and ended with the close of the Revolution.
The difficulty of
securing coins, and the even greater problem of proving ownership in the event
of their being stolen or lost, created a place for the silversmith in the
community. At a comparatively small cost he could melt the coins, forge and
hammer them into objects for use or display which by means of form, size,
engraved decoration or maker’s mark, could be readily identified in event of
loss or theft.
Where
the word “Sterlilng” came from
Seymour
B. Wyler in The Book
of Old Silver states that:
The customs, practices
and methods originating in England influenced all other silver producers as
English culture and influence spread throughout the world. The “Sterling”
standard is an indication of this, though this word owes its origin to a band
of immigrant Germans. They called themselves the Easterlings because of the
direction in which they lived, and they were first called by the King in
approximately 1300 to refine some silver to purity for coinage purposes. In a
statute of 1343 the first two letters were dropped from the word “Easterling”
and the application of the word “Sterlilng” to silver commenced. Silver design,
like architecture, followed.
From
Chicago Silver
…In a 1916 issue of The American Magazine of Art, the noted
Henry P. Macomber, Secretary of the Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston,
presented an excellent history of silvermaking in the United States.
Among the Arts &
Crafts tenets were an application for simplicity of form and line, a rejection
of fussy, over-ornamented detail, and an emphasis on art that was useful.
According to Macomber, these views were uniquely American and dated back to
colonial days:
“Colonial silver, which
was at its best in the period between 1750 and 1820, is notable for its beauty
of line and form and its subordination of decoration. Simple in design,
substantial in weight, it reflects the character of the Colonists themselves.
They were pioneers in a new country, they were people of strong and independent
religious convictions, but many of them came from families of culture and
refinement. It was natural for them to prefer purity of form and perfection of
line and proportion to elaborateness of design. Silver which combined dignity
and solidarity with usefulness was what appealed to them. The wars with their
French-Canadian neighbors turned them against all things French and their
hatred of Popery gave them a similar aversion to the work of Italian craftsmen.
It was to be expected that they would get their inspiration from England, their
mother country, but their wide separation and limited means of travel fostered
a certain vigorous originality.”
These sites are a good
place to start if you are researching or are just curious about this subject.
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