Tinsmith Museum of America
Preserving the Past in the Present for the Future
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Early American Industries Association meeting
We had some tin snips on display at the EAIA meeting in the conference center at Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. Visit http://www.eaia.us to find out where the next meeting will be.
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Michael Terragna
From his website http://coppersmith-tinsmith.com/ Master metalsmith Michael P. Terragna has been working with copper and tin for over thirty-five years. As a sheet metal worker in the early 1970s, Michael spent his spare time teaching himself the tinsmithing trade in his grandmother’s basement. It wasn’t long before his talent for reproducing historic lighting began attracting…
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James Glynn 1931-2023
His tagline was “Honestly Handcrafted” and his website was tinlighting.com He focused on tin lighting but we have one of his folk art angels that was made as a tree topper.
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William Stewart
William Stewart from Fort Washington, Maryland has a resume that includes setting up the historic tin shops at Ohio Village in Columbus and Zoar Village and the Carroll County Farm Museum. He donated an 1887 Pocock machine for bending sheet metal.
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Fabulous But Fake
Fabulous But Fake is the name of a book by Norman S. Young and published by Fake Publications. The book helps antique dealers and others identify reproductions often imported for the interior design industry. They include a tin punched coffee pot that has a folksy parrot on both sides. Another in the series is the…
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Karen Hurd
She produced tinware and stamped it with one of her three names. K HURD, K CLAGGETT, and K DUNWOODY. Here is a wall sconce she made. Her items can be purchased at Karen Hurd Products – Philadelphia Museum Of Art (philamuseum.org)
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Finial Mould
A useful tool with an interesting provenance. Sometime prior to June of 2008 this item was listed on eBay. One night Tinsmith Jim Kimpell of High Horse Trading woke in the middle of the night with the thought to search eBay using the term Finial Mold and this item had been listed. He was worried…
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Ben Clarkson
Ben Clarkson started making tinware in early 70’s at Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts under master tinsmith Al Lees. He was also teaching at Eastfield Village when Don Carpentier started the trade. Ben Clarkson later began working at Greenfeild Village in Dearborn Michigan. A wetplate image with Ben Clarkson on the left and Bob Jones,…
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Compass or Dividers
What is the difference between a compass and dividers? A compass has a pencil on one end today but the answer has changed from years past. Websters 1828 dictionary reads: compass or compasses, [or a pair of compasses, so named from its legs, but pair is superfluous or improper, and the singular number compass is the preferable name,…
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Phil Kelly
He was a resident tinsmith at Landis Valley Museum in Lancaster Pennsylvania. Phil Kelly was featured in the book Tinware Yesterday and Today This candle stick is featured on Page 5 of the book. His maker mark is “K” surrounded by 4 dots.
Got any tool recommendations?