Copper teakettle with round body, gooseneck spout, very low domed lid w/ scrolled knob of sheet copper riveted onto lid with a hand-cut washer added under lid, suggesting repair or replacement. Curved handle hinges onto tapered plinth tab bases with two rivets each. Vertical dove-tailed side seam opposite single-seamed spout. Dove-tailed bottom.
Touchmark on top of handle is "R..REED." within a rectangular reserve with serrated ends.
Made by Robert Reed, working in Lancaster 1771-1779, then 1785-1795.
Provenance
Purchased by Heritage Center from Philip Bradley Antiques
Transferred from Heritage Center to LancasterHistory.org December, 2012.
Tax assessment lists Robert Reed 1786-1793.
Kauffman, Henry J. American Copper and Brass. New York: Bonanza, 1979.
Coppersmith info from Shelley Horvath Posten (dau. of Don Horvath), 2009
Copper dented and scratched overall, polish residue at handle hinges. Side handle break repaired with sheet iron patch secured to outside with two iron rivets. Knob appears to be a repair or a replacement.
Object ID
P.80.131
Place of Origin
Lancaster
Credit
Heritage Center Collection. Purchased through the generosity of the James Hale Steinman Foundation,
Round copper vessel, shaped like a teakettle, but without a spout. A shaped strap handle is attached to each side of the opening at shoulder with riveted brackets. The handle widens near the middle, where the maker's mark is stamped: "P & B. SCHAUM"
Body is dovetailed to base, one dovetailed vertical seam, handle attached to flanges held in place by two rivets each. Pot insert is missing. Another insert (S.13) was purchased as a replacement.
Vessel has multiple dents, creating a general distortion overall. Surface is also tarnished and has drip stains running down the sides. The bottom is very worn and has numerous stains. Blueish-white stains on the inside. Polish residue on handle.
Object ID
P.77.61
Place of Origin
Lancaster
Related Item Notes
See broadside for Benjamin Schaum's hardware store, P.91.02
Credit
Heritage Center Collection. Purchased through the generosity of the James Hale Steinman Foundation
Tankard, lidded barrel form. Copper body with brass handle, shell thumb piece and four bands encircling body. Interior is tinned. Engraved on opposite side from handle, "COMPLIMENTS/ OF/ JOHN G. SCHAUM/ TO/ FRANK J. RIEKER." One of a pair with P00.42.2.
Believed to be a presentation piece given by Schaum in appreciation for all the work he was given in Rieker's brewery. Schaum did copper, tin and sheet iron work and was the son and one-time partner of plumber/ coppersmith John P. Schaum.
Provenance
Collection of J. Harlan Miller sold at Conestoga Auction Oct. 21, 2000.
Tankard, lidded barrel form. Copper body with brass handle, shell thumb piece and four bands encircling body. Interior is tinned. Engraved on opposite side from handle, "COMPLIMENTS/ OF/ JOHN G. SCHAUM/ TO/ JOSEPH HAEFNER." One of a pair with P00.42.3.
Believed to be a presentation piece given by Schaum in appreciation for all the work he was given in Haefner's brewery. Schaum did copper, tin and sheet iron work and was the son and one-time partner of plumber/ coppersmith John P. Schaum.
Provenance
Collection of J. Harlan Miller sold at Conestoga Auction Oct. 21, 2000. Transferred from Heritage Center Dec. 2012.
Heavy tarnish overall. Moderate scratching. Slightly dented in center of and below engraving. Small nicks on rim of lid. Minor corrosion where handle and thumb piece connect to body and on bottom. Some polish residue in crevices.
Large copper teakettle with rounded body, goose-neck spout and hinged handle having a medium arc, mounted on shaped flanges with three rivets. The domed lid has a small brass mushroom knob (replaced). Dovetailed seams on bottom and vertical seam on side opposite spout. Seamed repair to spout tip.
"F. STEINMAN" is stamped on the handle within a reserve.
Provenance
Transferred from Heritage Center Collection, Dec. 2012
Jack Brubaker, The Steinmans of Lancaster, pp. 11-15.
HJ Kauffman, Early American Copper, Tin & Brass, 1995, pp. 42-43.
HJ Kauffman, American Copper & Brass, 1979, p. 65.
Height (in)
13
Width (in)
16
Condition
Good
Condition Date
2013-11-13
Condition Notes
Many dents and overall wear. HJK says handle slightly shortened (likely done by him). Tip of spout replaced. Plugged hole in bottom. Replaced knob. Stamped name very worn. Tarnished with polish residue where the spout, handle, and lid meet the main body.
Object ID
G.77.14
Notes
When his father died in 1758, John Frederick Steinman, Sr. (1752-1823) moved with his mother to Lititz from his birthplace, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. His mother remarried a few years later to John Christophe Heyne, a tinsmith and pewterer from Lancaster. The shop of Heyne and Steinman would become known as Steinman's Hardware Store, the oldest hardware store in America.
Place of Origin
Lancaster
Credit
Heritage Center Collection. Gift of Henry J. Kauffman
Tin candle mold with 2 rows of 4, mounted on a raised rectangular base. The 8 molds incline toward each other at their tips and are soldered together for strength. Wire finger ring attached to one side of base and large looped strap handle at other side.
Provenance
Provenance before donor is unknown. Transferred from Heritage Center, December 2012.
Copper sculpting/modeling tool hand fashioned to create a flattened, spoon-like handle leading to a rounded shank ending in another flattened end bent at the tip to create a short 1/2" extension bent to nearly a right angle for working in clay or plaster. End is squared off. Crude but effective tool for sculpting bears marks of hammering, especially underside of flattened handle. Used by Lloyd Mifflin. Tool presumed to have been fashioned by Lloyd Mifflin himself from a length of copper. Provenance: Mifflin to the Minnich sisters to the groundskeeper at Norwood to donors.
Strainer of glazed redware, but with a lighter brown color than most redware. Resting on three tapered 1-1/8 " long feet. The flat-bottomed dish has straight sides that flare out to a molded, high lip. Applied handles at sides. Large holes in bottom and three rows of smaller holes at sides.
Lead glaze overall with some streaks/runs of a darker brown.
Numerous chips on body overall; some large ones on underside and a large chip on the side; handle edges have suffered the most significant chipping loss. Glaze is crackled overall and has some staining, particularly on the interior. Feet are moderately worn.
Object ID
G.98.12.17
Place of Origin
Pennsylvania
Credit
Gift of Mrs. S.R. Slaymaker II, Heritage Center Collection
Miniature stoneware crock made as an advertising piece for Steinman Hardware. Cylindrical body, molded rim at outside. Printed on side in cobalt blue is: "STEINMAN HDWE. CO./ LANCASTER, PA. Dark brown glaze on inside and top half of outside; bottom half is a tan glaze. Bottom unglazed with work marks over surface.
Miniature redware storage jar, reddish-brown body with manganese decoration on neck and shoulders with side drips. Tin glazed overall except for bottom.
Body is tall and cylindrical with slightly flared base, shoulders that slope upward to a minimal plain neck and mouth. Mid-line impressed band of "beads" and additional band very faintly impressed 1/4" above base.
Coloring is typical of pieces made by Jacob Medinger (1856-1932). Jacob's father, William Medinger, operated a pottery in Limerick, Montgomery Co., which was taken over by his three sons. By 1900, Jacob alone ran the pottery.
Perhaps Montgomery County, PA by Jacob Medinger (1856-1932).
