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,
Copper Teakettle has large 7-quart round body, domed lid with brass button knob attached to a metal base visible inside. Goose-neck spout. One vertical dove-tailed seam opposite spout, straight seam along top of spout and short seam underneath. Dove-tailed bottom. Arched handle hinged at chordal sector tab bases with three rivets each.
Maker's mark on top center of handle within serrated rectangular reserve: "7 JOHN.GETZ 7"
Made by John Getz (working 1801-1840).
Provenance
See 2009 materials sent by Shelley Horvath Poston (dau. of Don Horvath).
Copper has many dents and scratches. Significant 3 1/2" series of dents down the side opposite the spout and one under lid finial. Heavily soldered repair joint at base of spout.
Object ID
P.80.115
Place of Origin
Lancaster
Credit
Heritage Center Collection. Purchased through the generosity of the James Hale Steinman Foundation
Copper tea kettle, classic form with gooseneck spout, high dome lid, marked strap handle hinged on "plinth w/ serifs" tab bases. Lid fitted with a crudely fashioned replaced iron or steel mushroom-shaped finial, bent to one side.
Vertical dove-tailed seam on side opposite spout, top seam running length of spout. Dove-tailed bottom.
Tarnished with numerous dents and scratches over body. Two very heavy dents at shoulder, opposite each other and one on bottom. Finial knob bent to one side. Two significant cracks on proper right side at shoulder and one on back.
Object ID
P.01.48.1
Place of Origin
Lancaster
Credit
Heritage Center Collection. Purchased through the generosity of the James Hale Steinman Foundation
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
Traditional tea kettle form made of tinned sheet iron. Now unmoveable handle hinged to oval tab bases with two rivets. Dovetailed vertical seam on side opposite spout: spout has a straight seam along top and also bottom of base section. Dovetail seam around shoulder top. Slightly domed lid has black-painted knob.
Made by George Rogers, tinsmith, (1814-1854, working c. 1848).
For references to G. Rogers, see Kauffman, American Copper and Brass, p. 207. Copy in file.
Also see 1859-60 Directory, p. 143 for reference to George Rogers.
Height (in)
11
Width (in)
11.75
Diameter (in)
8
Condition
Good
Condition Date
2013-11-18
Condition Notes
Interior heavily rusted. Dent to the right of the spout on shoulder. Multiple smaller dents. Multiple score lines, possibly from a rasp, especially on shoulder area.
