Wrought iron can opener fashioned from .25" thick flat iron bar. Long flat handle ends with a scrolled-under terminal; other end is a bifurcated functional head with curving fulcrum and sharpened blade.
Stamped on top surface of handle in large letters is "P.E.WILL." See Notes
Minor pitting and corrosion, but surface is generally smooth and polished. Blad has considerable wear.
Object ID
P.00.43.1
Notes
MG-332, Folder 1 has materials about P.E. Will, noting he erected a shop in 1892. His obituary states "Phares E. Will died at his home in Penryn on Monday am aged 65 yres. 5 mos. and 1 day. He was ill with pneumonia for his last 2 weeks. He was a blacksmith for more than 40 years.
Will was a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Penryn. He is survived by wife Sarah Jane Williams Will, also his father Elias P. Will and brother Thaddeus of Lititz. He was buried in Penryn cemetery.
There is an image of the blacksmith shop & residence in Folder #1, insert #49.
Findagrave gives bio: "P. E. Will operated a blacksmith shop in Penryn, PA. He was renowned In Lancaster County as one of the best craftsman around the area. He made hand-forged tools such as meat forks, cooking turners, ladles, tobacco shears, and tobacco spears. His tools were stamped "P E Will" and are highly sought at auctions.
Mr. Will also sold Studebaker wagons from his shop. His shop was clean and orderly. At his shop all the race horses which ran on the Speedwell track were shod. Will also shod horses at Mount Gretna for the National Guard who camped there.
He had a rack/cage for shoeing unruly horses which he invented. He used a special foot rest for the horses instead of holding the horses hoof on his knee. In a 1926 interview, Mr. Will stated that he had placed more than 200,000 shoes on horses during his career as a blacksmith.
Mr. Will was also known as an author and local historian. He was a contributer of Penryn news."
Family links:
Parents:
Elias P Will (1846 - 1936)
Annie B Eberly Will (1851 - 1927)
Place of Origin
Penryn, Penn Twp.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Finely crafted miniature copper teakettle with tinned interior. Classic late 18th-early 19th c. kettle shape with round body, goose neck spout, hinged arched handle and fitted domed lid with globular knop.
Keyed/dovetail joint at back side. Handle attached to riveted tabs with elongated tomahawk bases. Fits in oval tin box G.00.03.2.
Lancaster County or region
Provenance
Ownership by donor's father, William A. Heitshu. Donor believes she was told teakettle was a salesman's sample.
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
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,
