Midnight Ride, Industrial Dawn

by Robert Martello

  41. Henry J. Kauffman, The Colonial Silversmith: His Techniques & His Products (New York: Galahad Books, 1969), p. 43.

  42. Bridenbaugh, The Colonial Craftsman, pp. 130–133; Jack Larkin, The Reshaping of Everyday Life, 1790–1840 (New York: HarperPerennial, 1989), p. 282; John Marshall Phillips, American Silver (New York: Dover, 2001), p. 14; Rorabaugh, Craft Apprentice, p. 11; Deborah A. Federhen, “From Artisan to Entrepreneur: Paul Revere’s Silver Shop Operations,” in Paul Revere—Artisan, Businessman, and Patriot (Boston: Paul Revere Memorial Association, 1988), p. 72; Bruce Laurie, Artisans into Workers (New York: Hill and Wang, 1989), p. 36; Howard B. Rock, The New York City Artisan, 1789–1825 (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989), pp. 193–194.

  43. Increasing numbers of Revolutionary-era Americans opposed blatant signs of class distinctions. For example, servants did not like to wear livery, and people of all classes expected the right to eat or wear what they pleased if they could afford it. All men expected to be equal before the law. Nye, Cultural Life of the New Nation, p. 108.

  44. Bridenbaugh, The Colonial Craftsman, pp. 130–133; Rorabaugh, The Craft Apprentice, p. 4; Wood, Radicalism of the American Revolution, pp. 53, 162; Salinger, “Artisans, Journeymen, and the Transformation of Labor,” p. 70; Schultz, The Republic of Labor, p. 40. Many historians have explored and debated the relationship between early American labor shortages and other factors, such as wages, apprenticeships, and societal views toward manual labor. This connection, known as the scarce labor or labor scarcity hypothesis, played some role in the development of early manufacturing but was far from the only one. The labor scarcity hypothesis is discussed in H. J. Habakkuk, American and British Technology in the Nineteenth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1962); Peter Temin, “Labor Scarcity and the Problem of American Industrial Efficiency in the 1850s,” Journal of Economic History 26 (September 1966); Peter Temin, “Labor Scarcity in America,” Journal of Interdisciplinary History 1 (Winter 1971).

  45. Silversmiths used a hammer and punch to stamp their maker’s mark (usually their initials or last name) on the bottom of all large finished pieces. This practice is discussed in more detail below. Rorabaugh, Craft Apprentice, p. 8; Federhen, “Artisan to Entrepreneur,” p. 73; Laurie, Artisans into Workers, pp. 35–36; Schultz, The Republic of Labor, p. 6.

  46. For example, while 40 to 50 percent of families in mid-eighteenth-century England depended on wage labor for support, only one in three American workers earned wages, and even fewer in the skilled trades. Most American apprentices in the colonial era soon graduated to master status, so the number of journeymen stayed relatively small. The number of journeymen gradually increased in Philadelphia and New York City, but remained less numerous than masters until wage labor gained prevalence between 1800 and 1830. These laborers never constituted a dispossessed or permanent “proletariat” in the modern sense because they often possessed skills and hoped that they might improve their position by entering into business for themselves someday. Gary J. Kornblith, “The Artisanal Response to Capitalist Transformation,” Journal of the Early Republic 10 (Fall 1990): 316–318; Olton, Philadelphia’s Mechanics, p. 315; Smith, Lower Sort, pp. 197–200; Salinger, “Artisans, Journeymen, and the Transformation of Labor,” p. 75; Perkins, Economy of Colonial America, p. 116; John J. McCusker and Russell B. Menard, The Economy of British America 1607–1789 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1991), p. 246; Bridenbaugh, The Colonial Craftsman, p. 146; Rorabaugh, Craft Apprentice, pp. 8–9.

  47. A surprising number of the daily rituals and breaks centered around alcohol, including alehouse socializing at lunch or after work and drinks consumed in the place of work. One common tradition was “Saint Mondays,” in which many workers treated each Monday as a holiday that helped them recover from the weekend’s excesses. Newly hired journeymen were expected to treat the entire shop to drinks on their first day, and apprentices often had the task of making runs to the tavern throughout the day to keep the shop jug full, facing occasional complaints that they “robbed the mail” on the way back to the shop. Foner, Tom Paine and Revolutionary America, pp. 36–37; Rock, Artisans of the New Republic, pp. 296, 299–301; Laurie, Artisans into Workers, p. 37; Laura Rigal, The American Manufactory: Art, Labor, and the World of Things in the Early Republic (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2001), p. 33; Robert B. Gordon, American Iron, 1607–1900 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996), p. 2.

  48. Sennett, The Craftsman, p. 38.

  49. Paul Revere to John Rivoire (his cousin), October 6, 1781, in “Loose Manuscripts 1746–1801,” reel 1, RFP.

  50. Schultz, Moral Origins of Artisan Radicalism, p. 87; Falino, “The Customers of Paul Revere,” p. 153; Triber, A True Republican, p. 21; Federhen, Paul Revere, Silversmith, p. 2.

  51. Federhen, “Artisan to Entrepreneur,” p. 65; Falino, “The Customers of Paul Revere,” p. 164.

  52. Iliad, book 23, lines 823–829, Robert Fagles translation, p. 582.

  53. According to one rough estimate, approximately three hundred silversmiths practiced their craft in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia throughout the entire colonial period, and another two hundred practiced their craft in all other areas. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Staff, The Silversmith in Eighteenth Century Williamsburg (Williamsburg, Va.: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1956), p. 21. A more specific estimate states that Connecticut alone featured 13 practicing silversmiths prior to 1750, and 125 new ones from 1750 to 1790. Newell, “Birth of New England in the Atlantic Economy,” p. 62; Phillips, American Silver, pp. 24–25.

  54. Hood, History of Style, pp. 11, 58, 92, 127, 163; Hermann Frederick Clarke, “The Craft of Silversmith in Early New England,” New England Quarterly 12, no. 1 (March 1939): 68–69.

  55. Phillips, American Silver, pp. 11–13; The Silversmith in Eighteenth Century Williamsburg, pp. 14–15, 22; James A. Mulholland, History of Metals in Colonial America (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1981), p. 86; Bridenbaugh, The Colonial Craftsman, p. 86; Federhen, Paul Revere, Silversmith, p. 4. Silversmiths served a vital role in medieval Europe, as society’s assayers and wealth estimators. In the absence of a single authoritative test of metal purity the silversmith’s experience, judgment, and reputation earned society’s trust and became a measuring stick and weapon against counterfeiters. Sennett, The Craftsman, p. 61.

  56. McLean Ward, “Boston Goldsmiths,” p. 126; Bridenbaugh, The Colonial Craftsman, p. 143; Hood, History of Style, p. 11; Clarke, “The Craft of Silversmith in Early New England,” pp. 68–9; Skerry, “Revolutionary Revere,” p. 43; Mulholland, History of Metals in Colonial America, pp. 87–88.

  57. Many colonists, ranging from enlisted soldiers to political or economic leaders, voiced their annoyance with British attitudes. These complaints emphasized how the British commanders expected deference from their soldiers, as well as nearly all colonists, and treated them as inferiors. Revere would have bristled at this, in light of his later writings on the subject of meritocracy and deference. James A. Henretta and Gregory H. Nobles, Evolution and Revolution: American Society 1600–1820 (Lexington, Mass.: D. C. Heath & Co., 1987), p. 115; Triber, A True Republican, pp. 23, 204. Revere’s silver shop records for this period are conveyed in many entries in “Waste Book and Memoranda (1761–1783),” reel 5, vol. 1, RFP. See also Federhen, Paul Revere, Silversmith, p. 14.

  58. Phillips, American Silver, pp. 14–16; Mulholland, History of Metals in Colonial America, pp. 88–89; The Silversmith in Eighteenth Century Williamsburg, pp. 21–22; Kauffman, The Colonial Silversmith, p. 42.

  59. Sterling silver is an English term used to describe an alloy of silver and copper. The addition of copper to sterling silver adds a richer color to the silver while increasing its durability and workability; however, too much copper lowers the perceived value of the metal. English regulatory agencies (such as guilds and assaying offices) rigidly enforced the sterling standard of 92.5 percent silver and 7.5 percent copper. T
he quantity of silver and copper in American products was more variable than their English counterparts because of the lack of regulatory mechanisms. One set of tests performed on a variety of early American spoons reveals copper contents between 10.5 and 14.5 percent. Phillips, American Silver, p. 20; Kauffman, The Colonial Silversmith, pp. 27–30.

  60. Mulholland, History of Metals in Colonial America, pp. 88–89; Kauffman, The Colonial Silversmith, p. 31; The Silversmith in Eighteenth Century Williamsburg, pp. 24–25; Edwin Tunis, Colonial Craftsmen (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1965), pp. 82–83.

  61. Kauffman, The Colonial Silversmith, p. 30; Mulholland, History of Metals in Colonial America, pp. 83, 88–89; Hood, History of Style, pp. 18–19; Tunis, Colonial Craftsmen, p. 84; The Silversmith in Eighteenth Century Williamsburg, pp. 24–26.

  62. Tunis, Colonial Craftsmen, p. 82; The Silversmith in Eighteenth Century Williamsburg, pp. 24–26; Kauffman, The Colonial Silversmith, p. 15.

  63. Mulholland, History of Metals in Colonial America, pp. 83, 88–89; Hood, History of Style, pp. 18–19; Tunis, Colonial Craftsmen, p. 84;The Silversmith in Eighteenth Century Williamsburg, pp. 24–26; Kauffman, The Colonial Silversmith, p. 62.

  64. Phillips, American Silver, p. 19.

  65. Gordon, American Iron, p. 2.

  66. Skerry, “Revolutionary Revere,” p. 47; Federhen, “Artisan to Entrepreneur,” p. 66; Phillips, American Silver, p. 14. Benjamin Burt (1729–1805) was also the son of a silversmith and was older than Revere. Burt and Revere greatly outstripped the production recorded by four other contemporaries in the same period, that is, 47, 56, 90, and 105 silver objects. Some of these other silversmiths died early or lost business after siding with the British in the Revolution, and Burt failed to change with the times, sticking with traditional items. After the war he failed to expand and adapt the way Revere did: Revere made many new teapots, sugar bowls, and creamers, and Burt made few. Falino, “The Customers of Paul Revere,” pp. 154–155.

  67. The letter states, “I Cannot pay you for the Board of my dr Child till my Returne or the Returne of the Vessel which will be about 3 Months . . . This, I hope, will not be the means of my poor Childs Suffering.” Josiah Collins to Paul Revere, November 22, 1774, “Loose Manuscripts 1746–1801,” reel 1, RFP. This is a poignant example of the risk involved in trade endeavors and the interconnectedness of personal credit relationships—one late payment or bad debt could easily ripple throughout society. Federhen, Paul Revere, Silversmith, pp. 27–29.

  68. Federhen, “Artisan to Entrepreneur,” p. 69; Federhen, Paul Revere, Silversmith, p. 15.

  69. Although (contrary to modern rumors) Revere never worked on George Washington’s dentures, Patriot statesman John Jay was one of his early customers and the two corresponded in the following years. The Silversmith in Eighteenth Century Williamsburg, p. 5; Skerry, “Revolutionary Revere,” p. 47; Kauffman, The Colonial Silversmith, p. 36; Federhen, Paul Revere, Silversmith, pp. 5, 26–27.

  70. The most prevalent form of advertising in colonial America was the trade card, a small engraved paper that listed a craftsman’s name, address, product line, and any distinguishing symbols that might appear on that shop’s signboard. Craftsmen often pasted these cards on cases used to hold the objects they created. Silvio A. Bedini, Thinkers and Tinkers: Early American Men of Science (New York: Scribner, 1975), pp. 224–225.

  71. Bridenbaugh, The Colonial Craftsman, p. 99; Clarence S. Brigham, Paul Revere’s Engravings (Worster: American Antiquarian Society, 1954), pp. 4, 133; many entries in “Waste Book and Memoranda (1761–1783),” reel 5, vol. 1, RFP (see in particular May 3, 1774; July 9, 1774; May 2, 1781).

  72. The quote describing Revere’s teapot is taken from Phillips, American Silver, p. 101. Also see Daniels, “Artisans in Maryland,” p. 748; Gloria L. Main, “The Standard of Living in Southern New England, 1640–1773,” William and Mary Quarterly 45, no. 1 (January 1988): 125.

  73. The exception to this generalization is the lowest “unpropertied” class, which actually grew in numbers and faced increasingly desperate conditions as society became more stratified. Kulikoff, Progress of Inequality in Revolutionary Boston, pp. 380–381; Schultz, The Republic of Labor, pp. 38–39; Smith, Lower Sort, pp. 197–200.

  74. Wolf, As Various as their Land, p. 65; Falino, “The Customers of Paul Revere,” pp. 152–153; Main, “The Standard of Living in Southern New England,” pp. 127–129; Kulikoff, Progress of Inequality in Revolutionary Boston, p. 375.

  75. Falino, “The Customers of Paul Revere,” pp. 153–154, 156–157.

  76. Phillips, American Silver, pp. 101, 108; Skerry, “Revolutionary Revere,” pp. 48–49.

  77. After Parliament repealed most of the Townshend duties in 1770, the tax on tea was not removed, and the Tea Act of 1773 made matters even worse by granting a monopoly on colonial tea sales to the East India Company. Although upper-class women were fairly active in the pre-Revolutionary tea boycott, several letters of complaint written to colonial newspapers illustrate that this was no small sacrifice. If men were allowed to continue drinking imported rum, argued some women, why must they lose their own social ritual? Loyalist Peter Olivier joked that, although most ladies agreed to only drink tea they already possessed when they needed it to forestall sickness, “they were cautious enough to lay in large Stocks before they promised; & they could be sick just as suited their Convenience or Inclination.” Wolf, As Various as their Land, pp. 80–81, 85; Federhen, Paul Revere, Silversmith, pp. 9–11.

  78. Federhen, “Artisan to Entrepreneur,” pp. 67–68; Skerry, “Revolutionary Revere,” p. 51; Falino, “The Customers of Paul Revere,” p. 174. Dr. Paine’s tea service was a gift to his new wife, Lois Orne, a distant relative of Revere’s wife Sarah Orne.

  79. Federhen, “Artisan to Entrepreneur,” p. 70; Federhen, Paul Revere, Silversmith, pp. 19–22, 25, 30–31.

  80. Revere made his most famous creation, one of the most famous pieces of silver ever designed, to commemorate an important Patriot event. In June 1768, the Massachusetts General Court disobeyed a direct order from Secretary of State Hillsborough by voting not to rescind a circular letter protesting the Townshend Act. Fifteen members of the Sons of Liberty who took part in this vote commissioned Revere to make a large engraved bowl celebrating the event. The result, called the Sons of Liberty Bowl (or merely Liberty Bowl), is a punch bowl bursting with engraved patriotic slogans and images such as a liberty cap, the Magna Carta, and three images relating to British reformer John Wilkes. Revere took the bold step of placing his maker’s mark squarely at the center of the piece, exposing himself to charges of sedition. As a complementary finishing touch to this political statement Revere designed and engraved A Warm Place—Hell, a copperplate print depicting the seventeen house members who voted to rescind as they sadly marched toward the gaping jaws of hell, funded by fifteen patrons whose names feature prominently around the bowl. Edwin J. Hipkiss, “A Note on the Origin of the Paul Revere Liberty Bowl,” Museum of Fine Arts pamphlet, February 16, 1949; Brigham, Paul Revere’s Engravings, p. 136; Triber, A True Republican, pp. 64–65; McLean Ward, “Boston Goldsmiths,” p. 130; Falino, “The Customers of Paul Revere,” p. 172.

  81. He earned a high of more than 294 pounds in 1762, and recorded an income of only 11 pounds in 1770. However, this low figure is extremely dubious. Revere did not record income from dentistry and other sources, and in general his records are incomplete, particularly when he was occupied with Revolutionary activities such as in 1770. “Waste Book and Memoranda (1761–1783),” reel 5, vol. 1, RFP; described and analyzed further in Triber, A True Republican, p. 209.

  82. Perkins, The Economy of Colonial America, p. x ; Triber, A True Republican, pp. 35, 71; Federhen, “Artisan to Entrepreneur,” p. 69; Federhen, Paul Revere, Silversmith, p. 15; Nash, The Urban Crucible, pp. 207–208.

  83. Quote taken from Elbridge Henry Goss, The Life of Colonel Paul Revere (Boston: Plimpton Press, 1902), p. 110. See also Triber, A True Republican,
pp. 90–92; Forbes, Paul Revere, pp. 183–186.

  84. Revere’s uncles Thomas and Nathaniel Hitchborn were boat builders as were his cousins Robert and Thomas Jr. Cousin Benjamin was a lawyer and cousin William was a hatter. In-laws, such as cousin-in-law Nathaniel Fosdick, also offered him their business. Federhen, Paul Revere, Silversmith, p. 32.

  85. Falino, “The Customers of Paul Revere,” pp. 169–173; Federhen, “Artisan to Entrepreneur,” pp. 74–75.

  86. Federhen, Paul Revere, Silversmith, p. 33; Steven C. Bullock, Revolutionary Brotherhood: Freemasonry and the Transformation of the American Social Order, 1730–1840 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1996), pp. 95–97; Triber, A True Republican, p. 83.

  87. Triber, A True Republican, p. 85; Larkin, Reshaping of Everyday Life, p. 44; Falino, “The Customers of Paul Revere,” pp. 153, 160; Skerry, “Revolutionary Revere,” p. 47; Federhen, “Artisan to Entrepreneur,” p. 74; Federhen, Paul Revere, Silversmith, pp. 29–31.