13 Colonies Silversmith

Business was Tough for Colonial Silversmiths

Silversmiths were among the most numerous of colonial craftsman. Business could often be difficult as many wealthy citizens imported their silver objects from England. Some silversmiths in America were forced to make their livings by importing silverware from England and selling it. Furthermore, it was very difficult to obtain unfinished silver and colonial silversmiths often had to buy the old silver pieces from citizens just to have silver to work with. Many silversmiths (who also called themselves goldsmiths) made relatively few original items such as spoons, buttons, and shoe buckles. They would also repair items.

Ingots and Anvils

Silversmiths fashioned their objects from thick pieces of metal called ingots. Upon an anvil, the ingot would be hammered until it was thin enough. It was then placed over a stake where it was shaped and smoothed. The last step was polishing the piece with pumice, decomposed limestone (known as tripoli) and powdered red iron ore (known as jeweler’s rouge).

13 Colonies Artisans and Trades Articles and Activities

• 13 Colonies Artisans and Trades Printable Scavenger Hunt
• 13 Colonies Artisans and Trade Interactive Scavenger Hunt
• Life as a Blacksmith Reading Passage and Critical Thinking Multiple Choice Questions (Printable)
• Life as a Blacksmith Reading Passage and Critical Thinking Multiple Choice Questions (Interactive with Immediate Feedback and Score Report)
• Life as a Blacksmith Cloze Reading (Interactive with Immediate Feedback)
• Life as a Blacksmith Cloze Reading (Printable)
• Life as a Blacksmith Sentence Puzzles - Re-arrange the words and punctuation to form actual sentences. This program gives immediate feedback!
• Life as a Blacksmith Sentence Surgeons - Find and correct the bad spelling, grammar, and punctuation in the sentences. This program gives immediate feedback!
• 13 Colonies Trades Word Search
• 13 Colonies Trades Correct-me Paragraph - Identify and correct the incorrect facts in the paragraph. Very fun! This program gives immediate feedback!
• Ben Franklin and Colonial Printing Video

13 Colonies Artisans and Trades

• Apothecary
• Blacksmith
• Brickmaker
• Candlemaker
• Cobbler
• Cooper
• General Store Keeper
• Gunsmith
• Hatter
• Milliner
• Printer
• Religion in the 13 Colonies
• Saddlemaker
• Silversmith
• Tavern Keeper
• Wheelwright
• Wigmaker