A publishing first , this memoir by a contemporary pewterer from Hillsborough Centre, New Hampshire, is set inside the day to-day routines and surprises of the pewter shop. It moves easily from the confines of the shop to the long reaches of pewter history. Gibson Pewter, wrote Charles Hull, curator of the London Guild, resembles some of the family firms around London in the 1700s. The Tales are about the casting, spinning, soldering, and finishing of pewter, and repairing old pewter. An open shop welcomes pewter enthusiasts, collectors, and curious vacationers.
Visitors come from near and far, including China and Russia.
There are Tales of apprentices', young people from the community, who worked summers in the pewter shop, and of television reporters who bring their equipment into the tight spaces of the shop producing remarkable picture stories of the craftsmen at work. Jonathan, the youngest son, decides to leave a promising business career in Manhattan and returns to the pewter shop, where his remarkable development of skills in a few years propels the product offerings to new heights. Jonathan himself describes creating replicas of two premier colonial pieces, the Bradford tankard, and the William Will teapot. His siblings Christopher and Lauren write chapters about their special memories of working in the pewter shop. There are Tales of craft fairs where father and son demonstrate, and craft shows where they exhibit among elite craftsmen from many states.