South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1918-03-24
Copper as it uas Used Long Ago

door knockers. chimney place fittings
and ornaments. ewers, basins and
many other such necessities.
The goth century collector, accus-
toned as he is to machine and fac
and Of regular shapes. is apt to be
little disappointed with the cop
per curios, roughly made and badly
formed. 1t would appear as if most
of the collectable copper goods were
made after the days when the old
guilds so carefully controlled the
making of copper and latten in 10th
bury" writes f. W. Burgess, in his
Chat on Old Copper and Brass "
When their power of control waned.
craftsmen who had been employed
by guild members worked for them
selves. and there was but little SUI
pervisiOn over the metal wares made
by the coppersmith. who was often
retailer Of his own wares. When
the hardware dealer or copper man
became an esta blished trader. i'm the
18th century he would employ "a
journeyman cOppersmith in his little
workshop. who would fashion the
utensils with a hammer on a wood
en- block, and afterward planish
them by hand as he thought fit. In
the making of such goods, there
was great irregularity and the
dealer and his customer. too. were
dependent upon the whim Of the
craftsman That was before the
days of machine-made goods. In
stead of the brass or copper being
pressed and stamped by machinery
and carefully finished. the utensils
were made in a ough-and-ready
way on the wooden block and simply
hammered in the rounded cavities
which had been made i'm it. Sauce
pans. stewpans, and jelly molds We're
beaten into shape, and then followed
and dished Many of the old cop
persmiths had passed. years. &C..
shaping kettles and deity fashion
ing from a sheet of brass even quite
ornamental domestic articles of util-
ity. they would decorate by hand a
brass chestnut rooster. with on other
tools but "a small hammer and a
punch. and with the same simple
fancy pattern on the lid of warm
ing pan. Some coppersmiths won
fame i'm the fashioning Of furnace
pans. better known as washing cop
pers and other would undertake the
roofing Of houses and churches.
There is yet another reason given
why SO many of the old copper pots
and pans are irregular i'm shape and
are often fitted with apparently un-
suitable handles. IL is that most OF
these old vessels at one time or au-
other have undergone repairs. and
were frequently treated by uuskilled
Vorkmen. Among the street cries
OF London. one of the oldest was:
ANY pots or pans 90 mend 90 The
travelling tinker was a repairing cop
persmith. too. and much of his time
was occupied i'm mending the copper
and brass cooking utensils used at
the farmhouses and in the villages
through which he passed. His meth
DDS OF dealing with the vessels in
trusted 90 him for repairs were not
always he best as museum relics
testify"
Enameled ware has had its day
and Stu adornS many kitchen of
these modern times: aluminium is
extremely popular and apparently
growing more $50. bur there are also
"a great many housekeepers who. re-
memhering those fascinating old
French kitCheus-or English ones
are gradually adjoining their own
kitchen walls with rows of shining
copper Cas~erole~