Thomas Charles Fletcher (April 3, 1787 - November 14, 1866) was a prominent American silversmith and merchant, active in Boston and Philadelphia. His firm of Fletcher & Gardiner was nationally renowned.
Fletcher was born in Alstead, New Hampshire to Timothy Fletcher and Hannah Fosdick. In 1808 we went into business with Sidney Gardiner in Boston, and was listed as a jeweler in the 1809 Boston directory. In 1811 they moved their firm, Fletcher & Gardiner, to Philadelphia. By 1812, they had a sufficient reputation to win commissions for several trophies commemorating American victories in the War of 1812. In 1815 Fletcher visited England and France to buy retail merchandise. The partnership continued until Gardiner's death in 1827, when Fletcher brought Calvin W. Bennett into the business. The firm suffered financial reversals in the 1830s, and in 1842 was repossessed by creditors. Fletcher subsequently ran a boarding house in Philadelphia until 1850, when he moved to Delanco Township, New Jersey. He lived in Delanco until his death.
Silver by Fletcher and company is collected in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Harvard Art Museums, Winterthur Museum, and Yale University Art Gallery. His papers are archived in the Winterthur Museum.
Thomas Sully was an American portrait painter. Born in Great Britain, he lived most of his life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He painted in the style of Thomas Lawrence. His subjects included national political leaders such as United States presidents Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, and Andrew Jackson, Revolutionary War hero General Marquis de Lafayette, and many leading musicians and composers. In addition to portraits of wealthy patrons, he painted landscapes and historical pieces such as the 1819 The Passage of the Delaware. His work was adapted for use on United States coinage.
John Axel Prip (1922–2009), also known as Jack Prip, was a master metalsmith known for setting standards of excellence in American metalsmithing. His works and designs have become famous for bringing together the formal, technical tradition of Danish design into harmony with the American desire for innovation. Several of his designs for the Reed and Barton Company are still in production today.
Jeremiah Dummer was the first American-born silversmith, whose works are today highly valued, two items of his having sold in 2004 and 2007 both for $204,000. He was also noted as a portrait painter and as an engraver, who created the first paper currency in Connecticut Colony. His son Jeremiah Jr. was involved with the foundation of Yale University.
Zachariah Brigden was a noted American silversmith active in Boston.
Samuel Casey was a noted silversmith and counterfeiter active in Little Rest (Kingston), Rhode Island.
Daniel Dupuy, Sr., was an American silversmith who was active from 1745-1805 in Philadelphia. He was born as the fourth child of Dr. John and Anne (Chardavoine) Dupuy, Huguenots, in New York City, and apprenticed in 1740 to his brother-in-law, Peter David, in Philadelphia. He married Eleanor Cox on September 6, 1746, in Philadelphia, and with her had six children, including silversmith Daniel Dupuy, Jr. Dupuy's works are collected in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Museum of American History, Winterthur, the Yale University Museum, and elsewhere.
Jacob Boelen was an early American silversmith, active in New York City. He was father to silversmith Henricus Boelen.
Jonathan Clarke was an American silversmith active in Newport and Providence, Rhode Island.
Sidney Gardiner was a prominent American silversmith and merchant, active in Boston and Philadelphia. His firm of Fletcher & Gardiner was nationally renowned.
Peter Lewis Krider, also known as P.L. Krider, was a noted American silversmith, active in Philadelphia.
Seraphim Masi was an American silversmith, active in Washington, D.C.. He is best known for creating the second Treaty Seal of the United States in 1825.
Anthony Rasch von Tauffkirchen was a German-American silversmith, active in Philadelphia (1804-1820) and New Orleans (1820-1858). According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, his works are credited with being "among the most sophisticated silver vessels produced in the United States in the early nineteenth century."
Joseph Richardson, Jr., was a noted American silversmith, active in Philadelphia.
Joseph Richardson Sr. was an American silversmith, active in Philadelphia. He has been described as one of the greatest silversmiths of his time.
Nathaniel Richardson was an American silversmith, active in Philadelphia.
George B. Sharp was an Irish-American silversmith, active in Philadelphia from about 1844-1874.
Jacobus Van Der Spiegel, also known as Jacobus Vander Spiegel, was an early American silversmith, active in New York City.
Samuel Vernon was an early American silversmith, active in Newport, Rhode Island.
John Christian Wiltberger Sr. was an American silversmith, active in Philadelphia.
Jacob Hurd was a leading American silversmith, active in Boston, and father to silversmiths Nathaniel Hurd (1729-1777) and Benjamin Hurd (1739-1781), as well as grandfather to Benjamin Hurd, Jr. (1778-1818).