Local author brings rich history alive in ‘Cincinnati Silver’
Turpin Hills resident Amy Dehan came to Cincinnati in 2001 as a research assistant in the Cincinnati Art Museum. It was that position which led directly to her authoring the new book “Cincinnati Silver.”
“This is now the definitive resource on Cincinnati silver,” said Dehan, now curator of decorative arts & design for the museum. “I really wanted people in Cincinnati, and across the United States, to realize that we had this very rich history here.”
That was the goal of the book from the outset. Dehan is a researcher, an art historian always looking into these types of things, and appreciates volumes of good documented information. It was while she was working with the former curator of decorative arts & design, Anita Ellis, that the idea for a book on Cincinnati silver was born.
Ellis was already recognized as the preeminent scholar on Rookwood and ceramics in Cincinnati. She had become a mentor to Dehan. The two were working together on a book about the art-carved furniture in Cincinnati. Then Ellis told Dehan they already knew a lot about ceramics and furniture in Cincinnati, but “We know very little about the metal work. I think that should be your next project.”
“I, quite naively, said yeah, OK,” Dehan recalled of the conversation that launched her next decade researching and writing about Cincinnati silver. “It’s been over 10 years I’ve been working on this. I had no idea it was going to take that long.”
Very little research had already been done on the history of the silver trade in Cincinnati. A 1975 book by Elizabeth Beckman covered from the founding of the city in 1788 up until 1850.
“The American silver industry really booms after 1850,” Dehan said. “That’s where a good piece of the story was.” She decided to look at the broader scope of time from 1788-1940. There was no cache of records sitting anywhere in a historical society or library neatly tied with a bow.
With the help of volunteer researchers, like Janet Haartz and her curatorial assistant Nora Kohl, they started going page-by-page through Cincinnati directories up to 1900. They made lists of people who were advertising in silver, or allied trades.
“It was interesting to see how the trade changed with the rise and the fall of the city,” Dehan said. “It’s like detective work. It’s really kind of fun uncovering those stories.”
Silver was a luxury commodity in the earliest days with no way to trace it if it was lost or stolen. People had silversmiths melt their coins down and create objects like coffee pots, or teapots with their monogram designed into it. There were no banks in those days. Dehan learned the men working with the silver were very trusted “pillars of the community.” Their stories were interesting and became the stories of “Cincinnati Silver.”
Besides working with silver, they did other things like advocate for early railroads. Some started banks and used their metalworking skills to engrave printing plates for early currency. One was a hot air balloonist named Richard Clayton.
“He made a record-breaking journey in 1835 that made the newspapers all over the world,” Dehan said. “He went from Cincinnati to a county in Virginia via hot air balloon.”
Richard Clayton, more than 150 biographies, and photo images by Rob Deslongchamps throughout the book reveal the rich history of the booming silver trade in Cincinnati. The stories of anyone who was anyone from the silversmiths, like the Duhme Brothers, to the prominent families like the Fenton Lawson family. If you like Cincinnati history, there is a lot in this book. All the big players are in it
“It tells a great story about the development of Cincinnati,” Dehan said, “especially the development of a luxury goods market here. This was a city of great wealth.”
The size of the trade was double what Dehan expected to find. It just took 10 years for her to put it all together in a book. She began to develop the collection through acquisitions and gifts. They quadrupled the size of the collection to more than 400 pieces of Cincinnati silver. Two hundred of those were on exhibition this past summer in a show of the same title. The book is doing well and over 22,000 attended the exhibition.
“It’s been a fun adventure,” Dehan said. “Great objects, great stories, and interesting connections with people here in Cincinnati who still have these family connections and pieces. It’s really a book about Cincinnati in much broader ways than just about silver.”
Where to get a copy
“Cincinnati Silver” is available at the Cincinnati Art Museum Gift Shop, and online at cincinnatiartmuseum.org, or at Joseph Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati.
More at: www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org
Where to get a copy
“Cincinnati Silver” is available at the Cincinnati Art Museum Gift Shop, and online at cincinnatiartmuseum.org, or at Joseph Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati.
More at: www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org