Benjamin Halsted (February 17, 1734 – May 22, 1817), also spelled Benjamin Halstead, was an American

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exact synonyms, as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are (or were, at least) largely the same but differed in that t ...

active in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.thimble A thimble is a small pitted cup worn on the finger that protects it from being pricked or poked by a needle while sewing. The Old English word , the ancestor of thimble, is derived from Old English , the ancestor of the English word ''thumb''. ...

factory in the United States. Halsted was born in

Hempstead, New York The Town of Hempstead is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) on Long Island, in New York, United States. The town's combined population was 793,409 at the 2020 census. It occupies the s ...

, made a freeman of New York City in 1764, and married Sarah Treadwell on October 22, 1765. In New York City from 1756 to 1766 he was a partner with silversmith Myer Myers as Halsted & Myers, and in 1766 with his brother Mathias in

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.lnder built, speaks good English, by trade a goldsmith; he generally affects to be very polite, and it's more than probable he may pass as a freeman. Said negro was carried to New rk and left in charge of Mr. Ephraim Brasher, goldsmith, from whom he abscounded, and returned to me after skulking about this city for a considerable time: had on when he went away, an old green coat, fustian waistcoat and breeches, a pair of half boots, but may probably changed his dress. All masters of vessels and others are forbid to harbour or carry him off at their peril. Whoever takes up said negro and delivers him to John Le Telier, goldsmith in Market street, or to the subscriber in New York, shall have the above reward, and all reasonable charges paid. : "Benjamin Halsted" - ''Pennsylvania Packet'', May 1, 1784 * "Thimble Manufactory, Benjamin Halstead Respectfully informs his Friends and the Public in general, that he still continues carrying on the Gold and Silversmith business No. 67 Broad street, he has brought the manufactory of Gold, Silver and Pinchbeck Thimbles with steel top to great perfection and thinks he could make a sufficient quantity to supply the United States. Citizens, consider your interest, and encourage American Manufactures. : "Those imported are of the Slightest kind, I will engage that one of mine, will do more service than 3 of them, and I know by experience, that imported ones of the quality of mine cost 18 shillings per doz. and could not be sold by 25 percent, as low as mine. Every dealer in this article will soon find the advantage of keeping Halsted's Thimbles, and have the satisfaction of knowing that he d"oes his customers justice. Silver and steel Bodkins, tooth and ear picks by the doz. or single." - Advertised in the ''Diary or Evening Register'', New York City, August 30, 1794. His works are collected in the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the list of largest art museums, 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 painting ...

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at ...

Museum of the City of New York The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) is a history and art museum in Manhattan, New York City, New York. It was founded by Henry Collins Brown, in 1923Beard, Rick. "Museum of the City of New York" in to preserve and present the history ...

References

"Benjamin Halstead"
American Silversmiths. * ''Catalogue of an exhibition of silver used in New York, New Jersey and the South: with a note on early New York silversmiths'', Richard Townley Haines Halsey, The Gilliss Press, 1911, page 28. * ''New Jersey Archives, Vol. XXV: Newspaper Abstracts 1766-1767'', 1903, page 143. * ''American Silver in the Art Institute of Chicago'', Art Institute of Chicago, Yale University Press, 2016, page 96. * ''Benjamin Halstead: America's First Thimble Manufacturer'', John J. Von Hoelle, Dine-American, 1985. * ''A History of Thimbles'', Edwin F. Holmes, Cornwall Books, 1985, page 59. * ''Findings: The Material Culture of Needlework And Sewing'', Mary Carolyn Beaudry, Yale University Press, 2006, page 99. {{DEFAULTSORT:Halsted, Benjamin American silversmiths 1734 births 1817 deaths 18th-century American artisans