Joseph Edwards Jr. (November 11, 1737 – April 23, 1783) 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

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. Edwards was born into a distinguished family of Boston silversmiths. His grandfather, John Edwards (1671-1746), came to Boston in 1688; after his death, he was described in the '' Boston Evening-Post'' of April 14, 1746, as "John Edwards, goldsmith" and "a Gentleman of a very fair Character and well respected by all that knew him." Three of his sons - Joseph Edwards (1707-1777) senior,

Samuel Edwards Sam Edwards (1915–2004) was an American actor. Sam or Samuel Edwards may also refer to: *Samuel Edwards (Pennsylvania politician) (1785–1850), U.S. representative from Pennsylvania *Samuel L. Edwards (1789–1877), New York politician * Samuel ...

, and Thomas Edwards - also became silversmiths. The young Edwards appears to have apprenticed in the family, and advertised his own trade as early as 1758. According to a report in the ''Boston News-Letter'' of March 21, 1765, a thief broke into his shop and stole the following items: "34 pairs of wrought Silver Shoe Buckles, 20 pair of similar knee buckles, 6 pair of plain shoe buckles, 2 Silver Snuff Boxes, one with a Tortoise Shell Top, 9 Stock Buckles, 3 gold Necklaces, 5 gold Rings, several pair Stone Buttons, 3 pair brilliant Stone Earings, set in Gold, 5 pair gold cypher earings, several pair of silver cypher earings, several stone Rings; a Box of Gold Beads; 3 child’s Whistles; one pair of gold Buttons and 1 silver Pipe." His work is collected in the

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 ...

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, Houston The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. The permanent collection of the museum spans more than 5,000 years of history with nearly 80,000 works from six continents. Follo ...

, and

Yale University Art Gallery The Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) is an art museum in New Haven, Connecticut. It houses a major encyclopedic collection of art in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University. Although it embraces all cultures and period ...

References

* ''American Silversmiths and Their Marks: The Definitive (1948) Edition'', Stephen Guernsey Cook Ensko, Courier Corporation, 1983, page 50. * ''American Silver of the XVII & XVIII Centuries: A Study Based on the Clearwater Collection'', Alphonso Trumpbour Clearwater, Clara Louise Avery, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1920, pages 79-80.
"Joseph Edwards"
American Silversmiths.
"USA, regulated $15, Joseph Edwards plug and countermark"
iCollector. * ''Historic Silver of the Colonies and Its Makers'', Francis Hill Bigelow, Macmillan, 1917, page 271. {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Joseph, Jr. American silversmiths 1737 births 1783 deaths 18th-century American artisans