Arthur J. Stone (1847-1938)
Of Gardner
Dean of American Silversmiths
Arthur
J. Stone was born in Sheffield, England, in 1847. When Stone was 10 years old his
father died, leaving the family penniless. He had to leave school to help
support his widowed mother. Four years later, Stone was apprenticed to a master
silversmith. During his apprenticeship, Stone spent three nights a week
attending the Natural School of Design in Sheffield. In order to pay the
tuition he worked overtime, after completing the 59 hours per week required of
apprentices. Stone undertook this extra effort because he was not satisfied
with the idea of just being an expert worker in his field – he also wanted to
understand the concepts of design in his craft.
Upon
the completion of his apprenticeship, Stone worked and studied in Edinburgh,
Scotland, for a year, and then returned to Sheffield. While in Sheffield he was
attracted by American advertisements offering good salaries for skilled
silversmiths. Thus, he left England in 1884 and took a position with a silver
craft shop in Concord, New Hampshire.
Three
years after his arrival in the United States, Arthur Stone came to Gardner.
Here he became superintendent and designer at the newly established Frank W.
Smith Silver Co. In the years to come, the Smith Silver Co. became one of the
finest equipped factories in the country, manufacturing high grade silverware,
both by machine and by hand. The company's former silver shop still remains at
the corner of Chestnut and Walnut Streets, although silver hasn't been crafted
there since the 1950s.
After
spending several years with the Smith Silver Co., Arthur Stone struck out on
his own and established a silversmith's shop in South Gardner in 1901. The shop
was located in a barn next to his home at 17 Winter Street. During the first
five years as an independent craftsman, Stone only worked on projects that he
could execute single-handedly. Then the demand for his work became so great
that he hired two full-time craftsmen. After 25 years of operation, the shop
was employing 12 men, eight of whom qualified as master craftsmen.
Arthur
Stone remained in business for 36 years. During that time the output from his
shop included such things as silver toys, cocktail shakers, bowls, trophies,
memorials, altar sets for churches, tankards, tea sets, and table silver in
various forms. Stone's craft can be found in private collections, churches
throughout the United States, and museums including the Metropolitan in New
York City and the Worcester Museum of Art.
One
of Arthur Stone's major undertakings was to copy for private ownership some of
the noted Revere pieces in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. He was allowed to
take exact measurements and to sketch the ornamental detail. However, his
greatest project was a monstrance, a receptacle in which the host is displayed,
which was made for the Church of the Advent in Boston. This particular piece
was done in gold, and took Stone and helper six months to complete.
Arthur
Stone's work can be recognized by his trademark. It has an "A" for
Arthur in the form of a chasing hammer with the handle extending through the
name "Stone" and crossing the "t." Each of the craftsmen
employed by him also signed their work. They had their initials stamped either
under or after the "sterling" label of the crafted piece.
Because
of illness, Arthur Stone retired in 1937 at the age of 90, and died the
following year. Upon his retirement, Stone sold his shop to Henry Heywood of
Gardner. Heywood continued the business for a short period of time, and then
his sons conducted its operation until the mid 1950s. Some of Arthur Stone's
former craftsmen, including George C. Erickson and Herman W. Glendenning,
continued to make beautiful silver items until their retirement in the early
1980s.
