Historical Object of the Week: Items from Paul Revere's Silver Shop

Each week we will present an artifact from the  collection that speaks to Concord’s storied history. We welcome comments, memories and suggestions for future items.

We all know the story of the midnight ride of Paul Revere (1735-1818).  But did you know that Paul Revere’s active silver shop produced tea equipage for Boston-area clients for more than 50 years?

These examples in the Concord Museum collection—a silver Sugar Bowl and Creampot —are among the later products of Revere’s shop, and were made about 1800-1810.

At the time these pieces were made, Revere derived some of his shapes from, among other sources, contemporary ceramics and Sheffield plated wares. The tea set, of which these pieces were a part, descended in the Edmands family and the first owner may have been Barnabas Edmands (1778-1872), the great-great-grandson of John Edmands of Concord. The silver was a gift to the Concord Museum in 2000.

Visitors to the Concord Museum on Patriots Day were able to see Silversmith Stephen Smithers demonstrate the techniques Revere and other colonial silversmiths used. Then, they were able to take part in a Paul Revere Quest to discover more about the 1775 midnight ride, and see the famous lantern that hung in the North Church, and admire the silver of Paul Revere.