Virginia Metalcrafters Harvin Colonial Williamsburg Brass Andirons

By A Mystery Man Writer

Mid Century iron and brass andirons / firedogs by Harvin / Virginia Metalcrafters for the Colonial Williamsburg Restoration line of products. Features
Mid Century iron and brass andirons / firedogs by Harvin / Virginia Metalcrafters for the Colonial Williamsburg Restoration line of products. Features colonial styling with scrolled ball and claw feet and baluster shape with trophy urn tops. Item number CW 100. The Harvin Company of Baltimore was founded in 1877, specializing in brass crafts and fine decorative accessories. It was acquired by Virginia Metalcrafters in 1956. (Source: Trivetology) Virginia Metalcrafters (VM) was founded in 1895 as the W. J. Loth Stove Company of Waynesboro, Virginia. (In 1890 it was called the Waynesboro Stove Company – still run by Mr. Loth.) They initially manufactured cast iron stoves and wood and coal heaters. In 1938 Loth installed a brass foundry and Virginia Metalcrafters became the brand name of the company’s brass and iron giftware line. March 1, 1940 marked the first use of the VM Betty Lamp hallmark on their products. When brass was once again available after World War II, production was resumed and their gift line was expanded. Charles Eckman bought the firm in 1953 and incorporated under the name Virginia Metalcrafters, Inc. In 1956 Virginia Metalcrafters acquired the Harvin Company of Baltimore, makers of fine brassware. In addition to their own original designs, Virginia Metalcrafters produced souvenir trivets for a variety of American touist destinations as well as many reproduction pieces for Colonial Williamsburg / Williamsburg Restoration, Inc. The Waynesboro foundry doors closed in 2006. (Source: Trivetology) Colonial Williamsburg is the restored and reconstructed historic area of Williamsburg, Virginia, a small city between the York and James rivers that was founded in 1632. It was a center of political activity before and during the American Revolution and has since become the site of an ambitious restoration project launched in the 1930s and funded largely by the family of John D. Rockefeller Jr. With many of its historic structures rebuilt and with “interpreters” reenacting eighteenth-century life, Colonial Williamsburg has become a landmark in the history of the American preservation movement. A number of companies collaborate with and bear the hallmark of Williamsburg Restoration, Inc for the reproduction of various household items from the American Colonial era. Only the approved reproductions and adaptations made by specific licensed manufacturers under the supervision of Colonial Williamsburg Inc, bear this seal of approval. (Source: Encyclopedia Virginia / Trivetology)