Books › Ayars, Contributions to the Art of Music in America by the Music Industries of Boston (1937) — the Squier, Farley, Rettberg, Rockwell and Elias Howe matter, 1937 › scan 212
Scan 212
Ayars, Contributions to the Art of Music in America by the Music Industries of Boston (1937) — the Squier, Farley, Rettberg, Rockwell and Elias Howe matter, 1937
14 lines. Read by computer on 27 September 2026. Printed page 186. See the scan on archive.org.
1"The first bell foundry in America was probably that of Col. Aaron Hobart at Abington, Mass. Information relative to the establishment of this foundry is contained in Hobart's History of Abington where it is stated that in 1761 a deserter from the British army, Gillimore, at one time a workman in an English foundry, was employed by Col. Hobart and retained in service for many years. When Col. Hobart gave up business he sent one of his sons with a blacksmith to Boston and taught Paul Revere to mould and cast the first bell which he ever made. This bell was cast in 1792 at the foundry in [address hidden], now [address hidden].. It proved to be a rough, unhomogeneous casting, and its sound was correspondingly harsh, puny, and unmusical. Originally hung in the belfry of the New Brick (Second) Church on Middle now [address hidden], Boston, it is now in use in St. James Church, North Cambridge.
3"Revere found that there were many details to be studied in the selection and proportioning of metals, and in heating, casting, and hanging the bell… In 1804 he sent his son, Joseph Warren Revere, to visit the principal foundries in England and the continent, and after a few years he was able to turn out superior bells of which his masterpiece is still in use in King's Chapel."
5"From the stock book of Paul Revere & Son, it appears that between the years 1792 and 1828 three hundred and ninety-eight bells were cast at this foundry. Of these the heaviest, weighing 2884 lbs., was sent to Providence, R. I. Many of the lighter bells were shipped to Cuba and Porto Rico for use on sugar plantations."
7Paul Revere adopted the English method of hanging his bells, but bungling sextons generally bolted a counterweight above the headstock to slow up the rotation. This tended to make the tones harsh, created such friction as to make the bells more or less unmanageable and made the clapper rest upon the sound bow at its impact, thus interrupting the sound waves in such a way as sooner or later to cause a fracture. This has proved the principal mode of destruction of not less than fifty of Paul Revere's bells.
9The foundry which cast bells, brass cannon and many iron articles was transferred to the Revere estate in Canton, still owned
116 From a clipping based on Essex Institute Historical Collections, Vol. XLVII October 1911 & XLVIII January 1912 by Dr. Arthur H. Nichols.
127 Essex Institute Historical Collections Vol. XLVII No. 4, October 1911, p. 299-300. The Bells of Paul and Joseph Revere, by Dr. Arthur H. Nichols.
138 See Bishop, J. Leander. A History of American Manufactures from 1608 to 1860 p. 497 for a list of these articles.
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