quote:
Amesbury silversmith putting away hammer and anvil after 48 years on the job BRUNO MATARAZZO JR. Newburyport Daily News
First Posted: July 31, 2011 - 12:01 am
Last Updated: July 31, 2011 - 12:02 am
AMESBURY, Mass. — Bob Lapham hoists his 5-pound forging hammer over his shoulder and hurls it forward, hitting a rectangular sterling silver bar on an anvil.
At least the sterling silver starts off as rectangular.
With each strike, the sterling silver bar slowly transforms into what begins to resemble a spoon. It will take some more time, about 40 minutes, and hundreds of more whacks until the spoon is complete.
Since he was 18 years old, Lapham has constantly hit his hammer onto his anvil with its polished surface to create an array of utensils, hollowware and even jewelry that can be found in homes across the country.
"I don't consider myself an artist, but a craftsman," said Lapham, 66, who is retiring after 48 years at Old Newbury Crafters.
The work of Lapham and his colleague, Geoffrey T. Blake, is the same kind of work done by Paul Revere.
If the American Revolutionary patriot could walk through the doors of Old Newbury Crafters' basement studio on Main Street, he would find that not much has changed since the 1770s.
The industrial revolution did make the manufacturing of flatware easier, as machines mass-produced a utensil that could take an hour or more to forge by hand.
Now, the pieces that come out of Old Newbury Crafters, the largest producer of handcrafted flatware, are primarily purchased for special occasions, such as weddings.
"Our customers by and large are not Walmart shoppers, not to denigrate Walmart shoppers," said Lapham, who lives in Newburyport. "I'm one of them."
Stepping into Lapham and Blake's studio is like stepping into another era.
At their workbenches, well-worn tools show their age next to the faded pictures of family and loved ones.
The sound of the hammer pounding on the sterling silver reverberates through the brick basement.
The hand-wrought silver created by Lapham and his colleague harkens back to the days when Greater Newburyport was the home of well-known silver manufacturers, including Old Newbury and Towle Silversmiths, which has since shut down.
When Lapham first walked through the doors of Old Newbury Crafters, it was based on Merrimac Street in Newburyport. The company relocated to Amesbury in 1979.
Lapham hasn't become rich financially from his work. Instead, and more importantly, he's proud of the work he's done with his own hands, he said.
He takes pride in the thank-you letters he has received, including one from a woman appreciative of having her stolen silverware replaced. Lapham handmade the new silverware set just by looking at an old photograph.
The road to becoming a silversmith wasn't an obvious one.
The unemployment office referred Lapham to Swift Barnes, who owned the company in the 1960s. Despite having no experience, Lapham was hired on the spot by Barnes.
Lapham didn't have many choices at the time. He was just out of high school, and he didn't have the grades to go to college. He spent his time in high school chasing girls instead of hitting the books, he said.
Learning the trade wasn't easy, and it took years. Getting the hand-eye coordination right and the skills down pat required work.
"You're striving for constant quality and speed because time is money," Lapham said. "The challenge was to learn all the nuances."
Learning to craft sterling silver, which is made of 92.5 percent fine silver and 7.5 percent copper, isn't rocket science, but Lapham said it does require one thing: a desire.
Lapham, who will join his wife in retirement, plans to first take some time to "do nothing," but after that he hopes the owners of Old Newbury Crafters will allow him to train a new employee. The company is owned by Dooney & Bourke, a publicly traded company based out of Norwalk, Conn., which specializes in fashion accessories.
"I still feel that I have value to this company," Lapham said. "I'm happy to say they're not pushing me out."
Bob is one of the unsung heroes who has brought so much pleasure to those who have used the flatware he hand forged in his 48 year career.
My hats of to and gratitude to Bob. It is folks like he who keep this craft alive.
SMP Silver Salon Forums
SSFFriend: Email This Page to Someone! 
posted 07-31-2011 11:04 AM
