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training, research, and historical practice
Karl J. Schmidt — Historical Tinsmith
I am a historical tinsmith specializing in the reproduction of 18th- and 19th-century tinware using period materials, tools, and documented original designs. My work is informed by direct study of historic objects, museum collections, and archival research, and is intended for collectors, historians, and living-history practitioners who care how historic objects were actually made—not merely how they appear.
I work primarily with traditional hot-dipped tinplate and make extensive use of 19th-century hand tools and hand-powered tinsmithing machines. I do not artificially age my work; wear and patina are the result of use, not surface treatments. When original patterns are unavailable, I acquire and study antique tinware in order to measure, document, and faithfully reproduce historic forms.
Training and Lineage
My professional practice is grounded in extended training with recognized masters of traditional tinsmithing and sustained work in a historically equipped shop. My formal training began in 2004 and included instruction at the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer under resident tinsmith Loren Miller. I work in a shop equipped with a range of restored 19th-century hand tools and hand-powered tinsmithing machines, supplemented as necessary by modern equivalents where no historic tools survive or are practical.
Recognizing the limits of short-format instruction, I pursued advanced training at Historic Eastfield Village in East Nassau, New York, studying under master tinsmith William McMillen—widely regarded as one of the most accomplished tinsmiths in the United States. Extended instruction with McMillen provided the foundation for my professional practice, emphasizing historical design, period techniques, and disciplined workmanship. I later returned to Eastfield Village for advanced workshops taught by William McMillen and Steve Delisle, Master Tinsmith at Colonial Williamsburg, in 2018 and again in 2022.
William McMillen’s death in late 2022 marked a significant loss to the tinsmithing community. His influence on my work—technical, ethical, and historical—remains central to my practice.
Practice and Research
My work is produced for collectors, historians, educators, and historic sites that require historically defensible objects made to documented standards. It focuses on historically grounded reproduction tinware based on 18th- and 19th-century originals. I routinely study museum collections and private holdings and maintain a reference collection of historic tinware made by past and contemporary tinsmiths, including William McMillen, Peter Blum III, Horman Foose, Joseph Messersmith, Joseph Messner, Wib Lauter, Christian Hagemann, and Charles Rittle.
In addition to making tinware, I research and write about the history of tinsmithing and historic tin goods. My published work includes:
- “Tinsmithing and Tin Goods in the Fur Trade,” EAIA Chronicle, Vol. 72, No. 2 (June 2019), pp. 42–54
- “The Steamboat Bertrand: A Tinware Time Capsule from 1865,” EAIA Chronicle, Vol. 72, No. 3 (September 2019), pp. 109–121
- “William Billinge’s Early 19th-Century Tinman’s and Brazier’s Tools Catalogue,” Tools and Trades (UK), No. 155 (Summer 2023), pp. 21–28
- “Thomas Passmore: Tinsmithing Entrepreneur in the Early Republic,” EAIA Chronicle, Vol. 76, No. 2 (June 2023), pp. 45–65
- “Thomas Passmore: Tinsmithing Entrepreneur in the Early Republic, Part II” EAIA Chronicle, Vol. 77, No. 4 (December 2024), pp. 149-165
My work has been recognized repeatedly by Early American Life magazine and I have been included in its Directory of Traditional American Crafts for five consecutive years.
Teaching and Preservation
Following in the tradition of my mentors, I teach tinsmithing as a workshop-based craft. I have led classes in the United States and abroad, including a three-day workshop at North House Folk School in Grand Marais, Minnesota, in 2019.
In 2022, I taught two week-long master classes in Derby, England, sponsored by the Heritage Crafts Association (UK), of which I am a member. These workshops were supported in part by the Worshipful Company of Tinplate Workers alias Wire Workers of London and hosted by the Museum of Making in Derby, located within an early 18th-century silk mill recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The goal of these courses was to help preserve traditional tinsmithing skills in the United Kingdom, where the craft is classified by the Heritage Crafts Association as critically endangered. Instruction emphasized hands-on work using vintage English tinsmithing tools and historically grounded processes.
Decorative Tinwork
In addition to historical reproduction tinware, I design and make decorative tinwork—particularly Christmas ornaments and seasonal pieces—drawing inspiration from European and Pennsylvania German folk traditions. My ancestors lived in Pennsylvania in the 18th century, and this work allows me to explore a parallel tradition rooted in vernacular design rather than strict reproduction.
Continuing Practice
I work daily in the shop, whether fulfilling commissions, developing new designs, or refining technique. As with any traditional craft, mastery is an ongoing process, sustained by study, repetition, and respect for historical precedent. My aim is not to replicate the past superficially, but to engage with it honestly—through materials, methods, and careful work.
tools of the tinsmithing trade
The tools below are all ones I use every day in my shop. Most of them are from the 19th century; many of the tools pre-date the US Civil War.
This photo shows a basic set of tinsmith's hand tools, including stakes, over which the tinplate is shaped.
These are the three main swedges used by tinsmiths historically. From top to bottom: square-pan swedge, creasing swedge, and cullender swedge.
Beginning in the early 19th century, tinsmith's used simple hand-crank machines to speed up some of the repetitive work. From left to right in this photo: a large burring machine and a wiring machine.
In this photo, clockwise from the top left, are three additional tinsmith's machines: small burring machine, setting down machine (with original wood stand), and a turning machine.