I'm making Canteens Like the 1858 Smoothside with Pewter or Tin spout for $45.00 and CS Embossed Drum canteens for $35.00 and Drum Filter canteens for $55.00
Everything is made with Hot Dipped Tin and soldered using Pure tin. For the most LEAD FREE product on the market. Pakistan can't say that!
http://picasaweb.google.com/tinsmith...W8gOzwoerh6gE#
I have been making Tinware for Rev War, Civil War and Indain War reenactors for over 25 years.
I used to supply all of the largest Sutlers in the country and many overseas, until I had some major health issues.
But I'm making tin again, and everything I make is top notch. So don't confuse me with the JUNK that comes in from Pakistan. (Buy American)
PRODUCT REVIEW
A Cincinnati Depot Federal Issue Canteen
Recently your correspondent was given the opportunity to review one of the hot-dipped tin Pattern of 1858 canteen reproductions.
The canteen is a result of a relationship with The Tinsmith (George MacGillis). It is based on a previous reproduction, which like most modern reproductions, was lacking in some of the finer points of the original.
First, there is a lack of knowledge among many of us in reference to the Pattern of 1858 canteen. Most vendor offerings reflect this, though there have been a few areas of change in the past few years.
One of the best primers on the Federal canteen is Earl J. Coates’ article “The Civil War Canteens: Patterns of 1858 and 1862” as published in Military Collector & Historian (Vol. XLVII, No. 3, Fall 1995). [1] Other canteen related articles have appeared in the Watchdog, principally Chris Daley’s “We Drank From the Same [Federal] Canteen?” (Vol. 2, No. 2). [2] These articles arm the living historian with a good basic knowledge of the Pattern of 1858 canteen, and until recently, the knowledgeable living historian found available offerings wanting in accuracy.
The Pattern of 1858 canteen was a tin plated, sheet iron, “oblate spheroid” canteen constructed of two “semi-spherical” plates soldered together. This design is both uniquely American and a distinct departure from the previous pattern of tin drum canteen. While collectors have always called it the “Pattern of 1858”, there is a strong case, based on Quartermaster correspondence and early contracts, [3] that it is more properly the Pattern of 1857.
Following the idea that the common, everyday it is the norm of what should be represented in living history’s recreation of 1860s material culture, the average vendors’ offerings were a poor choice. These were restricted to Pattern of 1858 canteen of New York Depot models (as evidenced by the jack chain keeper and the hole for the same punched in one of the upper strap loops, which is a feature found only on New York Depot canteens). Often grossly oversize and made of inappropriate materials, these reproductions range from poor to marginal. Even available reproductions of the minority Pattern of 1862 “bullseye” canteens were neither fish nor fowl, as they exhibited these traits of New York Depot canteens on a canteen only contracted for by the Philadelphia Depot.
Recently the available offerings began to change. C&D Jarnagin began to offer their reproduction canteens with the option of having no jack chain hole in the upper sling loop and S&S Sutler began to offer the Tinsmith’s early efforts at more accurate Pattern of 1858 canteens. Mr. MacGillis efforts have resulted in having the Tinsmith produce an excellent reproduction of a typical, unmarked “white metal” spout, tin plated, Pattern of 1858 canteen as it would have been accepted at the Philadelphia Depot between 1857 and 1862, or at the Cincinnati Depot between May 1861 [4] and April 1863.
The example canteen received for review was made of accurate gauge stock, tin plated by the appropriate dipping process and its dimensions compared extremely favorably in all respects with a rather bashed up original in a local collection. [5] As, the spout of this prototype was incorrect. His current offerings have been corrected.
It should be noted that there are no contractor’s marks on the spout. It is not uncommon to find original canteens that are missing these marks, as many canteens were received at the Cincinnati Depot covered and strapped, with the contractor’s mark stamped on the strap and others (such as those received at Philadelphia) were so lightly marked as to wear off.
We can not expect The Tinsmith to offer canteens with every possible contractor’s marks.
Mr. Murley
NOTES:
[1] See also Fred C. Gaede and Earl J. Coates, “Civil War Cincinnati Depot Canteen Variations,” Military Collector & Historian, Vol. 50, No. 3, Fall 1998.
[2] See also LOOKING AT ORIGINALS [Vol. 8, No. 1]
[3] The first may have been let in “late” 1857.
[4] The Cincinnati Depot also contracted for a significant number of tin spouted canteens between 13 April 1863 and “as late as the summer of 1864.” See Gaede & Coates, cited above.
[5] I was unable to examine a relic canteen in the same general condition as the example, but did have several pictorial resources. Unfortunately, I cannot tell how much the example canteen resembles an original in new condition, as that is an oxymoron.
[6] Geo. D. Winchell, Marsh & Co. was one of two Cincinnati contractors. The firm produced 570,000 canteens from 1 September 1862 to 20 June 1864. Twenty-five thousand of these were made with tin spouts and the rest were probably white metal spouts. See Gaede & Coates.
[7] O. Holden delivered 211,000 canteens at Cincinnati under three contracts (1 Sep 1862, 11 Aug 1863, and 17 Sep 1863, of which 31,000 under the 11 Aug 1863 contract may have been tin spouted. There is a relic tin spouted canteen attributed to this company. See Gaede & Coates.
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Originally Posted by Goldendale Tinsmith
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