DL Trade Silver
Brooches
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Herrington
I first saw this design in the Herrington Collection. (The last 3rd photo shows a piece made by Laura Herrington, NFS).
1 ½ inch $55
1 inch $50
Other sizes can be made. This should look good up to 2.5 inches, but larger than that will probably need more engraving.
Block Arrows
This is my own design.
1 ½ inch $55
1 inch $50
Other sizes can be made. This should look good up to 2.5 inches, but larger than that will probably need more engraving.
Council Fire Brooch
Council Fire brooches are well documented, and there were probably many thousands made in many varieties. My favorite pattern is pictured, but I can probably make them up in any pattern you can show me a picture of.
1 ½ inch $60
Originals varied a little, but they were usually about this size.
Owl (Luckenbooth, Crowned Heart)
There are endless varieties of Luckenbooth brooches. The "crown" on this one has been adapted into an owl - a symbol that was easier for an 18th Century Native to understand. I can probably make one up in any pattern you can show me a picture of.
1 ¾ inches tall $55
Originals varied a little, but they were usually about this size.
Nesting Birds (Luckenbooth, Crowned Hearts)
Again, the variations are nearly endless. Many featured bird's heads at the point of the hearts. A native would most likely have worn it "upside down" seeing a symbol of nesting birds or love. I can probably make one up in any pattern you can show me a picture of.
1 ¾ inches tall $60
Originals varied in size up to about 2.5 inches.
Plain Ring Brooch
Ring brooches were probably the most common trade silver pieces and are widely documented. Often many at a time were worn on a garment or headdress.
My plain ring brooches are handmade from 10-gauge, ½-round Sterling Silver wire.
Approximately ¾ inch dia. $11 each or $100 for ten.
Decorated Ring Brooch
Less common than the plain rings, but great looking. These are handmade from 8-gauge, ½ round Sterling Silver wire.
Documented in North American Indian Trade Silver by WH Carter and/or Metallic Ornaments of the New York Indians by WM Beauchamp. I just made up the names of each design (last photo) to make ordering easier.
Approximately 7/8-inch dia. $20 each or $110 for six.
Rattlesnake
My personal favorite.
Pictured & documented in North American Indian Trade Silver, by W. H. Carter. These were originally made by P. Fox, who is listed in that book to have been working from 1787-1790 in Kingston, Ontario. We don't know his first name.
While the original is clearly a rattlesnake, I thought the head looked somewhat bird-like. In my version I have made the nose less pointy and added the fang.
1 ¾ nose to tail $55, 2 inches $60.
Snake abstraction (fire council?)
Also was originally made by P. Fox. The markings are the same as the rattlesnake above, but I don't know what to call this form.
About 1 ½ wide $45.
Weeping Heart
Weeping Heart brooches are documented in various books, and a fine example is in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, New York, George Gustav Heye Center.
Mine are handmade from 9-gauge, ½ round Sterling Silver wire. About 1 inch wide and 1 ¼ tall. Each one will vary somewhat in its shape & size. I can send a photo of current stock once you've decided to order.
$40 each.
Canterbury
This is my own adaptation. The Canterbury cross form is very old (circa 850), but I am not sure that it was ever used during the Fur Trade era.
1 ½ inch $55
Star
This is a well-documented brooch from the fur trade. The last image shows one that I made from a hammered coin, which is not something I do much anymore, but I can do the hand hammered finish on most pieces.
​1 ½ inch $55
1 inch $50
Washtenaw
I first saw this in an 18th century antiques show at the Washtenaw County fair grounds. (The last photo is the original piece, NFS).
​1 ½ inch $55
Masonic
I've seen lots of variations of the Masonic brooches. They were very popular with the Iroquois League, and particularly the Mohawk, after Joseph Brant (Thayendanega) traveled to London in 1775 and was accepted into freemasonry during a ceremony with King George III.
1 ½ $55, 2 inch $65
Washer Brooches
Another very common item in the fur trade was the small round brooch. The picture with the dime also features an original bearing the RC mark of Robert Cruickshank (NFS). The last picture shows two larger brooches which were made from hammered coins.
5/8-inch dia. $11 each.
1-inch dia. $25 each for these two only. (coin silver)
Sun Halo
Okay, now I'm just making up silly names. I have seen photos of this design in more than one collection.
1-inch $35
Little Heart
These start out as the part cut out from the Owl Heart brooches, but I can make them anytime.
About ¾ inch tall, $20
Tear Drop
I only make these when I have some left over wire from making ring brooches or weeping hearts, so these are not always available.
Sizes vary, but usually about ¾-inch, $10
Rice Harvest
I made the first one of these by accident, but I liked the way it came out after engraving.
Approximately 1-3/8 inch in the longer direction. $35
One Chance Specials
The two ring brooches in the lower half of the first picture are NOT made by me. I would have only purchased them from a reputable maker, so I'm sure they are Sterling, but they are unmarked. They appear to be 16-guage half-round wire, and about 5/8 inch diameter. My two in the top half of the picture are for comparison, and not part of the deal.
$15 for both. SOLD
The two brass brooches are the leftovers from an unrelated project. They are castings, and so they are bit heavier than the average brooch. They may work best on a leather item or a heavy wool.
$10 each.