posted 08-15-2001 02:28 PM            

This strikingly modern letter opener is the work of C. Leslie Smith, an active and thriving silversmith. He currently operates two studios in Allentown and Bethlehem, PA. The mark is CLS in a shield. I missed out on the opportunity to visit his studios when I lived out there, but maybe some of our readers would like to. His website is www.clesliesmith.com It provides directions to his shops, as well as his background and some examples of his designs.

Brent

posted 05-10-2006 06:41 PM            

I will follow this up with two of the authors who have the mark misattributed in their books.

posted 05-10-2006 09:49 PM            

That is great! Thank you so much for staying on top of this.

If you have the occasion to follow up with C. Leslie Smith's shop, see if they want to provide photo(s) of the smith(s) and a better image of the mark(s) for the Silvermiths" and their marks - a list.

Also let us know what kind of response you get from the authors about the correction.

Thanks again.

posted 05-14-2006 09:11 PM            

Both authors were thankful for the information, and will be contacting C. Leslie Smith to straighten this out. One said they would correct it in the next edition; the other did not mention a next edition.

I won't be in Allentown for awhile, but I did pick up C. Leslie Smith's card in case you want to contact him about the "living silversmiths" contribution:

C. Leslie Smith Silversmith Shop
Charles L. Smith III
3100 Tilghman Street
Village West Mall
Allentown, PA 181014
610-439-8833
email: cleslie@enter.net

- rat

quote:

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C. Leslie Smith was founded in 1955, when Charles Leslie Smith, Jr. decided to move from a teaching job in precious metal craft at the Philadelphia College of Art and devote his full time to the creation of unique silver jewelry. The first retail store was located in what was at the time the lower level of a barn in west Allentown, near Trexler Park. This was primarily a workshop for wholesale jewelry production, with a small retail counter and antique cash register. Since successful retail stores were all located in center city, Les made the decision to move everything to a small retail shop located in a basement on N. 9th St., Allentown. There he handcrafted silver and gold jewelry with an artistic flair that soon became popular due to his fresh approach to design, weight, and quality. As his reputation grew over the next few years he relocated to a larger store at 1135 Hamilton St., a thriving retail area in the mid '60's. In time the store outgrew it's location once again and it was relocated to 921 Hamilton St., in the heart of the retail community. This location was home to our workshop and base of operations for over thirty years.

Several satellite stores were opened during the late '60's and early '70's, including locations in Bethlehem, Peddler's Village in New Hope Pa, and The Appletree, in Lancaster, Pa. Direct daily control of the operations of some of these far-flung satellites was difficult however, and only the store in Bethlehem survives to this day. During this period Les decided to end the wholesale distribution of jewelry as well, in order to maintain enough stock for our own retail stores.

In 1982 Les saw an opportunity to open a new satellite store, this time in the blossoming west end of Allentown. The Village West, a new strip mall in South Whitehall Township opened with C. Leslie Smith as one of it's first dozen stores in 1982. It quickly surpassed the declining sales of the downtown Allentown store and in 1995 the painful decision was made to finally move out of center city Allentown and focus solely on the newly expanded Village West store.

In April, 2008, C. Leslie Smith passed away after a long battle with congestive heart failure. Operation of C. Leslie Smith, Inc. passed to his son, Charles Leslie Smith 111.

Today C. Leslie Smith is still located in the Village West, at 3026 W. Tilghman St., Allentown. Jewelry production and custom jewelry work is done by Thomas Jones and Robert Trump, both of whom were personally trained by C. Leslie Smith and who each have over 40 years experience handcrafting fine silver and gold. Items are still handmade, using the same formula and design philosophy that made C. Leslie Smith, Inc. a household name.

Owned and operated by Cleo Smith, Les's second eldest daughter, Cleo's gallery is a thriving retail store in Bethlehem, Pa. Cleo's gallery, with it's own jewelry production workshop, grew from the original satellite store in Bethlehem and is now a primere gallery for fine gifts and jewelry.

Thank you.

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