posted 10-21-2005 04:23 PM            

I'm a rare book-dealer and have acquired (surprisingly, from England) a handwritten technical notebook dated Washington, DC, 1857, which I originally thought was from a Washington silversmith named Samuel Lewis.

In the previous discussion, several people offered information about Lewis, including the likelihood that he did work for the White House (his shop was a few blocks away) when it was occupied by President Buchanan in the 1850s and, during the Civil War, by President Lincoln.

Lewis apparently made silver "skippets" to hold the seals on official US treaties (such as the one used by Perry Expedition to Japan)
I've also found him mentioned in the online diaries of Montgomery Meigs, one of the architects of the Capitol who later became Quartermaster General of the Union Army during the Civil War.

But I've just now begun cataloguing the old notebook, and I find that it may not have come from Samuel Lewis.

I assumed it was Lewis' because the first text page is an "Alloying Table. Value of Gold and Silver Bullion and Coins, Solderings...Dentists Golds...Gold and Silver Refining, etc.", under which are the words "Samuel Lewis, Washington, D.C. Sept. 7th".

But it may be that the person who owned this book simply used a Table which had been prepared by Lewis. Or it could have come from someone who worked for Lewis.

On the back of that first page is the only identification of the owner. It reads:

"Sept. 8, 1857
J.K.C. fecit
Washington City, D.C. 1857"

If someone with an American Silversmiths and Goldsmiths directory for the 1850s and 1860s could find a name in Washington that matches the initials "J.K.C." (or possibly
"I.K.C." or "L.K.C."?) I'd be very grateful if you could please post the information here.

Once I have this book catalogued, with scans, I'll be happy to cite the listing page for anyone who be interested in having a look at this little notebook.