WILLIAMSBURG, September 12, 1777.
WANTED immediately, four or five hands acquainted with working up TIN SHEET into kettles and canteens, to whom generous wages will be given, by applying to the subscriber in Williamsburg.
WILLIAM AYLETT.
Virginia Gazette (Purdie) September 12, 1777
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About this entry:
It is the business of a tinman to beat sheets of tin on a polished anvil, to give it smoothness and luster, to form it into lamps, canisters, saucepans and kettles. It isn't a job which requires much ingenuity; there are few principles to memorize, nor does the tinman need as much strength as a blacksmith. It was not a well-paid craft in the eighteenth century. As Deputy Commissary General of Purchases for Virginia, William Aylett would have been responsible for acquiring kettles and canteens needed by the military.
Sources: Campbell, p 183-4; VMHB
