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Model of Copper Plate Roller
1800-1900
Maker not marked
USA
Wood, copper, metal
9-1/4"h x 22-1/4"w x 6-3/4"d
Loaned by the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts
GL2004.2056a-c

a) Wooden model (possibly patent model) of copper plate roller comprising two rolling machines; each has two wooden cylinders in frames with copper plates (b & c) sandwiched in between. On bottom is sticker which reads, "1760."


This is a model of Paul Revere's (1734-1818) rolling mill in Canton, Massachusetts. In 1800, at the age of 65, Revere started a mill for rolling sheet copper. Up to this point, Americans were dependent on imported sheet copper from England. The primary use for this material at the time was protective plating on the bottom of ships. Copper slowed marine growths that could damage and slow the ships. Sheet copper was also used on the roofs of public buildings. Revere became the first successful American producer of sheet copper.