To Blacksmiths and Enthusiasts of Historic Ironwork:

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It is with great pleasure that the Historic Blacksmith Conservancy announces the purchase of the Samuel Yellin Tool Collection. The purchase was made largely through the support of the Roger Carlsen Charitable Fund and with hundreds of small donations from around the United States. The collection is comprised of some 2,500 tools and samples. In addition there are more than 1,000 works on paper including photographs, blue prints, and drawings from the Yellin Shop. The objects in the collection were all subjected to the flood waters of hurricane Helene in 2024. 

 

The HBC is working to partner with the Architectural Archives of the University of Pennsylvania to stabilize, conserve, and house works on paper relevant to their existing collection, which contains the complete business records, drawings, and photographs from Samuel Yellin Metalworkers. HBC will retain a limited number of drawings to assist in our educational programming.

 

Over the next year we will work to make images of these tools available through a database, here, on our website. Our goal is to offer instructive materials toward the mission of the organization—to promote excellence in traditional ironwork. We are now formulating a plan to clean and store this massive collection of historically important tools. To this end we are exploring partnerships which might place the tools in an educational setting where they can benefit those working to improve their craft. In the coming months HBC will publicize opportunities for volunteers to help with the cleaning and preservation of the tools, which now have surface rust. 

 

We still need your financial support. While we have secured the collection, we still need funds to clean, stabilize, transport, catalog, rephotograph, and publish the collection. The capital campaign fund will remain open until we have accomplished these goals related to the processing and stabilization of the collection. Your contributions are vital to this work, and they are also tax deductible. You can donate here.

 

As we move forward, The Samuel Yellin Tool Collection will become the basis for the HBC’s educational programming in the advanced study of traditional ironwork forms. We are enthused to develop and deliver programming which challenges blacksmiths to rise to the level of skill and artistry attained by Samuel Yellin and his workers, which spanned styles and centuries across Europe.

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With gratitude for our accomplishment and great enthusiasm for our path forward,​

The Historic Blacksmith Conservancy Board of Directors