Colonial craftsmen pewter

In the 1970’s Stieff bought a maker of doll house miniatures in Cape May NJ called Colonial Craftsmen Pewter Workshop

Colonial Craftsmen appears to have been founded by

Kendall Swint Ewer of Chester PA.

Kendall S. Ewer died in 1991, his wife Virginia in 2000.

A pre-Colonial Craftsmen piece by Kendall Ewer

A reader of the site, Amy Zimmer kindly sent me these photos of a set of

four Kendall Ewer buttons she found in a bag of mixed buttons.

(all four buttons were the same)

Back of button is imprinted, K. Ewer Pewterer Cape May NJ

English Pewter No lead

A marriage later in life to the former Virginia Maine brought Mrs. Ewer into the business

as Vice President. Her name appears on some packages of Colonial Craftsmen

When Stieff bought the company, operations were moved from

Cape May to the Stieff factory in Baltimore

Stieff also made miniatures for Colonial Williamsburg

The history of Colonial Craftsmen is murky at this time. As more information comes to light I will update this section.

Below are images of the products made by Colonial Craftsmen in both Cape May and at Stieff

I have not attempted to date any of the pieces.

Early piece, with Virginia Ewer’s signature

Coffee pot and a Chicken Tureen

Wood Stove out of package and a Carving Set

Curtain Rods

Bottom of covered dish says NO LEAD PEWTER

Federal Mirror and Goblets

A pair of Heath Dogs and a Duck

A place setting for the table

The back of one the Cape May produced products reads:

6 PC. MINIATURE PEWTER PLACE SETTING / You will be proud to own this lead-free, American pewter. All our products are cast and hand finished. The fine shop where you bought this has many of our other lovely creations! / COLONIAL CRAFTSMEN PEWTER WORKSHOP, Box 337, 1282 Lafeyette, Cape May, N.J., 08204 / K. Ewer Pewterer, Cap May, N.J. (c).

This is a pewter family, hand painted.

Sizes range from 1” to 3/8” Like some other items, these are hand painted, covering the pewter

These Sterling Silver Miniatures were made for Williamsburg

I do not know the years of manufacture

The item numbers are different on these packages. I assume that the larger packaging is the later of the two styles. The large package would also help prevent shoplifting of such small pieces.