Samuel Yellin, Blacksmith

Samuel Yellin, Blacksmith

1884–1940 · Philadelphia. Born in the Russian Empire, apprenticed to a blacksmith as a boy, arrived in Philadelphia in 1906.

The studio. By 1909 he had his own forge; at its height the Arch Street workshop employed some two hundred smiths.

The work. Gates, grilles, railings, hinges and lanterns for Washington National Cathedral, Yale, Princeton, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The method. Hand-forged iron, textured by the hammer, at a time when most ironwork was cast or machine-made.

The trade. Blacksmithing survives in ornamental ironwork, farriery, restoration and the forge demonstration in Gallery G3.

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