NEW BOOK: FORGED IN PHILADELPHIA

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V17 2014 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 17, Number 12, March 23, 2014, Article 6

Thanks to a heads up from Cynthia Smith, I have learned that a new historical novel, Forged in Philadelphia, has just been published. The book focuses on the life of Adam Eckfeldt in 1792, including Adam's interactions with the early Mint and with the Washington family. It is based on considerable research, although the author stresses that it is a novelization, with material that is dramatized, as opposed to purely factual.

This alone would be of interest to numismatists, but what makes this book especially intriguing is the fact that it is authored by an Eckfeldt descendant, Rebecca Eckfeldt Gibby. Her status as a family member gives her access to details about the family that are not widely known. For example, the cover art is a depiction--an imaginative reconstruction--of John Jacob Eckfeldt's blacksmith shop at "The Sign of the Sickle."

The other day I received a package from Ms. Rebecca E. Gibby that contained a copy of her new book, Forged in Philadelphia, the cover of which is illustrated here. It is published by Abbott Press, a division of Writer’s Digest, and can be accessed on the Internet.

The author, born and raised in Philadelphia, draws upon tradition of her Eckfeldt heritage, particularly Adam Eckfeldt, a blacksmith who loaned his talents in machining and other things to the United States Mint after it was formed, following the Mint Act of April 2, 1792.

The story, loosely based on history and tradition, takes the form of a novel, with various members of the Eckfeldt family and others associated with the Mint taking speaking parts, engaging in discussions, wondering how to approach President Washington with the idea of his donating silver implements and tableware to melt down for 1792 half dismes (folklore, we know), and so on.

The story, comprising 102 pages, is a light and interesting read. For a numismatist it invites further exploration of the Mint in Philadelphia and perhaps the incentive to purchase from Whitman Publishing, LLC, a copy of The Secret History of the First U.S. Mint by Joel Orosz and Leonard Augsburger.

The year is 1792, and although American independence has been secured, individual freedoms are still elusive for many. Adam Eckfeldt is an apprentice to his father’s blacksmith business. For his father Jacob, there is no question the young man will someday replace him, but Adam has other aspirations.

The Eckfeldt family slave has his own dreams. Christian yearns for emancipation. This yearning only increases when he falls in love with Ona Judge, maid to Lady Martha Washington.

In post-revolutionary Philadelphia, Adam and Christian must forge the pathway to their dreams. These friends navigate the unfamiliar territory of the early abolitionist movement as well as the ins and outs of the Washington household. Their unlikely friendship and their loyalties are tested as they each face dilemmas that will alter the course of their young lives.

To read the complete Bowers article, see: Forged in Philadelphia (www.stacksbowers.com/NewsMedia/Blogs/TabId/780
/ArtMID/2678/ArticleID/64416/Forged-in-Philadelphia.aspx)

To order from Abbott Press, see: Forged in Philadelphia (bookstore.abbottpress.com/Products/SKU-000702667/Forged-in-Philadelphia.aspx)

Wayne Homren, Editor