Foundry Banner, by William Capen Jr., Portland, Maine, 1841. Courtesy of the Maine Historical Society.
Foundry Banner, by William Capen Jr., Portland, Maine, 1841. Courtesy of the Maine Historical Society.
Skilled craftsmen founded the Maine Charitable Mechanic Association in 1815 to "encourage and promote the mechanic arts, to relieve members and the widows and orphans of deceased members when in need."
This banner, carried by the foundry workers promoted the respectability of men working in their trade. A founder poured molten metal into pattern molds to create machine parts and other metal objects. This banner expresses the upstanding character of men working in the trade.