J. W. Fiske Iron Works Collection

Metalsmith Joseph Winn Fiske was born ca. 1832, presumably near Chelmsford, MA. In 1853, he traveled to Melbourne, Australia to manufacture and sell hardware and tools, but returned to Massachusetts five years later to open a factory. According to one of his catalogs, early on he sold such hardware as brackets and hooks, and such small items as umbrella stands, garden figures, fountains, and weathervanes. In 1864, while keeping his factory in Massachusetts, he relocated to 120 Nassau Street in New York City, only to move his office and showroom again 10 years later to the corner of Park Place and Church Street. In 1900, Fiske incorporated into J.W. Fiske Iron Works and moved the plant from Massachusetts to Brooklyn, NY.

The business remained in the family for at least four generations, and from 1956 on, it operated from 111-117 Pennsylvania Ave., Paterson, NJ under the name J.W. Fiske Architectural Metals, Inc. Sometime after 1971, the firm moved to Elmwood Park, NJ where it remained in business until at least 1987. Before it closed sometime between 1987 and 1996, J.W. Fiske Architectural Metals, Inc. manufactured steel and aluminum windows, entrance frames, and curtain walls.

The company manufactured many types of ornamental and architectural metalwork, iron settees and chairs, stable fittings, statuary, crestings and fittings for mansard roofs, and fountains. Separate trade catalogs were issued for each of these lines. Fiske was most noted for his copper weathervanes which won him a bronze medallion and a certificate from the American Institute of the City of New York in 1866.

From the description of Order books, 1870, 1872. (Winterthur Library). WorldCat record id: 84666690