Buckeye Bell Foundry, VanDuzen & Tift

[admin]

Gary writes:

I HAVE RECENTLY PULLED OUT A HEIRLOOM BELL WHICH I HAVE HAD STORED FOR MANY YEARS. IT HAS ON ONE SIDE BUCKEYE BELL FOUNDRY 1882, ON THE OTHER SIDE IT HAS VANDUZEN & TIFT. IT IS 15' TALL AND THE OD IS 21 3/4 INCHES. IT HAS ONE CHIP IN BOTTOM RIM WHISH I WAS TOLD WAS PUT THERE BY A RIFLE FALLING ON IT. I AM CURIOUS ABOUT THE THE VALUE AND HISTORY SINCE I CAN'T SEEM TO FIND MUCH. COULD YOU PLEASE HELP ME. SINCERELY, GARY

If you would like to see photos of Gary's bell, please click on these links:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3256/259 ... 2584_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3257/259 ... aab0_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3051/259 ... 9315_o.jpg

If you can help, please post a response.
Admin

This inquiry was originally sent to the ABA's Membership Chairman. Responses are opinions of individuals based on their personal research and knowledge.
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[hjlong]

This is a very nice bronze bell. This foudry was in Cinncinnati, OH. The bell is worth whatever an interested buyer is will ing to offer, but you should be able to get in excess of $1500 if you have the yoke and "A" frames.
Harry Long, MD

[Neil Goeppinger]

The Buckeye Bell Foundry was started in 1837 by George Washington Coffin and was located on Second Street between Broadway and Ludlow Streets in Cincinnati. It may have been the successor to the Riga Furnace in Salisbury, Conn founded by Holley and Coffin in 1810.

W. A. Van Duzen was apprenticed to Mr Coffin, and by 1865 he and a Mr. Tift had bought out the company and changed its name. The G. W. Coffin Co made the most ornate bells ever made in the U.S. Some had cheribs and puti on them, and others had dancing girls in flowing vails circling around the top of the bells.

Vanduzen changed his last name along the way to be one word instead of two, and also changed the shape of the bells and dropped the ornate work. There are just a few ornate Vanduzen bells made during the first couple of years after Vanduzen took over, but they must have been special order because most bells made even then were plain. Balancing that, the sound of the Vanduzen bells was much improved over the Coffin bells because of the change of the shape of the bells. Vanduzen made thousands of bells, and the name of the foundry changed several times as different family members ran it in different generations. The name Vanduzen & Tift was used from 1865 to 1894. When the firm closed in the early 1950's, it was called E. W. Vanduzen.

Their bells were well finished and very smooth, had a good tone, and had a unique mounting with a large hole in the top of the bell with a disc used to hold the bell to the yoke. --Neil

[gary perrin]

I APPRECIATE ALL THE INFORMATION YOU HAVE PROVIDED IT WILL BE A BIG HELP. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. SINCERELY, GARY PERRIN