"Can anyone tell me where I might find an expert on colonial silversmiths or
silver businesses in VA - timeperiod 1781 - 1810?"
The Museum of Early American Decorative Arts (MESDA) in Winston-Salem, NC
has an excellent database of craftsmen for the period you are studying.
Their web site is www.mesda.org
I have some limited information on Lynchburg silversmiths of the period.
FYI- Most people consider the end of the colonial period to be either 1776
(when we declared independence) or 1783 (when the peace treaty was signed).
You may have more luck searching for information on "Federal" period
silversmiths.
W. Scott Breckinridge Smith
Lynchburg, Virga.
www.wscottsmith.com
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