Henry Clay Blinn

Blinn was a native of Providence, Rhode Island, and began his career apprenticed first to a tailor and then to a jeweler in that city.

[1] During his life Blinn occupied various roles including printer, typesetter, publisher, writer, teacher, beekeeper, dentist, tailor, tinware maker and repairer, and cabinetmaker.

[2] As a printer he produced, among other things, a pair of miniature books for children, The Little Instructor and Dew Drops of Wisdom.

[4] Blinn was a mentor to Cora Helena Sarle in her early years at Canterbury, and was responsible for introducing her to the art of botanical illustration.

[2] Several items by his hand, including copies of the miniature books, are in the collection of the Shaker Museum, Mount Lebanon.