Revere bells

[2] The vast majority of Revere's bells have pleasant tones, are long lasting, and served as centerpieces of their communities.

[6] A century later, a reverend in the same church, Edward G. Porter, expounded upon it in a chapter of his Rambles in Old Boston titled "A Noted Bell".

Correspondences and records from Revere show that he probably used existing bells as models for his own,[8] as he had no scientific understanding of how to optimize their shape.

However, after experimentation and working with masters in the craft, Revere eventually produced bells praised for their pleasant sound.

The establishment of his foundry started a paradigm shift as he realized his "air furnace" could be used for different metals, alloys, and for very large pieces.

[12] Bell casting also led to a change in his career path, as he began to use his skills to improve his societal image and standing.

This new prestige allowed him to gain government contracts and play a role in improving America's technological infrastructure.

During the time of his active employment, Revere's foundry made over one hundred bells as recorded in the official family stock books and ledgers.

[14] As a result, Revere's personal involvement in his bells declined as other aspects of his business gained greater success.

[19] At a time when churches were the center of civic life and the only form of mass communication, sound intensity was an important factor.

The composition of the bronze bells produced by Paul Revere was usually around 77% copper, 21% tin, and a small percentage of unintentional impurities such as zinc, lead, nickel, and silicon.

Revere was knowledgeable about the integrity of his metal and at one point even corresponded with an expert in London about the purity of the tin of his supplier.

A list of bells noted in Revere's stock book, their respective size has been created by Edward and Evelyn Stickney.

Maria Revere presented the bell to the first Church of St. Andrew in 1843 on condition that it be used to sound a curfew for five minutes at 8:00 pm every night.

The curfew bell rang until 1855 when the church was demolished, and was resumed when St. Andrew's Cathedral was constructed in its place in 1861 until it was permanently discontinued in 1874.