Charles Piquette

Levi Brown last advertised his general goods business at No.77 Jefferson Avenue in 1837, having moved into the Gold Pen nib production  business in Brooklyn, New York.

Importantly, Mr. Piquette ended his employment with Levi Brown in July, 1835, the year prior to Brown receiving the Gold Pen nib training from Cleveland.

Piquette joined the watch, clock, and jewelry business with Charles S. Adams for a short time after leaving Brown and dissolving that partnership on July 15, 1835, worked with his brother John Baptiste Piquette Junior until late 1836. 

On November 25, 1836, he advertised his newly opened silver spoon factory: he continued this work along with the watch, clock, and jewelry business until his death August 9, 1859.

In research titled “Nickel Silver: An Aspect of Material Culture Change in the Upper Great Lakes Indian Trade”, C. Stephan Demeter in Historical Archaeology Vol. 14 (1980), pp. 108-119, the following was highlighted regarding Charles Piquette and George Doty:… “an advertisement, which appeared several years later in 1846, was placed by George Doty who offered "Pedlars Goods" at his auction room consisting of “ . . . Dutch Pipes, . . . German silver table . . . (and) . . . tea spoons, German silver pencils. German silver thimbles, German silver spectacles . . .During this same period another Detroit silversmith, Charles Piquette, offered his patrons a stock of “200 lbs. German silver, in the sheet . . .". Apparently the venture proved successful as the following year Piquette offered a new supply of the alloy, referring to it as "a first rate article". The bulk of the nickel silver goods entering the frontier settlements during the 1830s were probably composed almost exclusively of finished products. While certain amounts of bulk metal undoubtedly reached the shops of Western silversmiths, its sale in that form would have been marginal until production had far outdistanced the needs of the silversmiths themselves,”

Charles married Rachel Jane David of Quebec June 8, 1848. The shop he ran in conjunction with his brother was located on Jefferson between Griswold and Woodward, a location he kept throughout his business career. His spoons were well made and sometimes were hallmarked by silversmiths from outside the Detroit area in additional to his own, illustrating that some Detroit silver was not actually made in the city.
The Detroit Institute of Arts reported in 1952 the donation of silver utensils fabricated by Charles Piquette as well as his father as follows:Tablespoon, by Jean-Baptiste Piquette, American (Detroit), 1781-1813.Butter Knife & Teaspoon by Charles Piquette, American (Detroit), 1813-1859. 

Charles Piquette began his Gold Pen nib business by re-selling Spencer’s Gold Pen nibs in 1844.

Charles Piquette represented his Gold Pen nib manufacturing business as the Piquette Pen Company of Detroit. 

William Carson and James Guile were workmen in the Piquette Gold Pen Manufactory, and Mr. Guile became a competitor when he opened his own Gold Pen nib business.

The Gold Pen nib business was actually primarily a resale outlet for others goods, including Spencer and Bagley, and was a Gold Pen nib repair / re-tipping service. Few Gold Pen nibs hallmarked Piquette have been rediscovered.

Charles H. Dunks was Charles Piquette’s Gold Pen nib business successor as of 1860.

Charles H. Dunks advertised his Gold Pen business as Successor to Charles Piquette in 1860. 

Piquette had died in 1859.

Piquette resold a variety of pen maker products, much like stationers, indicating that he operated his Gold Pen Manufactory to repair and re-tip Gold Pen nibs. 

In advertising, Piquette mentioned Damaged Pens Repointed often and stated that particular attention would be given to damaged pens. This may have been the primary Gold Pen related business in the manufactory.