Though copper is most associated with Arts and Crafts metalware, silver and bronze were also used. Not only the more familiar vases, lamp bases and smoking accessories, but jewelry and even watch fobs were hand-hammered into the Arts and Crafts style.

The Arts and Crafts movement began in England with William Morris, when he established his company in 1875. The handcrafted items spread to America and other countries. In a revolt against growing mass production in all fields, Morris fought to give craftsmen the status of artist.

By the 1880s Gustav Stickley was creating furniture that was hand-assembled and hand-finished, often with hand-hammered metal hardware.

In 1891 another American who was to be a key player in the Arts and Crafts movement, Elbert Hubbard, also came under the influence of William Morris. Hubbard, who established the Roycroft printing shop in 1895 at East Aurora, N.Y., opened the Roycrofters Shop in 1897. Initially, it produced hand-made furniture, with hand-made metal hardware. Soon they branched out to include metalware accessories. In 1906 their furniture catalog for the first time offered two copper items: a pin tray and a letter opener. By 1909 they were making a great diversity of metal items. Materials used included copper, silver, brass, silver plate and etched silver and brass.

CLUES: From 1915 to 1924 Roycrofters sold their metalwares to retailers around the country - more than 320. They can turn up these days, anywhere, if you know what to look for. All have the name Roycroft and an orb symbol stamped on them. All items were either etched or hammered, with the exception of a few with a smooth surface. Brass and copper items were heavy-gauge. Some of their jewelry pieces included hatpins, brooches, bracelets and cuff links. Probably the largest category made were letter openers, followed by smokers' sets. There were trays, matchbox holders, cigarette boxes, pipe racks and humidors.

By 1905 the Arts and Crafts look in metalware was appearing in silver shops and newly opened workshops from coast to coast. Best known for quality work in the Midwest were the Kalo and Jarvie shops. The Kalo made hand-beat and hand-wrought jewelry in copper and silver, as well as trays, bowls, desks sets and silver dining ware. Their mark is "Kalo."

The Jarvie shop, best known for graceful candlesticks, also made copper and brass as well as silver and gold accessories. They are marked in script: "Jarvie" or "Made by the Jarvie Shop."

In New York the Tiffany Studios' output in the Arts and Crafts style was mostly in bronze, combined with glass. While their technique was Arts and Crafts, it combined with other current popular influences such as Egyptina to natural forms. Desk accessories, boxes, bowls and small desk lamps were made.

On the other coast, craftsmen like Dirk Van Erp and Shreve and Company turned out quality metalware in California. Van Erp, who emigrated from Holland, learned metalsmithing in the family business. He opened his shop in Oakland 1906. He is best known for his copper lamp bases with mica shades, but he also turned out accessories. His earliest pieces are marked "Copper Shop." They changed over the years.

Among the marks are those with his name. Shreve and Company, in San Francisco, were known for their hand-hammered silver.