About the Author

Derek Smith is a commercial photographer, researcher, and writer based in Utah. For more than three decades he has helped businesses, organizations, and people communicate their ideas through visual media.

His interest in J.B.F. Champlin began with a simple question: Who was this remarkable fellow in our family tree, and what more could be learned about him? That question led to years of research devoted to piecing together fragments of documented history and separating them from rumor, oral tradition, and community legends.

Drawing on vintage newspapers, genealogical records, family papers, and other primary sources, he sought to assemble the most complete and accurate account possible of Champlin’s life and his contributions to the American cutlery industry.

Combining his experience as both a visual storyteller and researcher, Derek has brought that story to life through a rich collection of historic photographs, documents, and contemporary images intended to make a complex story both accessible and engaging. This volume is the culmination of that effort.

It is also the kind of book he was hoping to find when Derek first began investigating the story of J.B.F. Champlin.