In Boston, goldsmiths and silversmiths were stratified. The most prosperous were merchant-artisans, with a business outlook and high status. Most craftsmen were laboring artisans who either operated small shops or, more often, did piecework for the merchant artisans. The small market meant there was no steady or well-paid employment; many lived in constant debt.Barbara McLean Ward, "Hierarchy and Wealth Distribution in the Boston Goldsmiths Trade, 1690–1760," Essex Institute Historical Collections (1990) 126#3 pp 129–147.
