Both of these models (The models in the previous article that were sent to the 1867 Exposition Universelle in Paris) were returned to the United States, though the Commonwealth model came back in a damaged condition and needed to be at least partially rebuilt by Benton. The Vanderbilt model simply disappeared after June 1868, when this steamship model was shown in both Wilmington and Philadelphia. It was probably returned to Tiffany & Company and then sold to an unknown customer. In 1878, the Pullman Palace Car Company of Chicago sent a large and very expensive Benton model of a Pullman Palace Car to the 1878 Paris Exposition. According to several of Benton’s obituaries, thirteen Benton models had been displayed at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. Other Benton models likely to have been shown at various exhibitions can be definitely or tentatively identified. The only nineteenth century photograph of any Benton model appears to be a photograph of the Harlan and Hollingsworth Company’s exhibit at the International Maritime Exhibition in Boston in 1889-1890. The City of Worcester steamship model can be seen in this photograph.

Throughout the late 1860’s, Benton’s most enthusiastic customer was the New York shipping magnate Charles Morgan, whose steamship empire dominated shipping in the Gulf of Mexico. At least four of the steamship models made for Morgan are well documented, and at least two other steamship models appear to have been made for Morgan though they lack such firm documentation. In addition, Benton probably made at least one locomotive model for Morgan.

During his lifetime, Benton was never referred to as a “silversmith.” Instead, he was always described as either a jeweler or a model maker. Benton did not have a stamp with which to mark his models as a traditional silversmith might have marked an object made of precious metals. Instead, a model bore an engraved silver plaque fastened to the front of the wooden box containing its musical attachment, and these plaques typically gave Benton’s name, a date for the model, and the name of the person for whom the model had been made or to whom it had been presented. The model itself sometimes bore an additional engraved label. Because several of the surviving models have lost their original musical attachments, this contemporary information has been lost. Although some of these models now have much later engraved plaques attached to their bases, the information on the plaques is of questionable accuracy unless it can be verified from other more contemporary sources. Benton seems to have worked always with at least one assistant. In Wilmington, the assistant was the engraver Thomas Sherwin. Sherwin was interviewed by a Wilmington newspaper when Benton died, and provided valuable information that is not otherwise available. In Philadelphia and Providence, Benton seems to have relied on his son-in-law Frank H. Gladding for similar engraving skills.

Clyde Emerson’s careful work to restore several Benton models has revealed that the
steamship models were constructed like sandwiches, with several layers of oval silver
boxes screwed to each other. Because some of the steamship models weighted up to 25
pounds, Benton needed to build strong structural supports into each model. These are
very visible when a model is disassembled for cleaning and repairs. Benton used a
coiled-spring belt to run from the musical attachment up into each model, and this turned
the wheel at the center of an axle within the model. The moving parts of each model
were connected in some fashion to this axle.

Benton may not have been an entirely honest craftsman. John Ericsson, who became
more and more miserly as he aged, was paying storage gees for his “golden monitor”
model as early as March 1869. During the summer and fall of 1880, Ericsson would
regularly enter on the backs of his check stubs a rough calculation of his total net worth
and began to list the Benton model as one of those assets with a value hovering around
$2,800. When made, the model was stated to weigh fourteen pounds, and to be made of
pure gold. Ericsson simply multiplied the weight of the model in pounds by the selling
price for a pound of gold to estimate what the model might be worth as bullion.