Frank Patania Jr.: Renowned Santa Fe & Tucson Silversmith (Part 1) - Epi. 107, Host Dr. Mark Sublette

I had an important historical figure on the podcast today, Frank
Patania Jr. original owner of the Thunderbird shop of Santa Fe
and Tucson, and the son of Frank Patania Sr. tells the story of
the lives of three generations of silversmiths. I had Sam
Patania, Frank Jr's son on an earlier podcast which you might
want to listen to as well. Frank and I spoke for almost 3 hours
so this is a two-part podcast with the remainder of the story
appearing in episode 108 which is part two. Part one focuses on
Frank Sr and their time in Santa Fe. We talk about how Frank Sr.
got into the jewelry business, the opening of the first
Thunderbird Shop in 1927 in Santa Fe, the second shop in Tucson
in 1937, and finally the historic figures orbiting both shops in
the mid 20th century. I really wanted to get into the weeds in
part one as it's important for people to have this information
for future use considering the sizable legacy of the Patania
family. If you are a Patania collector or someone who's very
interested in the history of southwest silversmithing,
particularly in Santa Fe and Tucson, this podcast is one you will
definitely enjoy.