Brass at Warmley. By the mid-to-late 18th century developments in cheaper zinc distillation such as John-Jaques Dony's horizontal furnaces in Belgium and the reduction of tariffs on zinc as well as demand for corrosion-resistant high zinc alloys increased the popularity of speltering and as a result cementation was largely abandoned by the mid-19th century. Brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve varying mechanical and electrical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other within the same crystal structure. In contrast, bronze is an alloy
American Brass Company and the company name changed to the Wolcottville Brass Company. The company now began to produce mostly rolled and sheet brass. Anson Phelps purchased a large parcel of land at what is now Ansonia, Connecticut, in 1844. He founded the town of Ansonia, and built a dam across the Naugatuck River. He also built a canal and water reservoirs, and established a copper rolling mill. Phelps named the new company the Ansonia Brass and Battery Company ("battery" being the term then in use for hammering sheets of metal into kettles). Phelps later added a brass mill and a brass wire