The PEWTER COLLECTORS' CLUB of AMERICA INC
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The PEWTER COLLECTORS' CLUB ofAMERICA INC. THE BUllETIN Summer 2004 Volume 13 Number 1 PCCA Officers President ................................................ Richard C. Graver First Vice President ................................... David M. Kilroy Second Vice President ................... Robert G. Eisenbraun Treasurer ....................................................... Terry 1. Ashley Secretary ........................................................ Robert Horan Bulletin Editor Garland Pass 71 Hurdle Fence Drive Avon, CT 06001-4103 Email: [email protected] Editorial Board Garland Pass, Chair William R. Snow Richard Bowen Charles V. Swain Wayne A. Hilt Melvyn D. Wolf For the names and addresses of all club officers and committee heads, please refer to the latest issue of the PCCA Membership Directory TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 2 .......................................... President's Letter, Richard C Graver Page 3 .......................................... Folk Art Engraving on Pewter, Garland Pass Page 34 ......................................... Pewter Imports 1750, Charles V. Swain Page 35 .......................................... Boardman Measure of 1818, Andrew F Turano Page 36 ......................................... A New Gleason Candlestick, Melvyn D. Wolf, M.D. Page 37 .......................................... Copper Bottom Teapots, Melvyn D. Wolf, M.D. Page 38 .......................................... New York Handle Porringers Addendum, Melvyn D. Wolf, M.D. Page 39 .......................................... The Other Relief Cast Strap Handle, Andrew F Turano Page 41 .......................................... Reviving Memories, Alex Neish Page 42 .......................................... A Saucer For The King, Alex Neish Page 44 .......................................... A Spanish Measure From Madrid, Andrew F Turano Page 46 .......................................... Thomas Wildes Tankards, Melvyn D. Wolf, M. D. Page 49 ........................................ Book Review, Garland Pass Page 50 ........................................ Necrology Page 52 ........................................ National Spring Meeting Photographs, Bill Snow President's Letter The Pewter Collectors' Club of America has come a long way since I joined in 1988 and this is because we are lucky to have such talented people giving of their time and effort for the welfare of the Club. I'd like to recognize two individuals who have given more than their share. Bill Snow, beginning with the Fall 1998 issue, took over the responsibility for the layout and graphics design of the Newsletter. For each issue, after he receives the text from the editor, Dwayne Abbott, Bill selects the photographs (many of which he takes himself) and the artwork needed to illustrate the articles. He then designs the actual layout of each page and enhances each article with illustrations and font selections. The end result is a pro fessionally designed newsletter that would be the envy of any organization. Bill's work on the Newsletter leaves little but the printing of each issue by the printer. In fact, if we had to depend upon the graphics department of the printer to do the layout and design, the cost of producing the Newsletter would be considerably more. Bill also applies his design talents to the Meeting Announcements for both the spring and fall National meetings as well as some of the announcements for the Regional meetings. Bill also took responsibility of designing and editing the Membership Directory. With the greatest demand on Bill's time being the layout and graphics design of the forthcoming John Carl Thomas Memorial Book, Bill gave up the responsibility of maintaining the Membership Directory which has now been taken over by Debbie Brewitt. Using the same approach he applies to the Newsletter, Bill has taken most of the photographs and literally designed each page of the book. Not only will this result in a handsome volume, it will have saved a considerable amount of money in the production of the book. Bill has been working on the book for several years, and his work is still continuing. In addition to everything else, Bill has also designed the cover and title page for The Bulletin in its new magazine format as well as the cover for The Comprehensive Index. Altogether, his talents have given our publications an outstanding unified design and professional appearance. Debbie Brewitt is a relatively new member of the Club, but it did not take long for her talents to be uncovered. When our Bulletin editor, Garland Pass, began discussing the need for a comprehensive index covering all twelve volumes of The Bulletin, the task appeared to be overwhelming. It was not certain when the index could be published. After hearing about the problem from Bill Snow, Debbie volunteered to write a software program to compile the index. She also volunteered to input all of the data from past issues. She was probably not aware of just what a big job it would be, but nevertheless she dove right 1 in. She has spent over 1100 hours during the past two and a half years (an average of 8 / 2 hours per week) working closely with Garland Pass on the project. Garland tells me that he has also spent considerable time on the project but that his time has been small compared to Debbie's. Also, considering the magnitude of the project as evidenced by the finished product, he has serious doubts that the Index could have been completed without Debbie's efforts. When you see The Comprehensive Index, I think you will agree that it lives up to its title. Again, thank you Bill and Debbie for the generous giving of your time and talent to The Club. Richard Graver 2 Folk Art Engraving on Pewter by Garland Pass Folk art on European and Chinese pewter is relatively common; on British pewter it is rare; and on American pewter it is almost nonexistent. That is why almost nothing has been written about it in English. Several articles have been published in The Pewter Society's Journal and The PCCA's Bulletin on specific forms and the decoration found on them, but they have not been presented or discussed as examples of folk art. I have found only two references in English that include engraved pewter as folk art. Both are cata logues for exhibits curated by Kenneth Barkin, Professor of European History at the University of California at Riverside. His first exhibition, "Folk Art and Function in Europe: 1600 - 1900,1" was held at the University Art Gallery at Riverside in March and April of 1993. Although only ten percent of the exhibition's 139 objects were engraved pewter, the catalogue is important for its discussion of folk art and the problems defining it. His other exhibition, "From Tavern to Tabernacle, Decorated British and European Pewter 1600 - 1800,2" was held at the Long Beach Museum of Art from November 2001 to March 2002. It contained sixty examples of pewter decorated with line and wriggle work engraving as well as punch decoration, hammering, and cast relief work. For anyone interested in starting a collection of folk art and decorated pewter, the catalogues for these two exhibitions are invaluable. Over the past thirty to thirty-five years, as folk art has become more popular and many books have been published on it, one would think that the problem of defining it would have become easier. In fact, the opposite is true. And the arguments rage not only among the art historians and critics but among the collectors as well. The recent opening of The American Folk Art Museum in New York City has seemed to fuel the debate. A scholar/collector, Gary Lehmann, Ph.D., visited the museum and left more confused than enlightened. He wrote a brief article for Maine Antique Digest entitled, "What is Folk Art, Anyway?" (May 2004, p. 12-A) which is highly recommended for anyone interested in the present state of confusion. For the this article I am limiting the subject matter to folk art engraving on pewter. This includes straight line engraving, wrigglework, and some punch work as well. It does not include pewter that has been decorated with paint. It also does not include pewter that has cast folk art or relief designs, for the creativity in those pieces lies with the mold maker, not the pewterer who cast the pieces. And, in so far as the engraving goes, I am not including pieces that were engraved by highly trained engravers who obviously worked primarily on silver or gold, such as illustrated in Figure 1. Nor am I including pieces by lesser trained engravers if they contain only monograms, family crests, and coats of arms. Such designs were obviously copied or traced and exhibit little creativity on the part of the engraver. I am also not including pieces that have only geometric decoration. While they form an important part of decorated pewter, I do not feel they show the same level of creativity as freehand designs. While I will not attempt a definition of folk art as it appears on pewter, there are certain characteristics that will become evident as the reader looks over the variety of examples in this article. These include the extensive use of natural elements in the designs: flowers, plants, fruits and tendrils, some as embellishments or backgrounds to monograms, others 3 as major design elements. Scenic designs lack perspective and appear flat, similar to scenes found in samplers. Human figures and animals are drawn with almost cartoon simplicity and even those figures rendered by engravers of considerable skill show a certain amount of dis tortion. These characteristics are to be expected by engravers who did not have the formal training and apprenticeship enjoyed by those who engraved gold and silver objects. Yet these simple but bold designs often have a charm and appeal that is lacking in more formal pieces. In general, with the exception of folk art paintings and sculpture, the majority of folk art consists of decorated household functional objects such as carved and painted chests and other furniture, quilts, hooked rugs, stoneware, redware pottery, faience, hand painted tinware, and wrought iron hearthware. One would think that folk art deco rated pewter would fit right into this category since pewter itself was such a functional and util itarian household item.