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. However the majority of folk art decorated pewter show few signs of actual Fig. 1. Pewter tankard attributed to William use and apparently were made primarily for display. Bradford, Jr., New York City, c.1719-58, with Many were made to commemorate a wedding, a "CS" cipher obviously engraved by a well-trained religious observance, an historical event, or the engraver accustomed to working on silver. Courtesy, Winterthru Museum (59.31) reign of a monarch. This is especially true of flat­ ware which seldom bears any knife marks and was often hung on the wall like a painting. Some are found with a hanger soldered to the back, and if displayed in a less than well-to-do home, exhibit a hole in the rim where they were actually nailed to the wall.

It should be noted that it would be a mistake to assume that the pewterer whose touch­ mark appears on the pewter was also the engraver. In some cases that may be true but we have no way of knowing that. We also do not know if the engraving was done by someone employed in the pewterer's shop or if the work was contracted out (or outsourced, as we would say today.) And, more often than not, we cannot be sure if the engraving was done at the time the piece was purchased or if it was added later. For some pieces that include a date within the design commemorating a wedding or other event, if that date coincides with the working period of the pewterer, we can assume the engraving was done within that period. The same applies to pieces commemorating the reign of a monarch if that reign includes the working period of the pewterer. If we accept the probability that the engraving was not done by the pewterer, as long as we feel comfortable that it was done within a reasonable time after the piece was made (and each collector will have to define what "reasonable" means) the actual date of the engraving should not matter. Of course we would not want an out-of-period engraving, say, an eighteenth century piece that had been engraved ten years ago simply to enhance its value.

4 To fully appreciate pieces of 1 engraved pewter, it is neces­ sary to have some under­ standing of the tools used to produce it. For a few pieces it may appear that a sharp­ ened nail or other crude hl!ill1TlTlllltJ!lllTQ1ilflll1 device was used; but for a~ Q most pieces that were done !J~ using single line engraving, some type of engraving tool was undoubtedly used. Figure 2 is from a book3 on the history of engraving and shows the wide variety of engraving tools available. While many of these tools were used by engravers who produced plates from which black and white engraved prints were printed, some of these were also used by metal engravers such as we are discussing here. The basic tool used for single line engraving is a tool called the graver, illustrated at the top in Figures 2 and in Figure 3. It is a piece of steel rod sharpened on one end and the other end inserted into a rounded wood knob that is cradled in the palm of the Fig. 2. An illustration from a book3 on the history of engraving showing a variety of tools used to engrave metal. A graver is shown at the top. hand. If the sharpened end is "v" shaped, when it is pushed along the surface of the metal it will produce a "v"-shaped groove as illustrated in Figure 4. The sharpened end of the graver can have different shapes to produce a variety of lines. If it is rounded or scoop shaped it can produce what is commonly called bright cut engraving which was used by silver engravers and also was used by American pewterer Israel Trask in the nineteenth century to embellish his tea and coffee pots. It is seldom found on folk art engraving. The graver produces a sharp, crisp line and the depth of the line can be controlled and varied by the engraver. It is this qual­ ity that makes it possible to distinguish between hand and machine engraving. Machine engraving cannot cut as deeply as hand technique, nor can stamping, etching or laser machining. Of the three types of engraving discussed in this article, (straight line, wrig­ glework, and punching), straight line engraving requires by far the greatest skill.

5 Wrigglework is found on more pieces of folk art engraved pewter than straight line engraving although many pieces are found with both. The reason is that wrigglework is much easier to do and requires less talent. This does not mean that all wrigglework engraving is crude, for in the hands of a talented worker some pieces show a high degree of sophisti- LF-ig-.3-.-A-n-o-th-e-r -ill-u-st-ra-ti-on-o-f-a-g-ra-v-er-,-th.....-le cation. But, in general, most successful pieces of most often used tool for straight line wrigglework engraving exhibit a degree of crude- engraving on metal. ness and charm that is lacking in folk art done with only straight line engraving. The tool used to produce wrig­ glework is somewhat different from the graver. It is a much shorter steel rod with one end encased in a wood handle. The other end is sharpened, not to a point, but to a flattened edge similar to a screwdriver. Two wriggle working tools are shown in Figure 5. The typical zigzag pattern of cuts used to produce a line is shown in Figure 6. To produce these cuts, the tool is held vertical to the surface and pressed firmly down while walking the tool in a zigzag or back and forth motion. The width of the cutting edge can vary depending upon the fineness or coarseness of the line desired, and the edge can be curved as well as straight. The photograph of the tools was taken by David Moulson (PCCA member and past president of The Pewter Society) at the pewtering firm of A. E. Williams Ltd. of Birmingham, England, where the Fig. 4. An illustration of the tools are being used on pewter produced today. David told "v"-shaped cut on metal made me that he tried his hand using the tools to produce a wrig­ by a graver with a "v"-shaped glework line and that he found it not all that difficult to do. cutting point.

Punching is the easiest of all engraving to do. The working end of a punch can be produced in a wide variety of shapes, from a simple dot or other geometric shapes to more elaborate sprays or floral shapes. The design is impressed into the metal by striking the end of the punch with a hammer, similar to the way a pewterer would strike his touch mark. By repeatedly striking the punch in a line or curve, circles and other geo­ Fig. 5. Two tools used to produce wrigglework metric patterns can be created to enhance a designs on pewter. The tools belong to A. E. design. Punching is seldom used by itself except Williams Ltd. ofBirmingham, England; photo by in geometric decorated pewter, but it is often David Moulson. combined with both straight line and wriggle­ work engraving on folk art pieces. An example of punch line engraving is shown in Figure 7.

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The earliest American piece with folk art engraving is probably a quart tankard, Figure 8, by the Philadelphia pewterer, Simon Edgell, c 1713-42. Ledlie Laughlin also believed this 4 is the earliest reported American tankard • The body is straight line engraved with one large and two small tulips, other foliage, and the initials, "A M". There are only fifteen known pieces by Edgell and this tankard is the only piece with engraving. Edgell is known to have imported a large quantity of pewter from England and a recent articleS questions just how much pewter marked by Edgell was actually made by him.

Fig. 8. Quart tankard by Simon Edgell, Philadelphia, c1718-42, with one large and 9 two small tulips, other foliage and the initials, "AM." Height = 6 / 16 ". Courtesy, Winterthur Museum (65.553)

7 1 Fig. 9. Front view of a flat lid tankard, Ht.= 7 / 8", with straight line decorative engraving, the initials, "I Z" over "C Z," and dated 1728. Collection ofCipora 0 Schwartz. Photos courtesy ofDonald Fennimore.

Fig. 10. Side view oftankard. The lid is also similarly engraved. The barrel also bears the inscription, WHEN THIS YOU SEE REMEMBER ME.

8 Fig. 11. Fluted dish with worn touch probably by Fig .. 12. Fluted dish with touch of Francis Bassett Francis Bassett I. The dish has straight line and I and similar decoration to that of the dish in Fig. punched engraving, the owners' initials, "I Z" over 11 but engraved by a different hand. Dated 1732 3 and has the initials, "G" over "Z M." Diam.= 8 1/ ". "e Z," and the date, 1728. Diam. = 8 / 4" The engraving 2 on this dish and the tankard appear to be by the same Courtesy of National Museum of American hand. Collection ofStanley and Rose Rich. History, Smithsonian Institution, Behring Center. (62.108)

The other three American pieces dating prior to 1750 are a tankard, Figures 9 and 10, and two fluted dishes, Figures 11 and 12. The two dishes were discussed in Charles 6 Montgomery's book • Later, in an article by Donald Fennimore in The Bulletin 7, the tankard and dishes were discussed in much greater detail. All three pieces are inter­ connected in several interesting ways.

The two dishes, sometimes called sweetmeat or strawberry dishes, were not cast but were raised from flat sheets in silversmith fashion and then fluted. The dish in Figure 11, dated 1728, has a much worn mark previously described as "missing" or "obliter­ ated." One expert who has seen it, however, feels strongly that it is a Francis Bassett 1 mark. The dish in Figure 12 bears the touch of Francis Bassett I and is dated 1732. Both dishes are decorated with straight line engraving of pomegranates, tulips and foliage, and punched decorative lines. The dish inFigure 11 bears the owners' initials, "I Z" over "CZ" and the date 1728 while the dish in Figure 12 bears the initials, "G" over "Z M" and the date 1732. Despite the similarities, a close examination indicates the engrav­ ing was done by two different hands.

The tankard appears to have been engraved by the same hand that engraved the dish in Fig. 11. Both bear the same date, 1728, and the same set of owners' initials. There are some questions regarding the origin of the tankard. It was definitely cast in a set of English molds-no American counterpart exists. The twin lovebird thumb piece is extremely rare and was used by only four or five English makers. There is a badly eroded crowned rose touchmark on the inside bottom but it is unlike any known English mark. The key ques­ tion is: Was the set of English molds brought to this country and the tankard cast here, or was the tankard cast in England and brought here? The eroded touchmark may be that of an unidentified English or American pewterer. As of this date, the question remains unan­ swered. However, we know the engraving was done in this country because the owners' initials are those of Joost and Christine Zabriskie of Bergin County, New Jersey. More

9 information on the original owners of the tankard and its provenance is in Donald Fennimore's article. Another argument for the engraving being done here is that it is straight line engraving while the engraving on English flat lid tankards (as we shall see) was mostly wrigglework. In the second half of the eighteenth century, the earliest tankard with folk art engraving is by John Will, Figure 13. John Will was born and served his apprenticeship in Germany. He emigrated from Germany and worked as a pewterer in New York City from 1752- 1774. Being from Germany, John would have been quite familiar with wrigglework engraving which was used extensively to decorate German pewter. Mostly of well­ executed wrigglework with some punch decoration, it is not known if John did the engraving on this tankard. On the bottom and top of the barrel is a design that imitates so-called cut card designs used on silver tankards of an earlier period.

Fig. 13. Quart tankard by John Will, New York City, c.1752-74. Dome lid with crenate lip. Ht. = 71/8'" Wrigglework and punch engraving of trees, flowers and foliage. At top and bottom of barrel is an imitation of cut card designs used on earlier silver tankards. Courtesy The Metropolitan Museum ofArt, Gift ofMrs. Blair, in memory of her husband, J. Insley Blair, 1940. (40.184.1)

10 It has been suggested that Joseph Leddell, Sr. who worked as a pewterer and silver engraver in New York City from 1712-53, may have engraved this tankard or the pieces in Fig. 9, 11 and 12. However, Ledell was an accomplished engraver and if one examines the silver pieces engraved and signed by him, the quality of his known work far exceeds any of the folk art engraving found on American pewter.

The teapot shown in Figure 14 is by Frederick Bassett, New York and Hartford, c1761- 1800, and was probably made in the early part of his working period. The oval teapot form is rare, only two others are known, and they are not engraved. The folk art on this teapot is straight line engraving of flowers, foliage and a charming little bird perched on a leaf above it alL It was illustrated on the dust jacket of Laughlin's Volume III of Pewter in America.

Fig. 14. Rare oval teapot by Frederick Bassett, c1761-1800, New York and Hartford. Ht. = 7". Straight line engraving of flowers, foliage, and a small bird. Courtesy New Haven Colony Historical Society (1971.446).

11 7 Figures 15 & 16 show a 8 / 8" single-reed plate bearing the early Tudor rose touchmarks and hallmarks of Henry Will, cI761-90, New York and Albany. The early marks suggest the plate was made within the period 1760-80. Unlike most folk art engraved pewter which was made for display, this plate shows heavy use with both pitting and knife marks occur­ ring after the plate had been engraved. The straight line engraving and short punch-like strokes depict a blazing sun with eight angled rays. Between each ray is a holly leaf and additional holly leaves and berries are engraved around the rim. The association of holly and Christmas suggests the plate's primary use was as a holiday cake plate. David Kilroy, who has done some research on this plate notes: "In Germanic lore, holly leaves are asso­ ciated with the crown of thorns with which Roman soldiers mocked Christ before his Crucifixion. This is reflected in the language, too, in so much as the German word for holly is 'Christdorn' - literally, 'Christ's thorn.' In all likelihood, considering Will's German family background and his Dutch/German clientele in the Hudson Valley, the plate may have served for both Christmas and Passiontide occasions." As rare Pas American folk art engraved pewter is, it should be noted that this plate was found in 2003.

7 Fig. 15. An 8 / 8" single-reed plate by Henry Will, cI761-90, New York and Albany. The straight line engraving with short punch-like strokes depicts a blazing sun with a holly leaf between each angled ray. Additional holly leaves and berries are engraved around the rim.

Fig. 16. An enlarged detail of a portion of the Henry Will plate. The plate is in the collection ofRobert and Barbara Horan. Photos courtesy ofDavid Kilroy. 12 Figures 17 & 18 and 19 & 20 show two sugar bowls from the same set of molds attrib­ uted to William Will, Philadelphia, c1764-98. Will's sugar bowls have never been found signed but the attribution is based upon the base which has been found on other marked pieces. The engraving on the two bowls could not be more different. For the bowl in Fig. 17 & 18, the engraver obviously tried to emulate silver engraving. The straight line engraving consists of flowers, curving vines, foliage, a fancy "R A" monogram, and the date, "1778." For the bowl in Figs. 19 & 20, the engraving has a more folk art character and is done entirely in wrigglework. It is actually difficult to determine what the engraver was trying to depict. It could be an arrangement of foliage, but it may be simply a repeating pattern of decorative motifs. In both cases the engraving adds considerable visual interest to an elegant form. Figs. 17 & 18. Sugar bowl attributed to William Will, Philadelphia, c1764-98. Straight line engraving with floral designs, a "R A" mono­ gram and dated, "1778." Private collection.

Figs. 19 & 20. Sugar bowl from the same set of molds as the one in Figs. 17 & 18, attributed to William Will. This bowl entirely decorated with wrigglework motifs. Collection of Dr. & Mrs. Donald M Herr.

13 On the cover of this issue is, in my opinion, the finest example of American folk art engraving on pewter that has been discovered. An unmarked quart mug except for the city cartouche, "Philadelphia," the straight line engraving boldly depicts a Revolutionary War officer with drawn sword mounted on his horse. Above the figure is a patriotic banner, "Liberty or Death," and below that an inscription, "Huzza for Capt. Ickes." As Charles Montgomery so well described this mug, "This stirring sentiment, a rousing echo ofPatrick Henry s revolutionary cry, and the spirited horse and rider depicted put this mug in a class by itself"8. It is the only American piece that depicts a human figure as well as an animal.

American Nineteenth Century Pieces With two exceptions, folk art engraving on American nineteenth century pewter is different from that found on eighteenth century pieces. The primary difference is that most of the nineteenth century pieces are not individual pieces of folk art. Rather they appear to have been decorative embellishments offered by a few pewter shops for customers who requested it. As mentioned earlier, it is not possible to know if the engraving was done in house or if it was outsourced. However, the limited number of pieces that have been found and the short period of time during which they were produced suggest that produc­ tion was limited and probably done by engravers outside of the pewterer's shop. There simply does not seem to have been enough work to justify the full time employment of an engraver by the pewterer. These pieces, while not unique like the eighteenth century pieces, were not mass produced either. The designs may have been used many times, but each piece was individually engraved. They may be compared to the folk art designs found on slip-decorated pottery, delft, stoneware and Chinese export ware where designs were copied but individually crafted.

The most often found (but by no means common) of this type of folk art engraved pewter are teapots, sugar bowls and creamers, often sold as complete tea sets, produced by The

Fig. 21. A tea set of teapot, sugar bowl and creamer by Boardman & Co., New York, c.1825-27. Wrigglework engraving of foliage designs with a few short and deep straight line cuts. Collection of Dr. & Mrs. Donald M. Herr.

14 Boardmans of Hartford in the period 1820-30. The scarcity of these pieces may be judged by their absence from all of the major reference books on American pewter. Even John Carl Thomas in his, Connecticut Pewter and Pewterers, failed to illustrate or even mention them. I could find only a brief para­ graph and photo in a single back issue of The Bulletin 9. I doubt if more than a couple of dozen of these pieces exist today. Figure 21 shows the typical three piece tea set, marked, Fig. 22. A close-up of the creamer from the tea set. "Boardman & Co., New York." Figure 22 shows a close-up of the creamer. The engraved foliage designs are mostly wrig­ glework with a few short and deep straight line cuts. Comparisons have been made between some of the existing pieces and it was determined that more than one person did the engraving. Some pieces are also more elaborately engraved than others.

Several candlesticks produced by the Homan Company of Cincinnati, Ohio in the 1850's have been found with engraved floral and foliage decoration. They are even less common than the engraved Boardman tea sets. There is an unsubstantiated story that the engraving was done by several German nuns. While there was a sizable group of German Catholics in Cincinnati at that time, the type of engraving on the candlesticks throws some doubt on the story. Figure 23 shows a close-up detail of the engraving on the base of a Homan candlestick. It is not wrigglework which anyone from Germany would have been familiar. Instead, it is a combination of broad scoop strokes, short straight strokes and what appear to be lines produced with some type of mechanical engraver. It is unlike engraving found on any other piece of American pewter.

Fig. 23. Unique type of engraving found on a few candlesticks made by the Homan Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, mid-nineteenth century. Collection of Melvyn D. Wolf, MD and Bette Wolf

15 Figure 24 shows a teapot by Israel Trask, Beverly, MA, c 1807 -56. Figure 25 shows a close-up of an eagle engraved on the teapot. The eagle is engraved using wrigglework lines and a scoop shaped graver similar to that used by Trask to engrave decorative bands on many of his pieces. Whether Trask or someone else engraved the eagle is unknown; it has a completely different character from his typical bands. Several of Trask's teapots and coffee pots have a shield or other decorative motif on the side but this is the only one I have seen with an eagle. Perhaps Trask felt a patriotic symbol would add to the teapot's sales appeal.

Fig. 24. Teapot with eagle engraving by Israel Trask, Beverly, MA, c1807-56. Collection ofMelvyn D. Wolf, MD and Bette Wolf.

Fig. 25. Close-up of eagle on Trask teapot. Photos by William Snow.

16 Figure 26 shows a plate by Samuel Kilbourn of Baltimore, c1814-39, with a wolf or dog running over a landscape with a couple of trees. Just what this signifies is unknown. A date, "1844," is stamped or engraved on the rim. The date falls beyond Kilbourn's working period, but whether the date has some relationship to the engraving is unknown. All of the engraving is straight line.

Figure 27 shows a close-up of a unique eagle engraved on a Boardman quart mug. Unlike other American pieces Fig. 26. A 71/8" single reed plate by Samuel Kilbourn, Baltimore, c1814- we have seen, this eagle was 39. Straight line engraving of a wolf or dog running over a landscape with not engraved with a graver or two trees. Collection ofMark Anderson. wrigglework tool; rather it appears to have been literally scratched with some crude, sharpened tool such as an awl, screwdriver or pointed chisel. But the lack of a proper tool or talent did not restrain the owner from embellishing his mug with a patriotic symbol. It may be crude but it is cer­ tainly the most vigorous example of folk art engraving found on a nineteenth century American piece.

Fig. 27. Close-up photo of a very folksy eagle scratch­ engraved on the front of a Boardman quart mug, probably first quarter of the nineteenth century. Collection ofMelvyn D. Wolf, MD and Bette Wolf. Photo by William Snow.

17 English Export Pieces When I began the research for this article, I assumed American engraved pieces would be the rarest. I was mistaken. The rarest are English Export pieces made for the American market. This is amazing since the total quantity of English Export pewter exceeds American pewter by a ratio of 100 to 1. No reasonable explana­ tion for this comes to mind. To date, only two engraved English Export pieces have been reported although I am sure there must be others. I have seen a couple of pieces that have monograms with a foliate flourish or two but these hardly qualify as folk art. Equally amazing, both of the two reported pieces were cast by the same pewterers, Townsend and Giffen, (London, cI768-1778) although it is obvious that the engraving was done by two different hands. Fig. 28. A 12" plain rim deep dish by Townsend & Readers will recognize the deep dish Giffen, London, c 1768-1778. Beautifully engraved around the rim, "Hanna Feeshel In Shepherds Town shown in Figure 28; it is pictured on the Anno Domine 1782" with highly ornamented embell­ back of the dust jacket of John D. Davis', ishments. Photo courtesy of John Davis and Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (1995-90).

1o Pewter at Colonial Williamsburg • Beautifully straight line engraved by a Virginia gunsmith, the inscription reads, "Hanna F eeshel In Shepherds Town Anno Domine 1782." The words are separated by long and highly orna­ mented cartouches. This dish also bears many knife marks in its well indicating it was used and not just displayed. The quart tankard shown in Figure 29 has an interesting history. It bears the "T&G" touch­ mark of Townsend and Giffen and was obvi­ ously made for the export market although it was purchased in 2003 at an auction in England. The straight line engraving consists of a man in 18th century garb seated on a barrel holding a drinking glass (a thumper for rum?). Above the man are a crossed sword and scepter. And above all is the inscription, "Prosperity to Ye County of Lancaster." In England there is a Lancaster town but no county, so the "County of Lancaster" must refer to the county in Pennsylvania. The

1 Fig. 29. A quart tankard by Townsend & Giffen. Ht. = 7 / 2". Engraved with a man sitting on a barrel holding a drinking glass. Above the man, a crossed sword and scepter, and the inscription, "Prosperity to Ye County of Lancaster." Collection ofKenneth and Linda Goldberg. 18 quality of the engraving is somewhat better than that found on pieces engraved in America and suggests that it was engraved in England. Perhaps this was a special piece ordered from America. Whether the tankard ever made it to Pennsylvania and was later purchased by a collector or dealer who brought it back to England will never be known. English Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Pieces The most significant pieces of English folk art engraved pewter fall into three categories: 1. Wriggle Work Plates, 2. Flat-Lidded Tankards, and 3. Charles II Restoration Chargers. These· do not encompass all of English engraved pewter but they do include the most important pieces. Wriggle Work Plates While some of the earliest wriggle work plates date to the 1660's and relate to the Charles II Restoration, the majority date from 1670-1730 and appear to commemorate a marriage, an anniversary, a birth of a child or some other family event. The making of these plates was obviously an attempt by the pewterers to sell more pewter and to compete against the makers of delftware that were making inroads into the pewter market.

Among the sizable number of extant wriggle work plates, there are several outstanding examples that have highly original designs. However many of the plates have designs that are so similar they suggest standard designs were available for the customer's choosing. The lack of straight line engraving on these plates is believed by some to be evidence that the work was done within the pewterer's shop and not by professional engravers. This would keep costs down provided there was sufficient demand. Considering the limited number of pewterers whose marks appear on the plates, it is possible that one or two wriggle work engravers could have contracted their services to several pewterers. Some have speculated that the engraving was done by one or more outside silver engravers; however the workmanship on English wriggle work pieces is far below that of professional silver Fig. 30. A pair of plates by James Hitchman, London, 1 engravers, and I question whether sil­ c1715-30. Diam. = 8 / 2", One shows a peacock, the other a ver engravers would have lowered large embellished tulip. The owner's initials, "E W," are their standard or even considered wriggled on both plates. The rims of both plates are exten­ working for a pewterer. sively decorated. Photo courtesy of John Davis and Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (1958-588, 1-2) F or an excellent and much more detailed article on these plates, including a discussion of some of the symbols that appear on them, see the article, "Wriggle Work Plates,"ll by Peter Hornsby that was published in The Journal of The Pewter Society.

The pair of plates in Figure 30 are by James Hitchman, London, cI715-30, the best known and most prolific of the wriggle work plate makers. If any of the pewterers who made these plates could have afforded an engraver in house, it would have been Hitchman. This pair, one showing a peacock and the other a large embellished tulip, has the owner's initials, "E W",

19 wriggled in the inside booge of each plate. Surprisingly, a number of his pairs have sur­ vived intact. The workmanship on his plates is considered among the best.

Figure 31 is one of a pair of plates by Henry Sewdley, London, c1706-38. In this pair, each plate depicts three flowers in a pedestal base container. Although the designs are similar, they are too different to have been copied from a standard design.

Figure 32 shows a plain rim plate by John Shorey, Jr., London, c1708-1727, that has a wrigglework design that appears to be a thistle over a rose. There is a possibility that this may be a symbol of some sort but, to date, no Fig. 31. One of a pair of plates by Henry Sewdley, supporting evidence has been found. 5 London, c1706-38. Diam. 9 / 8," Both plates show Nevertheless, the design has been found three flowers in a pedestal base container, but the on plates by other pewterers. I, for one, designs are too different to have been traced or copied have a pair made by Samuel Ellis, from a standard design. Collection of Frank & Jill London, c1721-64, with the design so Powell. Photo by Jill Powell. similar to the one pictured that both had to have been copied from a single source. This is the only pair of wriggle work plates marked by Ellis that I have seen.

It is worth noting that the four pewterers men­ tioned above: Hitchman, Sewdley, Shorey and Ellis, together with Timothy Fly, whose plates have been found with wriggle work, all worked in London during the first third of the eighteenth century. All of them were also exporters, but it appears that most of their wriggle work plates were made for the English market. Many collectors believe that the wriggle work plates found in America (and there have not been many) were brought here by dealers or collectors after World War I!.

Fig. 32. Plain rim plate by John Shorey, Jr., Flat-Lidded Tankards 1 Most of what we know about flat-lidded tankards London, c1708-27. Diam. = 9 / 4 ". A strong wriggled image of a composite flower that (c 1650-171 0, often called Stuart tankards) is appears to be a thistle over a rose, possibly a based upon a fifteen year survey by Ian symbol of some sort Collection of Kenneth Robinson, member of The Pewter Society and and Linda Goldberg. The PCCA. Ian conducted an extensive literature

20 search of reference books, magazines and catalogues from museums & auction houses, and visited museums and pri­ vate collections in the U. K. and the U. S. The results of his survey were pub­ lished in The Journal of The Pewter Society.12 This was a survey of extant tankards and Ian found about 170 of them of which 114 (about two-thirds) were decorated. Since Ian believes that his survey "accounts for well over 50%" (say 55-60%, my estimate) of extant flat lids, this would suggest that probably 300 of these tankards have survived and 200 or so are decorated. Thirty of the decorated tankards in Ian's survey contain royal portraits. Tankards Fig. 33. A William and Mary flat-lidded portrait tankard with portraits of Queen Anne and turned to its side to show the extremely rare seahorse Edward II have been found but most of handle terminal. The touchmark, a crowned "R S," has the royal portrait tankards are of never been identified. Height just under 5". Photo by kind permission of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust William III and Mary or of William III from the Neish Collection at Harvard House. alone. Most of the decorated tankards are done with wriggle work engraving but examples are known with straight line engrav­ ing and punch work. On the royal portrait tankards, the outline and features of the face are often done by straight line engraving. One of the William and Mary portrait tankards is shown in Figure 33 but is turned to the side to show the extremely rare, if not unique, seahorse handle terminal. The pewterer's touch mark, a crowned R S, has never been positively identified, but has been found on seven William and Mary portrait tankards. Other views and more information on this tankard can be found in the article, "Royal Tankards,I3" by Alex Neish in The Journal of The Pewter Society. A peripheral view of another portrait tankard, this one of James II, is shown in Figure 34. To date, it is the only reported tankard with his portrait. As John Davis noted in his book, "Both the brevity and unpopularity of James II's reign (1685-1688) may explain, in part, 14 the scarcity of his likeness. "

Fig. 34. A peripheral view of a flat-lidded portrait tankard of James II, the only reported tankard with his portrait. Touchmark of John Donne, London, 1 c1686-88. Ht. = 7 / 2". Photo courtesy ofJohn Davis and Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (1959-73).

21 Most of the folk art engraved tankards contain wriggle work images of flowers and birds. Thirty are known with royal portraits and some of these have lions and unicorns. Others have a variety of animals including pigeons, swans, a duck, a lamb, and a chained bear. The one with the chained bear is shown in Figure 35. It is said to be one of the bears at a seventeenth century tavern at Tower Bridge in London.15 Charles II Restoration Chargers Some collectors consider these chargers to be an extension of the wriggle work plates because they too are flat or sadware. However the quality of the engraving is so far above the wriggle work plates, and the historical impor­ tance of these chargers is so great, that they deserve a category of their own. The high esteem in which these dishes are held can be seen by the presence of three of them among the top fifteen world record prices paid for pewter at public auction.16 The exact number Fig. 35. One of several reported flat-lidded that has survived is open for debate. There tankards with a wriggled engraving of an animal l other than a bird, this one with a chained bear. have been estimates ranging from twelve ? to This one bears the touchmark of Peter Duffield, under twenty,18 the uncertainty caused by a 3 London, cl646-89. Ht.= 6 / 8", Collection of Ian number of fakes of these rare and very much in Robinson. demand dishes. A survey listing the authentic ones is sorely needed.

1 Fig. 36. A 20 / 2" broad rim Restoration Charger dated 1662 by the unidentified pewterer, "H R. " Almost all of the engraving is extremely well-done wriggle work except for the coat of arms in the center which, because of the small detail, was straight line engraved. Photo courtesy of John Davis and Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (1974-176).

22 Although all of these chargers are called Restoration Chargers, those that bear the date 1662 celebrate the marriage of Charles II to Catherine of Braganza in that year. The actu­ al year of the restoration of the monarchy was 1664. One of the finest of these chargers 1 is shown in Figure 36. It is a 20 / 2" broad rim charger bearing the unidentified touchmark of a pewterer with the initials, H R. In the well is the Stuart coat of arms engraved with­ in the motto, HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE. Included in the well is a crest, support­ ers and various scrolled embellishments. On the face of the lion supporter is imposed the crowned face of Charles II. Around the face of the booge is inscribed, Vivat Rex Carolus Secundus Beati Pacifici (Long Live Charles II, Blessed Peacemaker) 1662. The acorns and oak leaves that embellish part of the rim symbolize the King's escape from defeat in battle by hiding in an oak tree. Flanking the sun in splendor at the top are the owners' initials: NilE and O/IE.

Figure 37 pictures a 221/4" broad rim charger which, because it does not display the inscrip­ tion and 1662 date of the one above, may indeed have been engraved to commemorate the Restoration. Around the rim are the acorn and oak leaves and the sun in splendor. Around the booge is the inscription: THE GIFT OF HENRY CAPELL TO JOHN LAWRENCE 1687. I will leave further description of this charger to Alex Neish in a forthcoming article to be published in The Bulletin.

Fig. 37. A 221/4" broad rim Restoration Charger dated 1687 by an unidenti­ fied pewterer. Totally wriggle work engraved including the letters of the inscription in the booge. Photo by kind permission of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust from the Neish Collection at Harvard House.

23 Other British Pieces There are other significant engraved pieces that fall outside of the three categories pre­ sented above. Unfortunately, space limitations prevent their inclusion in this article. But before closing this section on English pieces, some mention of other British pieces should be made.

According to Alex Neish, "Engraving on Scottish pewter is practically unknown."19 In the article cited, Alex mentions a Scottish flagon with a wriggled portrait of a Puritan.20 However the main topic of his article is a small 6" x 3" melon-shaped lidded box used to collect fines imposed on member of the Town Council (Town of Dundee) who failed to attend its meetings. The small box is straight line engraved with, "interlinking chains, crescents and circles. Imposed between these in tum are four large circles containing shields" with inscriptions, two of which are dated 1602. Alex believes that the engraving was most likely done by a local silver engraver. This fines box and the flagon mentioned in the article are the only pieces of Scottish folk art engraved pewter reported to date.

Regarding Irish pewter, I contacted David Hall, author of the book, Irish Pewter-A History. David is an Honorary Member of The PCCA and the current editor of The Journal of The Pewter Society. David informed me, that to the best of his knowl­ edge no Irish wriggle work pieces have been reported. He does know of two decorated pieces which are "reputedly Irish, but in one case the maker was probably operating in England, not Ireland, and in the other case the maker is unidentified."21 David emailed me the photo of a Welsh-border dish illustrated in Figure 38. The most interesting thing about this folk art is that it is engraved on the back Fig. 38. A straight line engraving of a tree of life of the dish. David informed me that in Wales design with the initials "S W" added. Interestingly the engraving was done on the back of a 12" and the Welsh borders, garnishes of pewter multi-reed dish with the touchmark of an uniden­ "were traditionally displayed faces to the tified "IF" pewterer, c1690. Collection of David wall. Hence the engraving may well have Hall. been visible to all."

European Pieces The quantity and quality of European pieces that have been made available to me for this article have made their selection difficult. The quality of folk art engraving on European pewter is undoubtedly the best, and in my selection I have attempted to illustrate the best of the submitted pieces. I have also selected pieces from several different countries although the pieces from Germany predominate. Kenneth Barkin has estimated that Germany produced ten times the amount of wriggle work and engraved plates than did England. 22 I would estimate that Germany not only produced more folk art engraved pewter than any of the other European country but probably more than any two or three of them combined. The demand for German folk art engraved pewter at the time it was being produced would suggest that if any country could have afforded to have in-house

24 engravers working for the pewterers it would be Germany. Unfortunately Germany seems to have also produced more fake folk art engraved pewter than any other country.

The subject matter found on European pieces is also much richer and more diverse than that found on English or American pieces. Genre scenes are common with many human figures and animals, but there are also many religious pieces including Christian, Jewish and Classical mytholo­ gy. Folk art engraving abounds on European hollowware and I have selected a few pieces for Fig. 39. Genre scene of revelers outside of a tavern. The border has various scenes separated by foliate designs. Diam. 9 Sfs". this article, but in photographs Marked "1744 PAK" above a rose and crown with second mark, an the engraving can best be angel above "PAK". Dutch, circa mid-18th century. Collection of appreciated on flatware (and Kenneth and Linda Goldberg. there is more of it).

5 A typical genre scene is engraved on the mid-eighteenth Dutch 9 / 8" plate shown in Figure 39. In the center are revelers and musicians outside a tavern. Various scenes separated by foliate designs decorate the rim. All of the engraving is straight line.

One of the most frequently found subjects in folk art, whether on pewter, faience, paintings or other media, is "Adam and Eve." The exam­ ple in Figure 40 is unusual because it is a 13" English dish by Wood & Mitchell, London, c.1742-44, but it has been engraved by a German engraver. The dish has a com­ bination of straight line engrav­ ing with wriggled in-filling. The inscription on the rim is in German: "Adam und Eva im Paradies. "

Fig. 40. A 13" single reed English dish engraved by a German. A typical, "Adam and Eve" scene straight line engraved with wriggled in-filling. Marked by Wood & Mitchell, London, c.1742-44. Inscription in German on the rim, "Adam und Eva im Paradies." Lord-Barkin collection. 25 Figure 41 shows a 9" plate used in the Jewish Feast of Purim. (See the Book of Ester.) The engravIng shows the evil Haman forced to lead Mordechai in regal attire on horseback through the city proclaim­ ing his honor. In an old myth, Haman's daughter, believing the roles were reversed, mistook Haman for Mordechi and dowsed him with offal from an upper window. Upon dis­ covering her mistake, she threw herself from the win­ dow with fatal results. Unmarked, the plate is probably Dutch or German, c. mid-eighteenth century. Little information on Fig. 41. A 9" plate used in the Jewish Feast of Purim. See text for a Jewish folk art engraving description of the depicted scene. Straight line outline engraving of the main figures and Hebrew letters with wriggled in-filling. The unmarked on pewter has been pub­ plate is probably German or Dutch, circa mid-18th century. Collection lished. See the cited articles of Robert and Barbara Horan. Photo by Bill Snow. in the PCCA's Bulletin and The Pewter Society's Journal. 23

I suspect that the figures from Classical mythology depicted in Figure 42 were copied from one or more print engravings. Mercury, Venus, Cupid, Juno, and Minerva are too well proportioned and detailed, compared to the figures on the rim, to have been free-hand engraved. In fact, to my eye, the well and rim appear to have been engraved by two 5 different hands. The 9 / 8" single reed plate is a mid-eighteenth century Dutch piece marked, "H A" within a rose and crown and a second mark of a winged angel above, "H A."

5 Fig. 42. A 9 / 8" single reed Dutch plate depicting figures from Classical mythology. The straight line engrav­ ing may have been copied from an engraved print. The figures and foliate designs on the rim appear to have been engraved by a different hand. Circa mid-18th century. Collection ofKenneth and Linda Goldberg.

26 Figure 43 shows an extremely rare Swiss II" single reed dish made by a member of the Manz family of Zurich, last quarter of the eighteenth century. The wriggled engraving show a man and a woman holding a bird and a cage with the date, "1775" above. On the rim, along with foliate designs, is an inscription in French, "The bird seeks the cage."

Fig. 43. Rare Swiss 11" single reed dish made by a member of the Manz family of Zurich, 1st quarter of the 18th century. Wriggled engraving of a man and woman in elaborate dress in an elaborate setting, holding a bird and bird cage. Inscription in French reads. "The bird seeks the cage." Collection of Robert and Barbara Horan. Photo by Bill Snow.

27 A typical Dutch beaker with wriggle work portraits of William of Orange (William III) and Mary is shown in Figure 44. Mary's portrait is on the far side. While these beakers are not com­ mon, they are not as rare as English beakers with the same portraits which, to the best of my knowledge, only one has been reported. 24 Touchmark of rose and crown with "I. H." in crown, c. 1690.

An unusual Danish dish is shown in Figure 45. The octagonal dish is straight line elaborately engraved with marigolds, sunflowers, roses and a tulip. It is probably a marriage dish with the owners' initials, "MKD-HK." The unusual features are the manner in which the dish was made and the roundels at the vertices of the angles. The dish was not cast but was raised fronl a flat sheet. Consequently it has no thickened cast bead for reinforcement at the perimeter of the rim. Since this would leave the points of the octagon subject to damage, the roundels serve as reinforcements as well as a decorative device. Similar dishes are shown by Hornsby and Vanessa Brett. 25 A touchmark on the back is unidentified, c. 1690. Fig. 44. Dutch 5 5/8" high beaker with wriggle work portraits of William of Orange (William III) and Mary (on the far side.) Touchmark of rose and crown with "I H" in crown. Circa 1690. Collection of Robert and Barbara Horan. Photo by Bill Snow.

Fig. 45. An unusual octagonal Danish dish, c1690, not cast but raised from a flat sheet. Straight line engraved with elaborate flowers and raised roundels at the vertices of the octagon. Diameter 1 across the points, 14 / 4," Collection of Garland and 28 Frances Pass. More often seen in delft and faience, Figure 46 shows a wooden stave tankard with pewter lid, handle and base and a fretted pewter inlay around the barrel. The straight line engraving is of an angel surrounded by plants. Touchmark of Anna Barbara Habfast of Balingen, Germany, c.1738-1783.

Figure 47 shows a German plate dated 1789 with a hunt scene probably from the Black Forrest area of Germany where hunting was popular and often depicted on pewter hollowware and flatware. The center shows three rabbits with interconnected ears and an eight pointed star with a variety of birds and flowers alternating between the points. The rim shows a hunter with his gun and hunting dogs together with some of the game he was hunting: a deer, a rabbit, a fox, a wild boar with two piglets, a squirrel, and a mountain lion. An unidentified touchmark is on the back.

Fig. 46. A German, wooden stave tankard with pewter lid, handle and base and a fretted pewter inlay around the barrel. Height = 7". The straight line engraving is of an angel surrounded by plants. Touchmark of Anna Barbara Habfast of Balingen, c.1738- 1783. Lord-Barkin Collection.

3 Fig. 47. An 8 / 4" single reed German plate with a hunt scene depicted around the rim showing a hunter with his gun and hunting dogs and the various game he was hunting. The engraving is a combination of straight line and some of the finest wrigglework I have seen. Unidentified touch­ mark. Plate is dated "1789." Collection of Garland and Frances Pass.

29 Figure 48 shows a German flagon with another scene often found on hollowware and flatware: a stork carrying a baby in its beak, commemorating the birth of a child. The engraving is wriggle work and shows the stork on a branch with stylized flow­ ers. The lid is engraved with the owner's (possibly the baby's) initials, "H C L," and the date, "1811." Three struck touchmarks of Christian Friedrich Scherfig of Lichtenstein in Saxony are under the lid. His working period was from the late 18th century to the early 19th century.

Fig. 48a and b. Cylindrical Gennan tankard, so called "Walzkrug," with a wriggled stork with a baby in its beak on a branch with stylized flowers. 1 Overall height = 10 / 2," Touchmark under the lid of Christian Friedrich Scherfig of Lichtenstein in Saxony, late 18th to early 19th century. Collection ofJan Gadd. Chinese Pieces Pewter pieces began to appear in China as early as the Han Dynasty, 206 BC -24 AD. From that period to the 16th century when the first contact was made with the West, pewter objects were made strictly for the Chinese domestic market. Transitional forms that combined both Chinese and Western influences began to be produced during the reign of Kangxi, c1662-1722.26 All of the decorative arts, including engraved pewter objects, that I have seen from these two periods are in museums and reference books. The work­ manship is exquisite and was obviously done by highly trained craftsmen. Therefore these objects would not be considered folk art.

Most of the major European countries began trading with China in the 17th and early 18th centuries. When the first ship from the United States reached China in 1784, the "China Trade" with the West was in full sway and there were thousands of shops in Canton and other trading centers producing a variety of decorative arts. As the trade continued to increase well into the 19th century, the quality of workmanship began to slip for it was not possible to maintain the training of the thousands of artisans employed in the export shops. By the time of the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876, the quality of workmanship in China was far inferior to what it had been a century earlier.27

It is from this period, the late 18th century through the third quarter of the 19th century, that much of the engraving on Chinese pewter can be considered folk art. While most of it was produced in the export shops from standard designs and does not have the spon­ taneity of folk art engraving from the West, it compares favorably with the folk art we see on Dutch delft, German stoneware, and English hand painted ceramics which were pro­ duced for export from standard designs. The standard designs, however, were hand crafted

30 and show some individual characteristics. And the engraved designs on matching objects are seldom exact duplicates.

Very little engraved Chinese flatware will be found, for the "plate" is a Western form; most Chinese food is served in bowls. While the Chinese were familiar with the form from all of the export ceramics in Western taste that were being produced, there seemed to be no demand for Chinese engraved pewter plates. Consequently, most of the engraved pewter we find will be on hollowware. And since the major commodity of the China Trade was tea, a major portion of the engraved hollowware we find will be tea cad­ dies and tea pots.

Figure 49 is a late eighteenth century tea caddy. Octagonal in form, the engraving on the vertical flat panels of the body Fig. 49. A small late 18th-early alternate with floral designs and Chinese calligraphy. The 19th century Chinese tea caddy, Chinese have long considered calligraphy an art form and it 5" high overall. Octagonal shape with alternating panes of is not uncommon to find it incorporated into engraved straight line engraved flowers designs. The floral designs are straight line engraved while and punch engraved Chinese the calligraphy characters are punch engraved with a series calligraphy. This and all of the of dot size punches best seen on the scroll designs at the top remaining items are in the and bottom of the panels. The height of the tea caddy is only Collection of Garland and 5" overall and is typical of the small caddies produced in the Frances Pass. eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries when tea was a valuable commodity.

Figure 50 is a mid-nineteenth century tea 1 caddy, 7 / 2" high, that holds four times the quantity of tea as the caddy in Fig. 49. As the price of tea dropped, the tea caddies got bigger. Although no teapots are shown in this article, the same rule applies to the size of teapots as well. The engraving is entirely straight line and consists of a variety of flowers and birds. The lid is engraved with noise makers and other devices used in celebrations. A feature found on many Chinese pieces, going back at least to the seventeenth century, is the use of brass and copper inlays applied to the area to be engraved prior to the actual engraving. Brass IS used for the inlay on this tea caddy.

Fig. 50. A much larger mid-19th century Chinese 1 tea caddy, 7 / 2" high but holding four times the volume of the caddy in Fig. 49. More typical of the larger 19th century caddies when tea became less expensive. Straight line engraving over brass inlay of birds and flowers. 31 A small shallow oblong bowl is shown in Figure 51 engraved with an exotic bird surrounded by flowers and foliage. The bowl is in the shape ofa leaf with a thin brass band at the perimeter. It rests on a low foot and the stem handle has a small semi-precious stone inset. Overall length is 7" and the width is 3". Fig. 51. A small leaf-shaped bowl straight line engraved A transitional piece is shown in Figure 52, with an exotic bird surrounded by flowers. A small brass a baby's nursing bottle. This form is also band surrounds the perimeter and the stem is inset with a small semi-precious stone. Overall length 7"; width = 3." found in European, English and American pewter. This bottle, however, has several features that are strictly Chinese. One is the straight line engraving with copper inlay of a flower design, shown, and a Mandarin figure on the far side. Second is the top which has a left-hand thread attachment, and third is a pewter straw attached to the nipple which allows the baby to empty the contents without tilting the bottle. Why didn't Western pewterers Fig. 52. A transitional Chinese think of that? Height is 7". baby's nursing bottle. This form is found in European, Additional Chinese pewter pieces are English, and American pictured in Patricia Grove's article. pewter but this piece has Especially noteworthy are the figural several features found only on Chinese pieces. Height 7". candlesticks and other figural pieces See text. illustrated and described.28 These are the most recognized and highly valued folk art pieces of Chinese pewter. A pair recently sold at a Northeast Auction in New Hampshire in the low five figure range. Also of great value in her article is a photo and many illustrations of the type of Chinese touchmarks to look for on 18th and 19th century pieces. Any piece marked "China" and later "Made in China" was so marked in con­ formance with the McKinley Tariff Act of 1891. The qual­ ity of these late 19th century and early 20th century pieces are usually lower than the pieces discussed here.

Fig. 53. An English heart-shaped 1 snuffbox, 2 / 2" x 1 7/8" X 7/8'" Fig. 54. A Chinese butterfly­ 1 shaped trinket box, 2 / 2" x

P/4" X 3/4". See the text for a more detailed description of both boxes.

32 Finally, Figures 53 and 54 show two rare pieces of pewter folk art in which not only the engraving is folk art but the form of the piece itself is folk art. Figure 53 is an English snuff box in the shape of a heart. The piece was not cast but was formed from flat pieces, engraved and then shaped and soldered into a heart form. The top has a monogram and flowers, the base an arrangement of flowers. Note the perimeter and even the hinge for the lid have been decorated with a repeating design produced by some type of wheel engraver or crimping punch.

Figure 54 is a Chinese trinket (?) box in the shape of a butterfly. It is constructed much in the same manner as the snuffbox in Figure 53. The box is divided into two compart­ ments with the hinge for the two "wing" lids mounted over the dividing partition. The body of the butterfly is engraved on the lids along both sides of the hinge and the lids are engraved and shaped to resemble butterfly wings.

Acknowledgements Thanks are due the museums and collectors who allowed me to use photographs of their items in this article. My only regret is that due to space limitations I was not able to use all of the photographs submitted by the collectors. If this article brings out pieces that have not been previously reported, perhaps there will be enough material for a follow-up article. Thanks are also due Bill Snow who took some of the photographs and to Dwayne Abbott who made some editing suggestions.

1 Kenneth Barkin, Exhibition catalogue, Folk Art and Function in Europe: 1600-1900, University Art Gallery, University of California, Riverside, 1993. Kenneth Barkin, Exhibition catalogue, From Tavern to Tabernacle, Decorated British and European Pewter, 1600-1800, Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, California, 200l. 3 Arthur M. Hind, A History of Engraving & Etching from the 15th Century to the Year 1914, Edition published in 1963 by Dover Publications, Inc., New York, a republication of the third fully revised edition, as published by Houghton Mifflin Co. in 1923. 4 Ledie I. Laughlin, Pewter in America, Its Maker and Their Marks, Bare Publishers, Bare, MA, 1969, Vol. I, Plate XVI, Fig. 94. 5 Jay Robert Stiefel, "Simon Edgell (1687-1742)-'To a Puter dish' and Grander Transactions of a London-trained Pewterer in Philadelphia," The Bulletin, PCCA, Vol. 12, No.8, p. 353. 6 Charles F. Montgomery, A HistOlY ofAmerican Pewter, E. P. Dutton, New York, 1973, p. 14l. 7 Donald Fennimore, "A True American Stuart Tankard-Maybe," The Bulletin, PCCA, Vol. 7, No.5, p. 168. 8 Montgomery, A History ofAmerican Pewter, p. 46. 9 Melvyn D. Wolf, MD, "Boardman Update," The Bulletin, PCCA, Vol. 10, No.4, pp. 82 & 85. 10 John D. Davis, Pewter at Colonial Williamsburg, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, Virginia, 2003, pp. 106 & 107 and back of dust jacket. 11 Peter Hornsby, "Wriggle Work Plates," The Journal of The Pewter Society, VoL 6, No.4, Autumn 1988, pp.142-150. 12 Ian Robinson, "A Review of English Pewter Flat-Lidded Tankards, Makers, Thumbpieces, Handles and Decoration." The Journal of The Pewter Society, Vol. 8, No.3, Spring 1993, pp. 85-105. 13 Alex Neish, "Royal Tankards." The Journal ofThe Pewter Society, Vol. 8, No.1, Spring 1991, pp. 37 & 38. 14 Davis, Pewter at Colonial Williamsburg, p. 190. 15 Ian Robinson, "Information about Members." The Pewter Society Newsletter, No. 29, New Year 2000, p. 4. 16 Garland Pass, "An Expanded List of World Record Auction Prices," The Bulletin, PCCA, Vol. 12, No.9, p.442. 17 Alex Neish, "An Exceptional Wriggled Charger." The Journal of The Pewter Society, Vol. 10, No.2, Autumn 1995, p. 68. 18 Davis, Pewter at Colonial Williamsburg, p. 40.

33 19 Alex Neish, "The Priceless Pig." The Journal of The Pewter Society, Vol. 6, No.4, Autumn 1988, pp.128-130. 20 For a photo of this flagon see Peter Hornsby's, Pewter ofthe Western World, 1600-1850, Schiffer, Exton, PA, 1983, p.44, item 51. 21 E-mail correspondence from David Hall to Garland Pass, dated 6/22/2004. 22 Kenneth Barkin, "Jewish Religious Plates-a Comment." The Journal of The Pewter Society, Vol. 8, No.1, Spring 1991, pp. 18 & 19. 23 Dr. Guido Schoenberger, "Pewter Objects in Jewish Ritual Art," The Bulletin, PCCA, Vol. 3, No.1, p.3. Alex Neish, "The Jewish Religious Plate," The Journal of The Pewter Society, Vol. 7, No.4, Autumn 1990, p.125-129. Barkin, "Jewish Religious Plates-a Comment." 24 Dr. E. R. Roberts, "British Beakers," The Journal of The Pewter Society, Vol. 3, No.2, Autumn 1981, p.64. 25 Hornsby, Pewter of The Western World, p. 54, Item 82. Also see, Vanessa Brett, Phaidon Guide to Pewta; Phaidon Press Ltd., Oxford, 1981, pp, 168 & 169. 26 Patricia M. Grove, "Chinese Pewter for the West," PCCA Bulletin, Vol. 12, No.1, p.6. 27 Carl L. Crossman, The China Trade, The Pyne Press, Princeton, NJ, 1972, p. 4. 28 Grove, "Chinese Pewter for the West," pp. 14 & 15.

Pewter Imports 1750

Recently a copy of Benjamin Franklin's The Pennsylvania Gazette, dated May 31, 1750, came to my attention. Among several advertisements was the following.

Imported in the last ships from London and to be sold exeeding cheap by EDMUND KEARNY, at his store in Water Street, opposite Mr. Samuel Neaves

To name a few of the dozens of items listed were such things as

muslins, calicoes, striped linen, brass and iron Jews harps, watch keys, fine green tea, fish hooks, looking glasses, carpenJers rules, and at the end of the long list of imports

pewter, shallow and deep plates, chamber pots, porringers, tankards, quart and pint pots, tea pots, candle moulds, and spoons, with other goods, &c.

Charles V. Swain

34 A Boardman Measure of 1818 With Sealer's Marks by Andrew F. Turano

I recently acquired an unmarked but verified Boardman quart measure in poor condition. The measure is dated 1818 and has a double set of initials: GG (or CC) individually struck, followed by a single die of D.C. In Dr. Melvyn D. Wolf's article on Boardman measures, Vol. 7, No.9, p. 365, he lists the known dates and initals. In this list, there had not been a measure recorded with this date and with these initials. I contacted him for an update, and he states that he has not seen one with that date since the article.

Donald L. Fennimore and Charles V. Swain reported in Vol. 8, No.6, pp. 225-7 that the ini­ tials on these measures not only matched but represented New York City sealers marks whose names were found in the appropriate City documents. In these documents, a sealer with the initials of W. W. (William Welling) was listed for 1818. Unfortunately, the infor­ mation and the find do not match. And yet, these letter and number dies strongly resemble the style and size of the New York City examples.

35 A New Gleason Candlestick by Melvyn D. Wolf, M .. D ..

In PCCA Bulletin Volume 10, Number 3, page 61, I described a new variation of a Roswell Gleason candlestick. It was a 12 inch unmarked candlestick by Roswell Gleason utilizing the same style of "hose nozzle shaft" which had been previously described in many articles. Recently however, I obtained an unmarked marked Roswell 1 Gleason candlestick, shown in Figure 1 center. It measures 8 / 2 inches tall. On the left 1 is a marked 7 / 4 inch Roswell Gleason candlestick and on the right is the previously described 12 inch Roswell Gleason candlestick. Again, this brief article demonstrates the three sizes of the "hose nozzle shaft" that Roswell Gleason is known to have used. The large candlestick utilizes the large and middle shafts. The middle sized shaft is also the one that has been used on the Roswell Gleason Bullseye Lamp.

I thought the comparison of the two candlesticks would be of interest to the membership. Again it demonstrates the ability of such outstanding pewterers as Roswell Gleason to "make do" with many parts.

1 1 Fig. 1 Uncommon Roswell Gleason candlestick center, 8 / 2 inches tall. 7 / 4 inch candlestick, left. 12 inch tall candlestick right.

36 Copper Bottom Teapots by Melvyn D. Wolf, M.D.

It has always been my opinion that copper bottom teapots were quite late in manufacture, probably in the 1850- 1860 era. This is basically substantiated in Connecticut Pewter and Pewterers by John Carl Thomas. In his book, Figure 133, he shows the typical 1 cup Boardman teapot with pewter bottom signed "Boardman and Hart" which he dates, circa 1830. In Figure 135, he photographs two copper bottom teapots that are dated TD&SB and he dates these about 1860.

The problem that I have at this juncture, is that which is shown in Figures 1 and 2. They show a pewter bottom teapot on the left signed "Boardman and Hart" and a copper bottom teapot on the right, unsigned but unequivocally from the same manufacturer. The question then becomes whether copper bottom teapots are earlier than thought or pewter bottom teapots were used later. In any event, I don't believe that this little article answers the ques­ tion, but it does bring up the interesting point.

The third photograph shows the application of the cop­ per bottom to both the urn shaped as well as the elon­ gated pear shaped miniature pots. The rolled edge on the copper bottom is typical of original manufacture, so as to preclude any question as to the copper bottom on the Figure I: I cup Pewter bottom teapot left. urn shaped pot having been I cup Copper bottom teapot right. replaced.

I hope that the membership will find this interesting and possibly help date the cop­ per bottomed teapots a bit earlier.

Figure 2 Pewter bottom left. Copper bottom right.

Figure 3: Copper bottom left Copper bottom right. 37 New York Handle Porringers Addendum by Melvyn De Wolf, M .. D.

About the time I completed the article on New York handled porringers, I felt it was up to date, at least for a while. Less than one year later, I obtained the porringer which is shown 1 in Figurel. It is 4 / 4 inch in diameter and is another of the so called Type III porringers. This porringer is signed by Josiah Danforth of Middletown, Connecticut.

When reviewing Carl Jacob's book Guide to American Pewter, I did note that he described Old English or New York Handled Porringers by Josiah Danforth, but this is actually the first one I have ever seen.

In order to make the article a bit more complete, this porringer should be included as another of the Type III porringers. This brings to six the number of pewterers who have used this handle: Thomas Danforth II, John Danforth, Samuel Danforth of Hartford, Edward Danforth, Thomas D. & Sherman Boardman, and now Josiah Danforth.

I am sure as time progresses, additional handles will appear requiring further corrections.

Figure 1: Type III New York Handled Porringer by Josiah Danforth

38 The Other Relief Cast Strap Handle by Andrew F. Turano

It is generally acknowledged that the Yales were the innovators and users of the floral decorated relief cast strap handle. The most commonly encountered examples exist on the sugar bowls and creamers marked H. Yale & Co. I had accumulated two pieces with sec­ tions of what, on casual inspection, appeared to have portions of this handle serving differ­ ent functions: a ring handle on a saucer based whale oil lamp, and a thumbpiece on a syrup. I recently acquired a beaker with the entire strap handle, and, at that point, it was obvious that it differed markedly from the Yale design. The thumbpiece on the syrup had been reported by me in The Bulletin, Vol. 11, Fig. 1 Side view of strap-handled beaker on 1 1 shallow foot. H. 3 / ", T.D. 3", B.D. 2 / ". No.6, pp. 186-187. In that article I tried too 8 2 hard to ascribe the form to the Yales, but now, slightly wiser, I must correct my error.

Figure 1 shows the beaker, and Figure 2 shows the full handle on the beaker, next to the handle on a Yale piece.

Fig. 2 Side-by-side full views of Yale handle on left, and newly described handle on right.

39 Figure 3 shows the tail end of the strap handle used as a thumbpiece, and Figure 4 shows the handle as a ring on the lamp. The design on the Yale handle has a series of serrated chevrons and a floral and scroll design with a four petalled flower. The newly described han­ dle is finer in detail, thinner, and the flower is a closed rose with a consistent casting defect. It is accompanied by leaves and acorns. Unfortunately, none of these pieces are marked. Figure 5 shows all of the pieces with the new handle. They appear to be consistent with Boardman forms, and I am sure someone will now find one that is marked.

Fig. 3 Tail end of new handle used as a thumbpiece on an unmarked syrup.

Fig. 4 A portion of the handle used as a ring on a lamp with a typical Boardman font.

Fig. 5 All of the pieces with the new handle side by side.

40 Reviving Memories by Alex Neish

Scotland has a short memory for most things except the mirage of its history and the related romantic illusions. Pewter is no exception as an alms dish at the Scottish Episcopal Holy Trinity Church at Haddington, a few miles south of Edinburgh on the coast, clearly reveals. It featured in L. Ingleby Wood's definitive 1908 Scottish Pewter and Pewterers, and in 1911 was one of the exhibits in the Glasgow Palace of History Exhibition. Over 50 years ago it surfaced again in an article by Captain A. V. Sutherland-Graeme on The Pewter Section at the Royal Scottish Academy Exibition. Since then it has been olympically for­ gotten even when it is one of the finer examples of how pewter in traditional Scottish society linked the home and the church.

Holy Trinity Church has a distinguished but chequered background, tracing its origins back to the middle of the 13th century when it had been for two centuries the property of Franciscan Friars, twice burnt by invading English armies, and finally demolished in 1572 as the reforming zeal swept the nation. The next century was to witness the ebb and flow of Presbyterianism and Episcopalianism as the Stuart dynasty was replaced by William of Orange. A schism developed in the Episcopalian church as persecution thinned its ranks - till at the end of the 18th century only some forty of its ministers remained. Haddington was a stronghold due to the influx of English soldiers and merchants and in 1769 the rebuilding of the new Holy Trinity Church began on the same site.

The cost in those distant days was around £800, a very significant figure. Half of this was donated by a Mr. Federick Charteris who later was to become the Earl of Wemyss and maintain the rural history of the market town by refusing the railway companies permission to cross his estate. The local importance of the family may be measured by the fact that in the early 19th century church it had its own pew - and a private room to which they could retire for refreshments between the morning and afternoon services. A further £300 was raised by local subscription, and the balance lent by one Simon Sawers, pewterer, whose loan was not repaid till 1807.

This marks Sawers as an important and wealthy local citizen. Most significant of all, how­ ever, is that he is an unrecorded pewterer and presumably from this craft had amassed his wealth, successfully maintaining his trade in this rural stronghold when the better known pewterers of Edinburgh were already beginning to succumb to the pressure from rival wares. Further research is planned to establish whether he came from a family of pewterers, was part of an unrecognized local craft, or was simply a solitary figure who had learned the "mystery" of the craft elsewhere.

41 The Church of the Holy Trinity alms dish bears no maker's mark at a time when such identification was still being regularly struck on Scottish pewter as a quasi-guarantee to buyers. This may well argue in favour of a small local craft operating independently of the known Incorporations of Hammermen and so not subject to their quality controls.

Past literature has described the piece as "an alms dish of deep type with cup-shape recep­ tacle in the centre of the more valuable coins" giving the plate diameter as 17 inches and that of the cup as 4 inches. This, however, suggests the piece had not been examined first­ hand. The dish is not particularly deep and the diameter is in fact 16 112 inches. The central cup is cleary a salt of 33/4 inches diameter that has been crudely soldered into position.

The plate is inscribed with the date of Nov. 20th 1748, a period for which the Church records are missing. It is, however, patently clear that the alms dish was not bought by the Church but was presented as a gift as it bears on the reverse the Scottish ownership triad of H EM showing that it had been in domestic use. The presumption must be that the date marked some significant event that will remain a secret in the life of the couple who originally owned and used it.

It is here that the dish marks a Scottish pewter tradition - that some articles of domestic use would be gifted to a local church and incorporated into its religious ceremonies. Most of these transfers were anonymous but this is one of the few that proclaims its origins and its final transmutation. This is why the piece is particularly important - as is the fact that Haddington Holy Trinity Church has reserved it when so much of Scottish church pewter has been consigned to the religious scrap heap of the antiques trade.

A Saucer For The King? by Alex Neish

Some of the greatest examples of English medieval pewter have been excavated from the River Thames in London by the indominatable "mud larks" who, when the tide goes out, risk their lives by descending into its treacherous banks of mud with metal detectors. The eighties and nineties saw their searches generating an apparently endless flow of pilgrim and secular items. Many were the then-equivalent of today's tourist junk. Others, however, were extraordinary creations now in the Museum of British Pewter at Stratford-upon­ Avon, like the pilgrim badge with the head of the murdered Thomas A. Beckett in a sunburst, or the earliest known English domestic candlestick, or the first of all baluster measures that began their lives in the 15th century to end it in Scotland in the 19th.

42 Even the Thames, however, is not an inexhaustible source and over recent years the former flow has slowed to a trickle. Now and again, however, there surfaces something never seen before. Such is the cast decorated saucer illustrated in the photograh. Measuring a fraction under 4 inches in diameter, the edge of the rim is sealed by small and fine bead­ ing within which is cast a decoration comprising primarily thistles with the occasional jleur de lys.

It is this decoration that is excep­ tional. It replaces with thistles the vines and grapes that proliferate in most cast work from the 17th cen­ tury, be this found on beakers, saucers, or wine goblets. The only other known item decorated with thistles is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert. This is a beaker of unusual format illustrated as item 32 in the "Pewter for Eating and Drinking" in Tony North's recent catalogue to the museum's pewter collection. He describes this as the only known English example similar to German stacking beakers and notes that within the strapwork of the decora­ tion are "badges in relief featuring the rose and crown, suns in splendour, thistle and crown, thistles, a crowned jleur de lys, and Prince of Wales' feathers."

It is these feathers that led him to suggest the beaker must be related to the Prince of Wales, son of James 1st and 6th, who assumed that position in 1610 only to die 2 years later. It seems unlikely we shall ever know the facts, but it has also been suggested the V & A beaker is related to the crowning of James as King of England and Scotland in 1603.

This cetainly would seem probable in the context of the thistle-decorated saucer which bears in the well the touchmark of W (?) in a beaded circle. If this could be identified, the mystery would be solved. Unfortunately this is another of the unidentified touches that defy researchers and constitute what the early craft called "the mysteries of pewter."

43 A Spanish Measure From Madrid by Andrew F. Turano

The P.C.C.A. membership is grateful for the geographic diversity of its members and the depth of knowledge available from those who reside in other countries. There are areas of the world where there is little research or interest in local pewter and few remaining specimens are avaialbe. It is to our credit when we are able to document the history and existence of pewter in those countries.

I recently acquired a measure which, on all appearances, was of French metric form. On the outside base, however, was a mark of a maker (?) in Madrid. The verification or gauging marks were stamped along the upper body, and although there was no volume designation visible on the front, it holds exactly 200cc (double deciliter, or "doble deci litry" in Spanish). In comparing it with marked French pieces, it is definitely of the same 3 form, as was the handle, which was burned on. It is 4 / 16" H. and the top and bottom diameters are 23/s". The 13 verification marks are all encircled (4-07mm. in diameter). Some show the letters H and I, and there are other marks of unknown stylized forms with small single numbers. Note photos of the measure and its marks (Fig. la, b, c, d).

Figs. 1a, b, c, d. Photographs of the Spanish measure; its mark and various verification marks.

44 Thanks to the expertise ofAlex Neish, who now resides in Spain, I found out that the piece is quite rare. In fact, any pewter, either made or used in Spain after 1800 is rare. In Vol. 12, No.4 of The Bulletin he illustrates on page 181, Fig. 6 a series of measures of French form from 2 liters on down, noted to be from "Barcelona or Madrid". He has found none since. These measures have verification marks with circled letters that disignate the year of veri­ fication, a practice also used by the Dutch. Based on one other measure with a Madrid mark found earlier in Florida by Charles V. (Bub) Swain, he contacted four museums in Madrid for information on Madrid pewter and drew a blank. In Barcelona, where he lives, he found that the responsible controlling body on verification had disbanded and the records destroyed. He also found that there is little if any interest in collectiong and documenting old pewter in Spain. Because of and subsequent to repeated military conflicts in Spain, i.e., the Napoleonic conquest in 1805-1813, combined with decrees in 1807 and 1813 that abolished the craft monopolies in Spain, local craftsmanship was discouraged and localy made 19th Century pewter vanished. His articles discuss this in greater detail.

I contacted Bub Swain about his measure and found that it also was of French form. It had a pair of marks on the outer base. One was in a circle that read MADRID over A. TARAMINA, and the other, also within a circle, consisted of a pair of scales with the letters "L.E." beneath. Around the lip were the same lettered verification marks, 23 in all, ranging from J to &, surrounded by a circle. His is marked with the volume on the front, "DECI LITRO", with wear on the middle of the body. Bud feels that his measure dates to the mid- 19th Century. As the description of the mark with the initialed scales sounded failiar, I reviewed some photos of marks on a set of 19C. French measures I once assembled. Luckily, and with verification from Bud, all but one of the marks were the same, and a photo of the mark is illustrated (Fig. 2). It appears that his measure had originated in France and was marked in Spain, either by the shop owener or by factors, and my measure's mark most likely has the same attribution. As it is not possible at this time to document the exis­ tence of pewterers in Barcelona or Madrid post 1800, we shall have to await further research by Alex Neish in order to gather more information on this pewter form as it was used in Spain, its source, and its subsequent existence.

Figs. 2. The French mark on the Spanish measure found by Charles V. Swain.

45 Thomas Wildes Tankards by Melvyn De Wolf, M. D.

In Pewter in America, Volume 3 by Ledlie Laughlin, plate LXXXVII, Figure 732 pictures a quart tankard by T. Wildes, Philadelphia and New York, c.lS29-40. That tankard is cur­ rently in the collection of Mr. Charles Swain. Laughlin goes on to describe the fact that this tankard was made of spun Britannia with thin walls, yet it retains the simplicity of form of earlier tankards.

About a year or two ago, we purchased another tankard marked by Thomas Wildes. The tankard which we bought is SI/4 inches tall as compared with the Swain tankard which is 1 7 / 4 inches tall. Both tankards are photographed in Figure 1. One notices immediately that there is no real similarity between these two tankards other than the fact they are both of spun metal and both are very late in form. Both are marked on the bottom with the mark shown in Figure 2. This mark incidentally has now been found on other pieces of pewter by Thomas Wildes. At the time of Laughlin's Volume 3 publication, he felt this mark was unique, but it has been seen on other forms of pewter since 1971.

Fig. 1. Oblique view of Wildes tankards (Wolf-left; Swain-right).

46 Fig. 2. T. Wildes mark on each tankard.

The reason for this article is that both tankards have double bottoms. That is, a plate with the mark "T. Wildes" impressed has been sweated onto the base of each tankard. The tankard which we own, looking at the inside bottom (which is the "hidden bottom" if you will) shows nothing remarkable. However, in Mr. Swain's tankard, as shown in Figure 3, there is the remnant of a "double hard strike" which has been placed most assuredly on the under­ surface of the hidden bottom. The significance of this is of great importance.

It is apparent that if the false bottom were Fig. 3. "Double Hard Strike" removed, there would be the strike of some on inside bottom of Swain Tankard. other pewterer, I presume, on the true bottom of the tankard. This does, in my opinion, suggest that both of these tankards, being of spun metal and late design, were probably imported from England. If either of these tankards were found with a Sheffield mark, it would surprise no one, for this would be the type of pewter imported into the United States at that time. The false bottom was proba­ bly cut from a plate with the die strike of Thomas Wildes, having been previously impressed upon it, and was then sweated onto the bottom of each tankard so they could be subsequently sold out of his shop.

I believe this is another effort of an American pewterer to broaden the scope of his mer­ chandise for sale. In this case, importing these pieces and applying his own mark to the bottom would be something which would certainly be consistent with that effort. It is, once again, another example of an American pewterer applying his mark on pewter made by another pewterer. I am sure the membership will have some discussion concerning this article. I have previously discussed my opinion with Mr. Swain who feels comfortable that this probably is the case.

(continued on next page)

47 ADDENDUM

Between the time I submitted this article for publication and now, a bit of information has surfaced which certainly suggests that the inferences made in the original article are more than likely correct. Shown in Figure 4 is a recently acquired tankard of the same manufacture and form as the one shown in Figure 1 left (Wolf tankard). This tankard is completely unmarked but has the same form of construction, including the double bottom, and is essentially the same as the Wolf tankard although it is 1/4" shorter (8 1// vs. 8").

The most interesting part of the story is that this piece of pewter was acquired from Frank Powell who purchased the piece of pewter from England. This would certainly substan­ tiate the fact that these tankards were most probably of Sheffield manufacture, mid 19th century, and were exported to the United States. A couple of puzzling questions remain: if Thomas Wildes applied the false bottom with his mark on the tankards found here, who applied the false bottom to the tankard found in England, and why would anyone want to do so if they were not going to apply their own mark? The writer would be happy to hear from anyone who may have an answer to these questions or a theory that might explain them.

Fig. 4. Newly acquired English tankard (as described in Addendum).

48 Book Review by Garland Pass

Pewter Candlesticks, English Candlesticks of the Second Half of the 17th Century by Jan Gadd. Published in January 2004 by The Pewter Society. ISBN 0-9538887-1-1. Hardcover, 116 pages, approximately 400 photographs. Printed in a limited edition of 200 copies. Price is £20 plus £8 for airmail postage and £5 for bank charges ifyou send a dollar denominated check. However, orders may be placed via PayPal and a credit card for those with access to the Internet, but contact The Pewter Society s Publication Officer, David Battersby ([email protected]) for details. Davids mail address is: Rev. David G. S. Battersby, Shillbrook Cottage, Buckland Road, Bampton OX 18 2AA, United Kingdom.

Jan Gadd's book is the best book on candlesticks that has been published since Ronald Michaelis', Old Domestic Base-Metal Candlesticks, in 1978. While Michaelis' book covers European and English candlesticks made in most of the base metals from the 13th to the 19th century, Gadd's book deals primarily with English pewter candlesticks made from 1660-1710. Why is this fifty year period so important? It covers the Golden Age of English Pewter which produced some of the finest pewter candlesticks that have ever been made.

Michaelis' approach was stylistic and followed the evolving design development of candlesticks over time and across country borders. Gadd's approach is technical; his background is engineering and it shows. His curiosity concerning how these candle­ sticks were made led to his discovery that these English Baroque candlesticks were not cast as everyone had thought but were made of sections and strips formed from flat sheets and soldered together. The skill of these pewterers in using only a fire-heated soldering iron and blow pipe is truly amazing. If one examines the underside of these candlesticks, the overlapping and joints of the strips can be seen. But from the top side, even after 300 years, it is often impossible to detect a soldered joint.

Gadd illustrates how these candlesticks were made and explains why such a labor-intensive procedure was adopted. He pictures all of the candlesticks he was able to locate in museums, private collections and auction catalogs. He also illustrates the marks found on these sticks and provides information on the makers when known. A major role was played by four London pewterers who also exported their sticks. However the few sticks that have been found in America were either brought here by early colonists or, in the last sixty years, by dealers or collectors.

The average reader may find the technical part slow going; Gadd admits that his book, "will never be a coffee-table favorite," but candlestick collectors will love it. The photo­ graphs of all 109 candlesticks found in the survey alone make the book worthwhile. It is also worth noting that while the majority are in institutions and only 19% are in private collections, the whereabouts of 30% are unknown. It will be the hope of every candlestick collector that one of these will tum up, unrecognized, at an auction he is attending. It has happened in the past but, as a result of this book, is unlikely to happen again.

49 Necrology

Marion C. Deming Marion C. Deming, 98, of Somers, CT, wife of the late Oliver W. Deming, died on Saturday, December 13,2003 at her home. Born in Rockland, Maine on July 26, 1905, she was the daughter of Henry E. and Jennie Cloutier. Marion had resided in Somers since 1974 and had previously lived in Westfield, Massachusetts for thirty-five years. She is survived by her son, Gordon W. Deming and his wife Genevieve of Duxbury, MA, three grandchildren and a great grandson. A memorial service was held on January 10,2004 at the Somers Congregational Church. Marion was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, a corporator of the Springfield Library and Museum, and a benefactor of Historic Deerfield. She, along with her husband Oliver, were long time members of The Pewter Collectors' Club of America and, at the time of her death, was the oldest member of the organization. Oliver's name first appeared on the membership roles in 1947, and in 1950, Marion was on the Program Committee. She was the author of four articles in The Bulletin, the first published in November 1949 and the last one published in September 1979 in which she describes the winning at auction of the first reported funnel by Henry Will. She also co­ authored with Oliver an article on Samuel Pierce, Jr., published in The Magazine Antiques in July 1957 and later republished in the book, American and British Pewter, edited by John Carl Thomas .. Oliver was president of the New England Regional Group during the 1970's and members will long remember their gracious hosting of meetings in their home filled, not only with pewter, but with many other antiques they had collected over the years. Genevieve Deming

Jack H. Kolaian Jack H. Kolaian, of Wappingers Falls, NY died on Wednesday, February 18, 2004 following a brief illness. He was born in Troy, NY in 1929, the youngest child of Minas and Asken Kolaian, and was educated in the Troy public schools. Following military service during the Korean conflict, he earned a BS from Cornell University in 1956 and a PhD from Purdue University in 1960. He was married to Katherine Triantafillou of Troy, NY in April of 1960 and joined Texaco, Inc. shortly thereafter as a senior chemist in the Bellaire laboratory in Houston, Texas. Dr. Kolaian was transferred to the Beacon Research Facility in 1968 and to the Alternate Energy Department of Texaco in 1979. Between 1960 and 1979, he conducted and supervised research in oil well drilling fluids, production, petrochemicals, petroleum processing, catalysis and enhanced oil recovery. He was named Manager of Gasification Development in Texaco's Alternate Energy Department in 1981. He was the author of33 US patents and eight technical publications. He was a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the American Chemical Society, Sigma Gamma Epsilon (geology), Society of the Sigma Xi, and -listed in American Men of Science, and Who's Who in the East. He retired from Texaco in 1986. Dr. Kolaian was well known as a collector of antique pewter over a thirty year period and became active as a dealer following his retirement. He was President of The Pewter Collectors' Club of America from 1985-1987, and was Editor of the PCCA Bulletin from 1987-1993.

50 Surviving are his wife, Katherine, sons Christopher 1 of Bayonne, NJ; Peter H. of Columbia, MD, daughter Alicia K. of Arlington, VA, sister Anna L. Misyan of New York City, and a nephew Arthur Misyan of Flemington, Nl Memorial services were private.

The Family of Jack Kolaian

Albert J. Phiebig Albert lPhiebig died this past March after a number of complicating illnesses. He was born in Berlin on January 2, 1908. He studied Law in Berlin and financed his law studies by making genealogies for Jewish people in Berlin. But the rise of Nazism com­ pelled him to leave Germany in 1938. Maryann (Albert's widow) also grew up in Berlin but did not know Albert there. She had to go to a private school as a teenager due to her Jewish heritage. She was able to escape from Germany in 1939. Albert and Maryann met in the US after his first wife died. Albert and Maryann were married on February 14, 1964. Albert and his first wife had two children, Thorn and Barbara. They in tum have produced five grandchildren and three great grandchildren. His son, Thorn, just recently joined the PCCA so that he will be able to carry on his father's passion for pewter. Albert came to the US with just four pieces of pewter, but after he and Maryann were married they started to collect many more pieces, primarily Continental pewter. Albert's love for books led him to become a Rare & Antique Bookseller shortly after he arrived in the US. He quickly took out citizenship papers and five years later became a citizen. He served in the ass during World War II, probably because he had excellent skills in five languages and was conversant in another three. In addition to his collecting pewter he was able to assemble a full set of Dutch books from the 16th century publish­ ing family, Elsevir. These rare books were beautifully printed with excellent illustrations. Albert was President of the New York Regional group in the early 1980's. To enhance the PCCA's library he recently donated a number of his pewter reference books that were in various European languages. He retired and closed his business in 2002. Albert was truly a giant of knowledge regarding Continental pewter. His engag­ ing smile and dry humor made him a delight to be with. He was a gourmet in the tradi­ tional sense of enjoying fine food and wine, whether in his home or in a restaurant. He was always eager to open his house to members of the PCCA as evidenced at our Spring 1996 National meeting. Maryann and we in the PCCA will always remember this won­ derful gentleman for his endearing charm and grace.

Barbara Jean Horan

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Editor's Note: The late publication of this issue of The Bulletin was not due to the new format. Rather, it was the result of my emergency eye operation in April which occurred when the final editing of The Comprehensive Index and the cover article were only par­ tially completed. I was able to complete the editing of The Index slowly, using a magni­ fying glass, but this put the schedule for publishing both The Index and The Bulletin behind schedule. Fortunately, I am happy to report that my operation was a success. I hope you find both finished products were worth the wait. Garland Pass

51 National Spring Meeting Photos Manchester, NH, April 30 - May 1, 2004 (Photographs by Bill Snow)

Repeating a type of presentation that has become popular at our recent meetings, Mel Wolf, Ian Robinson and Bob Cassens brought to the meeting and discussed some of the favorite pieces from their collections.

On Saturday evening Don Herr and Mark Anderson discussed "Sweet Temptations," a review of 18th and 19th century American and English Export sugar bowls.

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