International studio (81.1925)

mceRtiAcionAL

the nineteenth century. Casters get their name chafing dish is familiar to us, the name of the old
from the act of "casting" salt or pepper from the piece has been changed to brazier,
receptacle. They are unlike the trenchers or indi- The marks on colonial silver are not so helpful
vidual salt dishes. A toddy warmer made by a as those on English pieces. They have no date
New York smith named Hammersly about 1750 mark; but as they usually give the maker's
is interesting because of its unusual feet, in fact, initials or surname, the date, is easily fixed in the
this particular smith made a specialty of designing case of a known maker. There is often some con-
novel feet for all of his pieces. But there were fusion especially where there were several genera-
many odd pieces not associated directly with eat- tions of smiths in one family—like the Richard-

ing and drinking. To-
bacco and snuff boxes
are common, but nut-
meg boxes are more
unusual. They were
small boxes with loose
covers and held a cy-
lindrical grater which
was removed when the
user wished to sprinkle
nutmeg over his food.
They were often car-

sons, the Syngs and
the Hurds. It is diffi-
cult in some cases to
distinguish the pieces
of Paul Revere, Jr.,
from those of his
father. Earliest marks
were initials in a shield
or heart-shaped de-
sign; later the initials
or more frequently the
full surname were

above: silver covered porringer, 1680 , , .

ried m the pocket. below: early silver bowl placed in a rectangle

Whistles, hair pegs,
buckles, seals, thim-
bles, chains with scis-
sors attached, shoe
and knee buckles were
all made of silver and
dandies often had sil-
ver bands on their
hats. The famous por-
trait of Pocahontas
painted while she was

or oval. Where a
crown appears sur-
mounting the initials,
it is probably an affec-
tation copied from
English ware and has
no significance. A few
silversmiths used arbi-
trary marks—John
Cony took a hare as
his device for obvious

in England shows her in a high crowned hat with reasons, and Andrew Tyler, for reasons not so

a golden hat band. Small silver saucepans were plain, used a cat.

used for mulling wine. Braziers were the fore- Anyone interested in American silverware will
runner of the chafing dish and had been in use in find the list of early American silversmiths and
England as early as the reign of Queen Anne. It their marks prepared by HoIIis French and pub-
is amusing to note that in the old inventories they Iished by the Walpole Society very helpful. It has
are called chafing dishes but, because the modern an excellent glossary by Dr. Woolsey.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Colonial Silverware of the 17TH and i8th Centuries. By Newton W. Elwell, G. H. Polley & Co., 1899. (Photo-
graphs only.)

Old Plate: Its Makers and Its Marks. By John Henry Buck, Gorham Manufacturing Co., 1903.

American Silver; the Work of 17th and i8th Century Silversmiths. Exhibited at the Museum oj Fine Arts, Boston,

1906, by R. T. Haines Halsey.
Early Silver of Connecticut and Its Makers. By George Munson Curtis, International Silver Co., 1913.
Early American Craftsmen. By Walter Alden Dyer, Century Company, 1915.

A List of Early American Silversmiths and Their Marks. By Hollis Franch, Walpole Society, 1917.
Historic Silver of the Colonies and Its Makers. By Francis Hill Bigelow, Macmillan Co., 1917.
Makers of Early American Silver. By Robert Ensko, R. Ensko.

A List of Philadelphia Silversmiths and Allied Artificers from 1682 to 1850. By Maurice Brix, Privately
Printed, 1920.

American Silver of the XVII and XVI11 Centuries: A study based on the Clearwater Collection in the Metropolitan
Museum of Art. By C. Louise Avery with a preface by R. T. Haines Halsey, 1920.

three fifty-six

august 1925