OLD PEWTER
There is a charm about old pewter that is well-nigh irresistible to the
collector of antiques, its odd shapes, mellow tints, and, above all, its
rarity, luring one in its pursuit. In the days when it was in general
use,--after the decline in favor of the wooden trencher,--it was but
little valued, and our forbears quaffed their foaming, home-made ale
from pewter tankards, and ate their meals from pewter dishes with little
thought of the prominence this ware would one day attain, or the prices
it would command. To-day pewter represents a lost art, and the tankards
and plates and chargers which our ancestors used so carelessly are now
pursued with untiring energy, and, if secured, are treasured as prizes
of priceless worth.
Intrinsically, the metal is of little value, being nothing more than an
alloy of tin and lead, with sometimes a sprinkling of copper, antimony,
or bismuth, but historically it is hugely interesting. Like many other
old-time features, records of its early history are scanty, affording
but little knowledge of its origin, though proving beyond a doubt that
it was in use in very early times. When it was first used in China and
Japan,--those countries to which we are forced to turn for the origin of
so many of the old industries,--it is impossible to ascertain, but it is
certain that pewter ware was made in China two thousand years ago, and
there are to-day specimens of Japanese pewter in England, known to be
all of eleven hundred years old, these latter pieces being very like
some shown in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Some old chroniclers
claim that the ware was used by the Phoenicians and early Hebrews, and
all agree that it was manufactured, in certain forms, in ancient Rome.
Proof positive of this fact was gleaned some years ago, when quantities
of old pewter seals of all shapes and sizes were discovered in the
county of Westmoreland, in England, where they had evidently been left
by the Roman legions centuries before. It is indeed deplorable that,
owing to their making excellent solder, all these seals should have been
destroyed by enterprising tinkers in the neighborhood.
As early as the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, pewter was produced
in quantities, in France, Germany, Holland, and Switzerland, and a very
little in Italy and Spain. The year 1550 marked the period of the most
showy development in the first-named country, of which Francis Briot was
the most celebrated worker. His most noted productions were a flagon and
salver, with figures, emblems, marks, and strapwork. These exquisite
pieces were cast in sections, joined together, and then finished in the
most careful manner, in delicate relief. Briot was followed by Gasper
Enderlein, Swiss, and by the year 1600 the Nuremberg workers entered the
field with richly wrought plates and platters. France continued to hold
high rank in pewter manufacture until 1750, after which time the quality
of her output considerably deteriorated.
In the sixteenth century the trade sprang up in Scotland, many excellent
pieces of the ware being produced here, and during the seventeenth
century Dutch and German pewter came to the fore, being considered,
during this period, the best made. Nuremberg and Ausberg were the
centers of the industry in Germany, while in Scotland, Edinburgh and
Glasgow appear to have been the chief trade centers. The ware made in
Spain never seems to have attained any great degree of perfection, and
records of its progress in this country are extremely scarce. Barcelona
seems to have been the center of the industry, but just when or where
the craft had its inception, research has been unable to disclose.
Certain it is that no trace of any corporation or guild has been found
prior to the fifteenth century.
English pewter dates back as far as the tenth century, though few pieces
are now in existence that antedate the seventeenth century. Here, as in
other European countries, the ware was at first made solely for
ecclesiastical purposes, its manufacture for household use not becoming
popular until many years later. From the twelfth to the fifteenth
centuries, the ware gradually grew in importance through northern
Europe, though domestic pewter was used only by the clergy and nobility
up to the fourteenth century. Just when it became popular for table and
kitchen use is not definitely known, though it is certain that it
supplanted wooden ware some time in the fifteenth century.
Pewter reached the height of its popularity during the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, though its use for household purposes continued
throughout the eighteenth and the first part of the nineteenth
centuries. In the sixteenth century the artistic quality of the ware was
greatly improved, for by an act of James VI the ware was divided into
two grades, the best to be marked with a crown and hammer, and the
second with the maker's name. Specimens of this century are to-day
extremely scarce, those few examples that do remain being for the most
part found in museums or in old English castles, where they have
remained in the same family from generation to generation. No doubt,
specimens would have been more plentiful had not the greater part of the
church plate in England and Scotland been destroyed during the
Reformation.
After 1780 pewter was but little used among the wealthy classes, except
in their kitchens and servants' quarters, where it held sway for a
considerable length of time. In fact, in some of the larger
establishments, it continued to be used regularly until within the last
thirty-five years, and even now it is used in the servants' hall in two
or three of the large old country houses. It lingered longest in the
taverns and inns, and in the London chop-houses, being used in the last
named until they were forced out of business through the introduction of
coffee palace and tea rooms.
English pewter differs materially from that made in other countries, the
workmen employing designs characterized by a sturdiness and sedate
dignity that raised the ware above that made in other lands. Almost
every conceivable domestic utensil was made of pewter as well as garden
ornaments, and it is interesting to note, in connection with the latter,
that several urns were designed by the brothers Adam.
The history of pewter making in England might almost be said to be that
of the London Guild or Worshipful Company of Pewterers, so closely is
the ware allied with it. For a long time this company or guild
controlled the manufacture and sale of the ware in England, and during
the days of its greatest influence it did much to improve the quality.
At one time it attempted to make general the employment and recording or
marks, but the rule was not enforced, and an excellent opportunity of
insuring the exact date of manufacture of a certain piece was thus lost.
Several private touch marks were registered at Pewterers' Hall, but
these, together with important records that the company had compiled,
were destroyed in the great London fire of 1666. Very few pieces now in
existence bear any of these touch marks, though occasionally a piece
will be found that shows the regulation London Guild quality mark, a
rose with a crown. The touch mark was the mark of the maker. This was
generally his name alone, though sometimes his name was combined with
some device, like an animal or flower.
Scotland boasted a guild at Edinburgh that at one time enjoyed a fame
second only to that of the celebrated London Company. Touch plates of
the pewterers that were registered here are no longer in existence, and,
indeed, much of the pewter made in this country bears no mark at all.
The usual hallmark was a thistle and a crown, though there were several
local marks that were frequently used, which are sometimes found on
Scotch pieces.
France, too, had its guilds, but they were abolished by Turgot on the
ground that the free right to labor was a sacred privilege of humanity.
Gradually the influence of all the guilds was less keenly felt, and in
time the majority were abolished. After this the quality and use of
pewter steadily declined, and with the coming into favor of china and
other ware, pewter grew to be considered old-fashioned, and its use was
discontinued during the first years of the nineteenth century.
[Illustration: PLATE LXI.--Pewter half-pint, pint and quart Measures,
one hundred years old; Three unusual-shaped Pewter Cream Jugs; German
Pewter, Whorl pattern.]
The old-time metal played a prominent part in the first colonial
households in America, it being in many cases the only available ware,
but after a time, as the population and strength of the young colonies
increased, it had to give way, as in England, to the introduction and
steadily increasing popularity of china. During the seventeenth century
several English pewterers came to America to find employment, settling
principally in Boston, Salem, and Plymouth County, and during the
eighteenth century the manufacture of the ware here became quite common.
It is interesting to note that the greater part of the American-made
pieces bear the name of the maker.
English and Continental pewter was also extensively used here, and, in
consequence, American collections of the present include specimens from
these countries. Most of the pieces now preserved belong to the
eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, though there are some few
pieces which are of earlier manufacture.
The value of pewter, like all other antiques, varies, and a piece is
really worth what one can obtain for it. In England, the highest prices
are paid for sixteenth-century pewter, while in our own country the
product of the eighteenth century is that most sought after, and the
best prices are paid for pieces of this period. Ecclesiastical pewter is
rare here, and therefore is valuable, but it does not hold such high
favor in the collector's regard as do the simple pieces that once graced
the quaint dressers in colonial homes.
The fad for pewter has been productive of much imitation ware. This is
especially true of certain types which are particularly popular, and,
indeed, were it not for this demand, it would hardly pay to imitate the
old metal, even at the prices now paid for the same. It costs
considerable to make up spurious bits that are almost entirely like the
old-time pieces, in composition, and, besides, they must be put through
several processes to make them look old. Consequently, it is safe to
assume that at the present time the number of imitation pieces on the
market is comparatively small, and in this country there are really few
pieces that are entirely counterfeit. To be sure, plain pieces of the
genuine metal are sometimes ornamented to increase their value, but
lately collectors seem to regard plain pieces with the greatest favor,
and this form of counterfeiting will no doubt soon disappear.
To-day, in America, there is one manufacturer, and perhaps more, who is
reviving some of the original forms and producing pewter reproductions
which are being put on the market as such. For the modern colonial
dining-room these are especially attractive, serving in every particular
the purpose of decoration, but to the collector they are of no interest.
America boasts of several fine collections of this ware, especially in
the New England states, where the chief ports for the trade were
located. The Bigelow collection at Boston includes, besides plates and
platters, rare bits of odd design, many of them characterized by
markings. One such piece is a hot-water receptacle, showing a shield
decoration on which are marked the initials "H. H. D." and the date
"1796." The lid is ornamented with two lines and the initials "R. G."
Several quaint lamps are other prized possessions in this collection,
some of them made about 1712, and most of them of American manufacture.
One of them, the smallest of the group, is marked "N. Y. Molineux."
Tankards of the "tappit hen" type are also preserved here, though they
are not precisely the same shape as the measures of Scotch make which
went by that name; other pieces included in the collection are cream
jugs, milk pitchers, spoons, forks, a water urn, and several odd
tankards.
Equally as interesting is the Caliga collection at Salem. Here are to be
seen quantities of this rare old ware, worked up into almost every
conceivable device, and several of the pieces are numbered among the
choicest in the country. A squatty little teapot with wooden handle is
among the most interesting specimens, and its history is in keeping with
its quaintness. It was secured by Mr. Caliga in a little German town
during his residence abroad, and soon after it came into his possession,
it was much sought after by a collector, who offered a large sum of
money for its acquirement. Mr. Caliga refused to part with it, and later
he learned that it was indeed a very rare piece, being a part of a set
which the collector was endeavoring to obtain for the Duke of Baden, who
owned one of the three pieces, the would-be purchaser having the second.
This teapot has for a hallmark an angel; a quaint sugar bowl of like
design, also in this collection, shows a crown and bird.
An odd pewter lamp, known as a Jewish or Seven Days' lamp, is included
in this collection, the receptacle for oil being in the lower portion.
There are two large pewter plates, also, one of which has the royal coat
of arms in the center, and is surrounded by the whorl pattern. These
plates measure about twenty inches across, and one has the hallmark of
three angels on the back.
Perhaps the rarest bit of pewter in existence to-day is that owned by a
Massachusetts lady. It is of Japanese manufacture, and is a family
heirloom, through generations back. It first came into possession of the
owner's ancestors in 1450; even at that date it had a history, and,
indeed, its battered sides speak eloquently and forcibly of a past. It
is said to have been the possession of a French nobleman, who, for some
cause or other, was compelled to flee from his native land, and who
sought refuge in England, where he met and married an English girl. The
precious bit remained with his descendants until the year above
mentioned, when the last of his race, dying without issue, bequeathed
the old relic to his dearest friend, of whom its present owner is a
direct descendant.
But whatever its type and origin, the old ware is always interesting. To
be sure, even at its best it is plain, relying on its form for its
pleasing appearance, but no other metal better repays its owner for the
care expended upon it. No doubt it costs an effort or two to keep it
bright and shining, but who does not feel repaid for the time and energy
expended, when the slow gleams of silver-like hue that gradually appear
on the surface greet one in appreciation, like the smile of an old
friend!