Caster (or castor)
Museum Object Number1956.0038.031 |
Object Name
Caster (or castor)
Category
Metals
Credit Line/Donor
Museum purchase
Creator (Role)
Thomas Danforth III (Possible maker)
Thomas Danforth Boardman (Possible maker)
Thomas Danforth II (Possible maker)
Creator Notes
Thomas Danforth III is the grandson of Thomas I, son of Thomas II; brother of Joseph Sr, Edward, Jonathan (of Middletown) and Samuel (of Middletown); nephew of John; cousin of Samuel (of Norwich); uncle to Joseph Jr and Josiah. Nineteen members of the Danforth family, spread over five generations, became invovled with manufacturing pewter or britannia. They were headed by Thomas Danforth I (active 1733-1786), who moved from Taunton, Massachusetts to Norwich, Connecticut in 1733. Though Thomas I may have manufactured pewter, it was not his primary trade. He probably acted mostly as a merchant in a business with his son, John (of Norwich); it is also possible that he sold goods coming from his son Thomas II in Middletown (according to Thomas; see references below). (Please note: not all scholars agree that Thomas I was not a pewterer. For example, Montgomery assigns two marks to the eldest Thomas.) Thomas III trained with his father, Thomas II, from about 1770 to 1777, possibly also learning brass and coppersmithing. At some point after his training he moved to Wethersfield, arriving by 1778 or 1783 at the latest. He sold his own wares as well as other goods, which he marked with his stamp. He his son-in-law, Richard Williams, into partnership in 1794. He might have trained his son Thomas IV as well as Ashbil Griswold, Samuel Kilbourne, William Nott, and Joseph Danforth Jr. Thomas III opened a shop in Philadelphia in 1806 or 1807, sharing space with Blakslee Barnes. It seems that Thomas III traveled back and forth between Philadelphia and Connecticut, but probably stayed in Connecticut after 1811. He might have worked primarily with tin after 1820. Marks are assigned by John Carl Thomas, Connecticut Pewter and Pewterers (1976), as follows (p.55-56): -Rampant lion in oval with initials "TI", used by Thomas II and John (of Norwich), probably by Thomas III and Joseph Sr (fig.47) -Rampant lion in circle with initials "TD", used primarily by Thomas II, possibly briefly by Thomas III (fig.48) -Stylized rose in a circle, used by Thomas II and possibly Thomas III (fig.49) -Sets of four hallmarks including the initials "TD" used by both Thomas II and III (fig.50 and 51) -"MIDDLETOWN" in a banderole above a leaf used by Thomas II (fig.52) -"T·D" in rectangle by Thomas II and III (fig.53) -Crowned "X" used by Thomas II, possibly Thomas III (fig.54) -An eagle with downspread wings, facing viewer's left, with shield body, in serrated circle, no inital used by Thomas III (fig.55) -An eagle with downspread wings, facing viewer's right, with shield body, with initials "T.D", all in circle, used by Thomas III (fig.56) -An eagle with downspread wings, facing viewer's right, above initials "TD" in an oval, all within a circle, used by Thomas III (fig.57) -An eagle with downspread wings, facing viewer's left, above initials "TD" in an oval, all within a circle of stars, used by Thomas III (fig.58) -"T.DANFORTH/ PHILAD.\A" in stacked rectangles, used by Thomas III (fig.59) -Rampant lion facing viewer's left within double scrolled oval, with initials "TD", used by Thomas III (fig.63) For more on Thomas Danforth III's marks, see Montgomery, History of American Pewter (1973), p.220; Kauffman, The American Pewterer (1970), p.140; Ebert, Collecting American Pewter (1973), p.128-130; C. Jordan Thorn, Handbook of American Silver and Pewter Marks (1949), p.252; and Carl Jacobs, Guide to American Pewter (1957), p.80-82. See also John Carl Thomas, Connecticut Pewter and Pewterers (1976), p.50-145; Laughlin, Pewter in America (1981), vol.1, p.111-112 and vol.3, p.67-70.Thomas Danforth Boardman was the nephew of Thomas III, Samuel (of Middletown) and Edward Danforth; brother to Sherman and Timothy Boardman. Thomas Danforth Boardman moved from with his family from Litchfield to Hartford, Connecticut in 1795. He trained with Edward Danforth of Hartford, beginning in 1796. After 1799, Thomas worked with Samuel Danforth until 1804, when he, Thomas, went into business on his own. Thomas claims to have created a "secret" metal formula in 1806. His brother Sherman began working with Thomas around 1810; the mark with their initials TD & SD belongs to this collaboartion. It appears that Thomas purchased his uncle Samuel's molds in 1816. The business stopped operating as it was in 1854 but it seems to have continued to operate on a smaller scale, for in September of 1871 Thomas offered the "Old Britannia Manufactory" of Boardman & Company for sale. The brothers opened a branch in New York City in 1822 run by Timothy, called Timothy Boardman & Co.; the mark "T.B.& Co." was used during this time. Two years later Timothy died and the company name changed to Boardman & Company, and Lucius Hart of Rocky Hill took over the management. In 1827, Lucius became an active partner, and the company name changed to Boardman & Hart, by which it was known its dissolution in 1847. Lucius continued on his own until 1853 or later. The Boardmans opened an additional store in Philadelphia in 1844, called Boardman & Hall, run by Sherman's son Henry S. Boardman and Franklin D. Hall. The business was later known as Hall, Boardman & Company and finally Hall & Boardman. For more on Thomas Danforth Boardman's marks, see John Carl Thomas, Connecticut Pewter and Pewterers (1976), p.122-123, figs.124 and 125; Ebert, Collecting American Pewter (1973), p.124-125; Kauffman, The American Pewterer (1970), p.134; Carl Jacobs, Guide to American Pewter (1957), p.38-42; C. Jordan Thorn, Handbook of American Silver and Pewter Marks (1949), p.240; and Montgomery, History of American Pewter (1973), p.216-217. See also Laughlin, Pewter in America (1981), vol.1, p.128-130 and plate LVII, and vol.3, p.84-87; Thomas, Connecticut Pewter, p.119-143; and J.B. Kerfoot, American Pewter (1942) p.127-130.Thomas Danforth II is the son of Thomas I; father of Thomas III, Joseph Sr, Edward, Jonathan (of Middletown) and Samuel (of Middletown); grandfather to Joseph Jr and Josiah; uncle to Samuel and John, both of Norwich. Nineteen members of the Danforth family, spread over five generations, became invovled with manufacturing pewter or britannia. They were headed by Thomas Danforth I (active 1733-1786), who moved from Taunton, Massachusetts to Norwich, Connecticut in 1733. Though Thomas I may have manufactured pewter, it was not his primary trade. He probably acted mostly as a merchant in a business with his son, John (of Norwich); it is also possible that he sold goods coming from his son Thomas II in Middletown (according to Thomas; see references below). (Please note: not all scholars agree that Thomas I was not a pewterer. For example, Montgomery assigns two marks to the eldest Thomas.) Thomas II probably began his apprenticeship around 1745, possibly learning braziery, coppersmithing, iron working, and possibly the basics of manufacturing pewter from Thomas I. Thomas II may have worked with Thomas I for a short time in Norwich but had moved to Middletown by 1755. He was connected to Jacob Whitmore in some way: when Thomas II died in 1782, his pewter moulds were owned jointly by his estate and Jacob Whitmore. Thomas II and, probably, Whitmore trained Samuel Hamlin from 1760 to 1767. Hamlin and Thomas II were joined in a business venture that was dissolved by 1773, though they remained connected until Thomas II's death, since some moulds had to be retrieved from Hamlin's shop at the time of Thomas's death. Thomas II trained his sons Thomas III and Joseph Sr, and possibly began training his younger sons Edward and Johnathan (of Middletown). Marks are assigned by John Carl Thomas, Connecticut Pewter and Pewterers (1976), as follows (p.55-56): -Rampant lion in gateway, probably exclusively by Thomas II (fig.46) -Rampant lion in oval with initials "TI", used by Thomas II and John (of Norwich), probably by Thomas III and Joseph Sr (fig.47) -Rampant lion in circle with initials "TD", used primarily by Thomas II, possibly briefly by Thomas III (fig.48) -Stylized rose in a circle, used by Thomas II and possibly Thomas III (fig.49) -Sets of four hallmarks including the initials "TD" used by both Thomas II and III (fig.50 and 51) -"MIDDLETOWN" in a banderole above a leaf used by Thomas II (fig.52) -"T·D" in rectangle by Thomas II and III (fig.53) -Crowned "X" used by Thomas II, possibly Thomas III (fig.54) -Rampant lion facing viewer's left within double scrolled oval with the initials "TI", used probably by Thomas II during his work with John (of Norwich) (fig.58) For more on Thomas Danforth II's marks, see Montgomery, History of American Pewter (1973), p.220; Kauffman, The American Pewterer (1970), p.139; Ebert, Collecting American Pewter (1973), p.128-130; C. Jordan Thorn, Handbook of American Silver and Pewter Marks (1949), p.252; and Carl Jacobs, Guide to American Pewter (1957), p.77-79. See also John Carl Thomas, Connecticut Pewter and Pewterers (1976), p.50-145; Laughlin, Pewter in America (1981), vol.1, p.108-110 and vol.3, 67-70.
Date of Birth
175601/21/178406/02/1731
Date of Death
01//184009/10/187308/08/1782
Place of Origin
United States, North America
Origin Notes
Origin may be Philadelphia, Pennsylvania or Stepney, Connecticut (Montgomery, 1973, 200).
Date
1777-1818
Materials
Pewter
Techniques
Cast
Dimensions (inches)
5.63 (H) , 2.756 (Diam)
Dimensions (centimeters)
14.3 (H) , 7 (Diam)
Measurement Notes
Diameter is of base.
Object Description
Text available soon.