Dish (Charger)

Museum Object Number 1956.0046.012

Object Name

Dish (Charger)

Category

Metals

Credit Line/Donor

Gift of Charles K. Davis

Creator (Role)

Richard Austin (Maker)

Creator Notes

Richard Austin was a distant relation to Nathaniel Austin. Richard Austin may have been born in Boston. He was active in local civic affairs. In 1800 he opened a brokerage firm with George Blanchard in addition to his pewter shop, which he started in 1792. The brokerage firm failed quite suddenly and without explanation, and Blanchard ended up in prison for a short time. It seems that Austin started fresh, sharing a shop with Samuel Green. John Townsend's maker's mark served as a model for marks by William Will of Philadelphia and Richard Austin of Boston (Laughlin, Pewter in America, vol 2, p.133). For more on Richard Austin's marks, see C. Jordan Thorn, Handbook of American Silver and Pewter Marks (1949), p.237; Carl Jacobs, Guide to American Pewter (1957), p.22-23; Ebert, Collecting American Pewter (1973), p.121; Montgomery, History of American Pewter (1973), p.215; and Kauffman, The American Pewterer (1970), p.131. See also Laughlin, Pewter in America (1981), vol.1, p.81-83; J.B. Kerfoot, American Pewter (1942), p.100-101.

Date of Birth

1764

Date of Death

1817

Place of Origin

Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, New England, United States, North America

Date

1793-1817

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Mark; Underside, near center; "AUS[ ]" at bottom of arch with a figure, stamped
2. Mark; Underside, near center; "BOSTON" within rectangle, stamped

Materials

Pewter

Techniques

Cast

Dimensions (inches)

1 (H) , 14.937 (Diam)

Dimensions (centimeters)

2.54 (H) , 37.94 (Diam)

Object Description

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