Object Number 1955.0621 A, B

Object Name

Tool (for metals) (Spoon mold)

Category

Tools

Credit Line/Donor

Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont

Creator (Role)

Peter Derr (Maker)
06/21/1793-01/31/1868
Married Elizabeth (b. July 9, 1793 - d. Nov. 21, 1861). Both are buried at Host Church, Berks County, Pennsylvania. His father Johannes Derr (d. 1831) was a pewterer. Some family history is noted in James F. Spears, A Picture Story of the House of Derr: Pennsylvania's Contribution to a World of Primitive Art, Myerstown, PA: The Church Center Press, 1949. A blanket or dower chest with ownership attributed to Johannes Derr and Peter Derr sold at Neal Auction Company, New Orleans, LA on December 2-3, 2006, lot 445, p. 113. Variations on his life dates (06/21/1793-01/03/1868) can be found in Jeannette Lasansky's To Draw, Upset, & Weld: The Work of the Pennsylvania Rural Blacksmith 1742-1935, pp. 46-47. For more on Peter Derr's mark, see Montgomery, History of American Pewter (1973), p.221.

Place of Origin

Berks, Pennsylvania, Mid-Atlantic, United States, North America

Date

1841

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Mark; Side of mold; "P.DERR . 1841", stamped

Materials

Brass; Wood

Techniques

Cast, Engraved

Dimensions (inches)

11.417 (L) , 9.126 (W) , 1.94 (D)

Dimensions (centimeters)

29 (L) , 23.18 (W) , 4.92 (D)

Object Description

Text available soon.

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Book] Montgomery, Charles F. 1973 A History of American Pewter.
• Published: fig. 10-2, p. 159
[Book] Fennimore, Donald L. 1996 Metalwork in Early America: Copper and Its Alloys from the Winterthur Collection.
• Published: cat.260, p.373