1956.0059.002 Pewter dish
  • 1956.0059.002 Pewter dish
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Dish

  • Category:

    Metals

  • Creator (Role):

    Samuel Danforth (of Norwich) (Maker)

  • Place of Origin:

    Norwich, New London, Connecticut, New England, United States, North America

  • Date:

    1793-1803

  • Materials:

    Pewter

  • Techniques:

    Cast

  • Museum Object Number:

    1956.0059.002


  • Complete Details



Object Number

1956.0059.002

Object Name

Dish

Category

Metals

Credit Line/Donor

Gift of Joseph France

Creator (Role)

Samuel Danforth (of Norwich) (Maker)
1772-08/05/1827
Samuel Danforth (of Norwich) is the son of John, grandson of Thomas I; nephew of Thomas II; cousin to Thomas III, Joseph Sr, Edward, Jonathan (of Middletown) and Samuel (of Middletown); second-cousin 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.) Samuel probably trained under his father John from about 1786 to 1793. Samuel took over the business in 1793 and sold out in 1803 after a lackluster tenure. He may have worked his way south as a journeyman, for he was in Augusta, Georgia by 1818. He died nine years later in Ohio. Laughlin states that Samuel Danforth's work is rare because he drank heavily. For more on Samuel Danforth's marks, see John Carl Thomas, Connecticut Pewter and Pewterers (1976), p.82; Montgomery, History of American Pewter (1973), p.219; Ebert, Collecting American Pewter (1973), p.128-130; Kauffman, The American Pewterer (1970), p.139; C. Jordan Thorn, Handbook of American Silver and Pewter Marks (1949), p.249; and Carl Jacobs, Guide to American Pewter (1957), p.70-72. See also Thomas, Connecticut Pewter and Pewterers, p.50-145; Laughlin, Pewter in America (1981), vol.1, p.118-119.

Place of Origin

Norwich, New London, Connecticut, New England, United States, North America

Date

1793-1803

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Mark; Underside, center; "NORWICH" in an arc above a leaf, stamped twice
2. Mark; Underside, center; "[ ]AM, DANFORTH" in a serrated rectangle, stamped
3. Inscription; Underside, near edge; "EF", sprigged, engraved

Materials

Pewter

Techniques

Cast

Dimensions (inches)

0.75 (H) , 12.25 (Diam)

Dimensions (centimeters)

1.905 (H) , 31.115 (Diam)

Object Description

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