Object Number 1983.0242

Object Name

Name stamp (Brand)

Category

Metals

Credit Line/Donor

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Irvin G. Schorsch, Jr.

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

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

Date

1843

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Mark; Front, center of handle; "P.D. 1843" stamped incuse in Roman capitals.
2. Mark; Bottom, on copper; "M. SHEFER" engraved in reverse.

Materials

Iron; Copper

Techniques

Wrought

Dimensions (inches)

16.4 (L) , 1.9 (W)

Dimensions (centimeters)

41.6 (L) , 4.8 (W)

Object Description

Text available soon.