Object Number 1958.0674 A, B

Object Name

Lamp

Category

Metals

Credit Line/Donor

Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont

Creator (Role)

Rufus Dunham (Maker)
05/30/1815-1882
Rufus Dunham ran away from home to Portland, Maine, to be apprenticed to Steven Porter in Stevens Plains, Westbrook, Maine in 1831. Two years later, in 1833, he broke the contract and went to work for Roswell Gleason in Dorchester, Massachusettes--an arrangment that lasted for four years. He then went to Poughkeepsie, New York, where he purchased molds and tools. In 1837 he returned to Stevens Plains and opened a shop with his brother, John, as a helper. At one time he employed twenty to thirty men and sold his goods in New England and Canada. In 1861 his buildings burned down and he moved back to Portland, where he opened the firm Rufus Dunham and Sons. The business was liquidated in 1882. For more on Rufus Dunham's marks (and that of Rufus Dunham and Sons), see Montgomery, History of American Pewter (1973), p.221; Ebert, Collecting American Pewter (1973), p.130; Carl Jacobs, Guide to American Pewter (1957), p.87-88; and C. Jordan Thorn, Handbook of American Silver and Pewter Marks (1949), p.253. See also Laughlin, Pewter in America (1981), vol.2, p.100-101 and J.B. Kerfoot, American Pewter (1942), p.158.

Place of Origin

Westbrook, Maine, New England, United States, North America

Date

1837-1860

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Mark; Underside, center; "R.DUNHAM." in a serrated rectangle, stamped

Materials

Britannia metal; Pewter; Sheet iron; Brass; Cotton

Techniques

Cast

Dimensions (inches)

7.559 (H) , 4.252 (Diam)

Dimensions (centimeters)

19.2 (H) , 10.8 (Diam)

Measurement Notes

Height is of the lamp without the burner. With the burner in place the lamp is 8.1 inches high. Diameter is of the lamp base. The lamp burner is 1.675 inches high and 1.1 inches in diameter.

Object Description

Text available soon.

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Book] Montgomery, Charles F. 1973 A History of American Pewter.
• Published: fig. 5-8, pp. 98
[Book] Ebert, Katherine. 1973 Collecting American Pewter.
• Published: p. 102