Metals
Frederick Bassett (Maker)
Hartford or New York, Connecticut or New York, New England or Mid-Atlantic, United States, North America
1761-1800
Pewter
Cast
1965.2499
Object Number1965.2499 |
Porringer
Metals
Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont
Frederick Bassett (Maker)
1740-1800
Frederick Bassett is the younger brother of Francis II, son of John, nephew of Francis I.
Frederick became a freeman in 1769. He moved from New York to Hartford during the years when the city was occupied by the British (1780-1785), and then returned to New York. His father, John, left his pewter-making tools and shop to Frederick.
From Montgomery:
"Several surviving bills of the 1770's from Frederick Bassett to Hinman and Osborn of Woodbury, Connecticut, record his substantial wholesale trade with these merchants with charges for pint mugs at 2s. 2d. (28 cents), quart mugs at 3s. 6d. (47 cents), and tankards at 5s. (66 cents) each in an era when skilled craftsmen were paid 7s. 6d. (a dollar) a day" (p.105). Bassett's work is typical of early eighteenth-century pewter.
For more on Frederick Bassett's marks, see Kauffman, The American Pewterer (1970), p.133; Montgomery, History of American Pewter (1973), p.216; Ebert, Collecting American Pewter (1973), p.123; Laughlin, Pewter in America (1981), vol.2, plate LIX; Carl Jacobs, Guide to American Pewter (1957), p.33-34; and C. Jordan Thorn, Handbook of American Silver and Pewter Marks (1949), p.239. See also John Carl Thomas, Connecticut Pewter and Pewterers (1976), p.28; Laughlin, Pewter in America, vol.2, p.5-8 and vol.3, p.98-101; and J.B. Kerfoot, American Pewter (1942), p.76-78.
Hartford or New York, Connecticut or New York, New England or Mid-Atlantic, United States, North America
The creation place was identified as New York City and Hartfard by Montgomery.
1761-1800
1. Mark; Underside of handle; "F·B" with a fleur-de-lis above and below stamped in a circle with a beaded border.
Pewter
Cast
1.89 (H) , 7.559 (W) , 5.118 (Diam)
4.8 (H) , 19.2 (W) , 13 (Diam)
Text available soon.
[Book] Montgomery, Charles F. 1973 A History of American Pewter.
• Published: fig. 9-1, pp.146-147