Object Number 1970.0427

Object Name

Plate

Category

Metals

Credit Line/Donor

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edgar H. Sittig

Creator (Role)

Thomas J. Stauffer (Maker)
Stauffer makes modern pewter reproductions.

Samuel Danforth (Copy after)
04//1774-1816
Samuel Danforth (of Middletown) is the grandson of Thomas I, son of Thomas II; brother to Thomas III, Joseph Sr, Edward, and Jonathan; uncle to Joseph Jr and Josiah; nephew of John (of Norwich); cousin to Samuel (of Norwich). Nineteen members of the Danforth family, spread over five generations, became invovled with manufacturing pewter or britannia. Samuel (of Middletown) probably began training in about 1788 with his brother Joseph Sr, then working with Jonathan and then William. Upon completing his apprenticeship in 1795, he moved to Hartford, possibly working with an older brother Daniel. Samuel advertised, "Samuel Danforth and Co. have for sale a good assortment of new Pewter by wholesale and retail at the New York prices." Samuel seemed to specialize in ecclesiastical wares. Thomas Boardman completed the last several years of his apprenticeship with Samuel. For more on Samuel Danforth's (of Middletown) marks, see John Carl Thomas, Connecticut Pewter and Pewterers (1976), p.108-109; Kauffman, The American Pewterer (1970), p.139; Ebert, Collecting American Pewter (1973), p.128-130; C. Jordan Thorn, Handbook of American Silver and Pewter Marks (1949), p.249; Carl Jacobs, Guide to American Pewter (1957), p.70-72; and Montgomery, History of American Pewter (1973), p.220. See also Thomas, Connecticut Pewter, p.50-145; Laughlin, Pewter in America (1981), vol.1, p.35-37.

Samuel Danforth (of Norwich) (Copy after)
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

Lititz, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Mid-Atlantic, United States, North America

Origin Notes

Origin is near Lititz, Pennsylvania per previous cataloguer (2006).

Date

1960-1970

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Mark ; Underside; "SAMU" stamped in a circle with an American eagle at the center, partially effaced.
2. Mark; Underside; "HARTF" stamped in a serrated rectangle, partially effaced.

Materials

Pewter; Britannia metal

Techniques

Cast

Dimensions (inches)

0.472 (H) , 7.835 (Diam)

Dimensions (centimeters)

1.2 (H) , 19.9 (Diam)

Object Description

Text available soon.