Object Number 1977.0028

Object Name

Spoon (Teaspoon)

Category

Metals

Credit Line/Donor

Museum purchase

Creator (Role)

Meriden Britannia Company (Maker)
1852-1861
The Meriden Britannia Company formed from independent britannia manufacturers in the Meriden area, including William W. Lyman, John Munson, Isaac C. Lewis, Lemuel Curtis(s) and James A. Frary. For more on Meriden Britannia Company's marks, see C. Jordan Thorn, Handbook of American Silver and Pewter Marks (1949), p.268. See also Laughlin, Pewter in America (1981), vol.2, p.107 and Carl Jacobs, Guide to American Pewter (1957), p.139. Pages of the company's 1861 catalogue are reproduced in John Carl Thomas, Connecticut Pewter and Pewterers (1976), p.40-45.

Isaac C. Lewis (Maker)
10/19/1812
Isaac Lewis apprenticed with Hiram Yale at Wallingford, Connecticut. In 1834 he opened a shop with George Cowles in East Meriden. The company name changed to Lewis and Curtis in 1836 when Lemuel J. Curtis replaced Cowles. In 1839 the company was reorganized again when Lewis took on Daniel B. Wells, a former apprentice, and it was called I.C. Lewis & Company. This company was eventually absorbed into Meriden Britanna Company in 1852, of which Lewis was the president. For more on Isaac Lewis's marks, see Laughlin, Pewter in America (1981), vol.2, p.106; Kauffman, The American Pewterer (1970), p.146; and C. Jordan Thorn, Handbook of American Silver and Pewter Marks (1949), p.265. See also Carl Jacobs, Guide to American Pewter (1957), p.128 and Ebert, Collecting American Pewter (1973), p.136.

Lemuel Curtis (Maker)
01/15/1814
Lemuel's last name is sometimes found spelled "Curtiss" in marks. Lemuel J. Curtis was a partner with Issac C. Lewis in the business Lewis & Curtis from 1836 to 1838. From 1838 to 1840 Lemuel worked with his brother Edwin, and then ran his own shop until 1845. In 1846 Lemuel began working with William W. Lyman, and in 1852 he became a director of the Meriden Britannia Company. It is possible that Lemuel trained or worked in Asbil Griswold's shop. For more on Lemuel Curtis's marks, see C. Jordan Thorn, Handbook of American Silver and Pewter Marks (1949), p.246. See also Laughlin, Pewter in America (1981), vol.2, p.100 and vol.3, p.180; John Carl Thomas, Connecticut Pewter and Pewterers (1976), p.166; Ebert, Collecting American Pewter (1973), p.128; and Carl Jacobs, Guide to American Pewter (1957), p.59.

Place of Origin

Meriden, New Haven, Connecticut, New England, United States, North America

Date

1852-1870

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. ; ; MERIDEN BRITANNIA CO.

Materials

Silver

Dimensions (inches)

5.81 (L)

Dimensions (centimeters)

14.76 (L)

Object Description

Text available soon.

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Book] Belden, Louise C. 1980 Marks of American Silversmiths in the Ineson-Bissell Collection. 506 p.
• An illustrated glossary of spoon terms, pp. 467-488