Object Number 2021.0023

Object Name

Mug (Cup)

Category

Metals

Credit Line/Donor

Museum purchase with funds drawn from the Centenary Fund.

Creator (Role)

Peter Lewis Krider (Maker)
1821-May 12, 1895

J. E. Caldwell & Co. (Seller)

Wheatley Mines (Manufacturer)

Place of Origin

Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mid-Atlantic, United States, North America

Date

1855-1865

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Mark; Underside; "*P.L.K.*" stamped incuse
2. Mark; Underside; "J.E.CALDWELL & Co" stamped incuse
3. Mark; Underside; "PHILADA" stamped incuse
4. Mark; Underside; "STANDARD" stamped incuse
5. Inscription; Underside; "Made of pure silver from / the Wheatley Mines Chester C / --Pennsylvania" engraved in script
6. Inscription; Exterior, side opposite handle; "John Cocking" engraved in script
7. Inscription; Underside; "# 55 5/18 H.K.O." scratched lightly

Subjects

Industry

Materials

Silver; Goldplated (electroplated)

Techniques

Engine-turned, Engraved

Dimensions (inches)

3.5 (H) , 4.5 (W) , 3.1 (Diam) , 6 (Weight)

Dimensions (centimeters)

9 (H) , 11.5 (W) , 8 (Diam) , 171 (Weight)

Measurement Notes

Weight 5.51 oz per donor. Weight per Winterthur scale (Aug.3, 2022) = 171/172 grams or 5 oz. 9 dwt. 9 gr. troy Average of several sample sites: 90.5% silver, 8.8% copper, 0.2% gold, and 0.2% lead

Object Description

Web - 11/22/2021

This gold-plated silver mug with engine-turned surface ornamentation was created in the workshop of Peter Krider for an order managed by the jewelry firm J.E. Caldwell & Company in Philadelphia. In a wonderful reversal, more is know about the origin of this mug's material than about its subsequent life with owner John Cocking. The intriguing inscription on the underside links the silver directly to mines in Chester County, Pennsylvania. These were a cluster of mines managed by Charles M. Wheatley with help from Cornish miners' knowledge, skills, and pumping engines. Today the mineral extraction activities have ceased, but the environmental impact of the Wheatley mining endeavors remain deep in the landscape west of the Schuylkill River near Phoenixville. Silver ore was a fraction of their products, thus objects made from refined local galena ore are incredibly rare.

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Book] Venable, Charles L. 1994 Silver in America 1840-1940 A Century of Splendor.
• Maker biography: p. 320
[Article] Wagner, Ann. 11/01/2022 Anticipating a Future Answer to the Question "Where Are You From?". Silver Magazine. 54 (6): 11-15.
• Published: pp. 12-13, figs. 1-3, 5