Object Number 1964.1499.001

Object Name

Lamp (Miniature lamp)

Category

Metals

Credit Line/Donor

Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont

Creator (Role)

Taunton Britannia Manufacturing Company (Possible maker)
1830-1835
Isaac Babbitt was born in Taunton, Massachusetts on July 26, 1799 and was trained as a watchmaker. In 1823 he entered a partnership with William W. Crossman, a mechanic, to manufacture britannia. By 1827, the name of the company was changed to Babbitt, Crossman & Company. This was succeeded by the company Crossman, West & Leonard in 1829 when Zephaniah Leonard joined Crossman and William A. West, who had been with the firm since 1824. Isaac Babbitt stayed on as a metallurgist. In 1830, the company was reorganized again into the Taunton Britannia Manufacturing Company, which lasted until 1834. See records for Crossman, West & Leonard and Babbitt, Crossman & Company. For more on Taunton Britannia Manufacturing Company's marks, see Laughlin, Pewter in America (1981), vol.2, p.114; Montgomery, History of American Pewter (1973), p.227; and C. Jordan Thorn, Handbook of American Silver and Pewter Marks (1949), p.280. See also Laughlin, Pewter in America, vol.3, p.191; George S. Gibb, The Whitesmiths of Taunton: a History of Reed and Barton (1943); and Carl Jacobs, Guide to American Pewter (1957), p.166.

Place of Origin

United States, North America

Origin Notes

Probable origin is United States per previous cataloguer (2006).

Date

1835-1865

Materials

Pewter; Britannia metal; Brass

Techniques

Cast

Dimensions (inches)

2.362 (H) , 2.756 (Diam)

Dimensions (centimeters)

6 (H) , 7 (Diam)

Measurement Notes

Diameter is of base.

Object Description

Text available soon.