February, 1913 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



57 



Examples of pewter from the Caliga collection. Several of these pieces show the whorl pattern. 



objects to the extreme right of this illustration 



An old pewter tea-caddy is shown among the 



made in China two thousand years ago. There are speci- 

 mens of Japanese pewter found in England that are posi- 

 tively known to be eleven hundred years old. They are very 

 much like specimens that are exhibited to-day in the Museum 

 of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts. 



There is a very interesting old story connected with a 

 bit of rare Japanese pewter which had been a family heir- 

 loom for generations. It came into the possession of the 

 first ancestor in 1450, and is said to have had a history 

 even at that date. In fact, its battered sides speak elo- 

 quently of a past. The legend runs that it was in the pos- 

 session of a French nobleman, who was compelled to flee 

 from his own country for some misdemeanor and sought 

 refuge in England, where he wooed and w T on an English 

 maiden. The precious bit of pewter remained with his 

 descendants until 1450, when the last of his race died with- 

 out issue, bequeathing the old relic to a dear friend from 

 whom the present owner is a direct descendant. Laying 

 aside its historic value, it represents the highest form of 

 Japanese pewter ever made and is as handsome a specimen 

 of old Japan craft as can be found. With both the Japanese 

 and the Chinese, the engraving was used as a form of deco- 

 ration. The grace and simplicity of the designs employed 

 give credit to the thrifty little artists who lived in the Orient. 

 Pewter was used for seals of office in ancient Rome and 

 some years ago, quantities of these old seals representing 

 all shapes and sizes, were discovered in the county of West- 

 morland, in England, where there is no doubt that they 

 were left by the Romans centuries ago. 



It is indeed deplorable that, owing to their excellent 

 sodder work, so many have been entirely destroyed by the 



one Gaspar Enderlein, who was a Swiss. In 1600 the 

 Nuremburg workers entered the field with richly wrought 

 plates and platters. For one hundred years, dating from 

 1680 to 1780, much pewter was manufactured in France, 

 the greater part of it being made in the first three quarters 

 of that period. Louis XVI was the first to appoint a 

 Royal Pewterer and to make more satisfactory use of the 

 metal. He was granted special permission to have it 

 adorned with gold and lacquer, a privilege that had hitherto 

 been enjoyed only by the dignitaries of the church. 



French pewter does not seem to have been held in such 

 high esteem as that manufactured in Germany and the 

 Netherlands. In fact, a test was held at Pewterers' Hall, 

 London, in 1709, and it was allowed that the English 

 pewter there exhibited was superior to that made in France 

 and Spain. Barcelona was the center of the industry in 

 Spain, but when or where the craft had its foundation re- 

 search has been unable to disclose. 



Pewter making in England was limited to a few centers 

 at first, such as London, York, and Newcastle, but after a 

 little while the craft was practiced in a number of other 

 places. One way to tell old English pewter is that these 

 workmen never ran to elaborate forms or an overplus of 

 decoration. There pewter was characterized by a sturdi- 

 ness and sedate dignity that raises it far above that manu- 

 factured in any other country. 



The old-time pewterers were taxed, so that every genuine 

 antique bears the excise mark, — a cross and a crown. Every 

 utensil, no matter what its use, was weighed, assayed and 

 divided into two grades, the fine and the common. Three 

 stamps were used, one of which was a license mark that 



enterprising tinkers, who wished to get the solder at the signified that the quality and the weight were correct. The 



time wmen pewter ware went 

 out of style. This metal was 

 used for domestic utensils in 

 France long before it was 

 made in England, although 

 its manufacture was not 

 universal. 1850 marked the 

 period of the most showy 

 development of the making 

 of pewter in France. It was 

 then that Briot was its most 

 celebrated worker. His most 

 noted productions were a 

 flagon and salver decorated 

 with figures, emblems, 

 marks, and strap work. 

 These exquisite pieces were 

 passed in sections and joined 

 together, after which they 

 were finished in delicate re- 

 lief. Briot was followed by 



Old German Porringer, Baby Porringer, dish and sugar bowl of pewter 

 owned by Mr. I. H. Caliga of Salem 



Old pewter from the Grace Atkinson collection 



second was a guild mark, de- 

 noting the city, while the 

 third was a private mark, 

 which indicated the maker. 

 When one finds an occa- 

 sional piece bearing this 

 number and date, he has 

 come across an exceedingly 

 rare specimen. The value of 

 pewter is according to its 

 size and mark, — the larger 

 the piece the higher its value. 

 The usual sizes range all the 

 way from five inches to two 

 feet, although there are 

 some specimens that measure 

 three feet in diameter, but 

 they are exceptionally rare. 



Guilds or corporations 

 were found in various coun- 

 tries, composed of the work- 



