Colonial American Silver

COLONIAL AMERICAN SILVER IN

MAG’S SILVER CASE

By Susan R. Gordon

How many times have you walked by MAG’s silver case on the way into the American collection without considering the objects housed there, their importance to early Colonial American life, or their connection to our John Singleton Copley portrait of one of the silversmiths, Nathaniel Hurd?

The development of Colonial American silversmithing mirrors the social development of our nation.  The first silver pieces were of simple design and purely utilitarian in function.  As our population and prosperity increased, so, too, did the need and desire for greater output with more refinement in design.  By the time of the Revolutionary War, wealthy colonists had attained a standard of living equal to their British counterparts.  After the war, the quality being produced by American silversmiths reached a pinnacle and remained there into the first quarter of the 19^th century.

When the first settlers came to Virginia and New England, most arrived with just the basic necessities. The ships which crossed the Atlantic provided little space for luxuries. Some of the more prosperous travelers did bring some of their treasures along, and these treasures without doubt included silver.  Since ancient times, mankind has used precious metals, melted and refined as coinage, as a means of exchange.

The earliest silver brought to our shores was of English and Dutch origin. As trade developed with the West Indies, Spain and Portugal, this coinage was added to the coffers of a growing wealthy merchant class in the Colonies. This silver was eventually melted down by Colonial silversmiths to form the pieces we recognize as American.

Following the English and European traditions, a potential Colonial silversmith had to endure a seven-year apprenticeship to a master craftsman, from age fourteen until twenty-one. If the young man passed the skill test, he would then become a master. It is likely that Nathaniel Hurd was apprenticed to his father, master silversmith Jacob, to achieve his master status.

Because religion played an important role in the lives of New England Colonists (remember the Pilgrims!) the first silver items created were for churches and of simple design. Regional designs followed the ancestry of the population--after all, the earliest New England and Philadelphia silversmiths were British, while New York was settled by the Dutch. Thus, silver designs from New England and Philadelphia were simple, while New York designs were more ornate.

Not until 1652 did the Colonies have their own currency. John Hull, a London silversmith, was made mintmaster by the General Court of Massachusetts. With his partner, Robert

Sanderson, he designed the willow tree, oak tree and pine tree

Shillings, which were the currency used in New England until 1683. Hull was most likely the first silversmith to work in Boston.  Even though these shillings were meant for exchange only in New England, the engines of trade made these coins travel further then intended from home base. Since silver had value, it was worth stealing, a cause for concern for a wealthy merchant with a stash of money at home or at his business--a problem, indeed!

The solution: to protect his investments the merchant took has coins to a silversmith, who melted the silver down, turning it into household items--spoons, tankards, and porringers. The silversmith, through his role as safekeeper, became a trusted and valuable member of society. In essence, he was a banker with artistically skilled hands.

The process of turning coinage into objects involved melting the coins, refining the silver, pouring it into a skillet, and cooling it into a flat block. The block was then hammered out into a thickness appropriate to producing the desired object.

In order to strengthen the metal and to prevent brittleness, the silversmith used a process known as annealing.  The metal was worked while cold and was repeatedly heated over charcoal. The final step included polishing the object by rubbing with pumice, then with a burnisher. In this way the surface was rubbed smooth, still leaving some hammer marks.

The merchant further protected his investment by having his silver items engraved with his crest or initials, making them easier to trace in case some enterprising thief whisked them away from their owner!

MAG’s silver collection includes a teapot, ca 1740, by Jacob  Hurd (1702-1758); spoons, ca 1760, by Nathaniel Hurd (1730-1777); and a porringer, ca 1730, by John Burt (1692-1746).

The next time you pass by the case containing these treasures, notice the hammer marks on the porringer and take a moment to consider the connection between the spoons, Nathaniel Hurd and our Copley unfinished portrait of him.

But that’s a subject for a future discussion.

Sources: Old and Sold Antiques Auction/Antiques Digest--Lost Knowledge from the Past. “Silver of the Colonies”

Society of American Silversmiths, Summer 1999 Newsletter, by Marjorie B. Searl

About silver: from the Harvard University Gazette, October 11, 2001:  Several silver items came into Harvard’s collection as additional tuition payment granting well-connected students elevated status or exempting them from chores. The Browne Cup, a ceremonial two-handed cup dated circa 1731, was commissioned by Harvard following a bequest by Col. Samuel Brown of Salem, a wealthy merchant. Brown donated 60 pounds for a silver piece to be engraved with his family’s coat of arms. According to Corporation records, Brown’s previous donation had freed his son Samuel from responsibility for errands and chores.