Cuff link

1770-1800

Measurements

5/8 in x 3/8 in x 1/8 in

Materials

Gold

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation

Accession Number

2024.64

Inscription

"WC" is engraved on each oval button.

Condition Notes

The faces of the oval buttons have a few light scratches.

Provenance

This cuff link was found on the grounds of the Corbit-Sharp House.

Comments

This single cuff link, one of a pair, was found in the winter of 2024-2025 on the grounds of the Corbit-Sharp House.  The quite miraculous discovery of an early cufflink is eclipsed by the engraved initials on them—those of William Corbit (1746-1818).  His identity as the original owner rests on their geographical proximity coupled with the absence of any other reasonable candidates for gold cuff links with those initials.

The cuff link is made of two oval button-like disks, each with an eye mounted in the center of the back. A single chain link joins the two eyes. This cufflink size, design, and construction parallels that of a pair of cuff links in the collection made several decades later for William Brinton Corbit (1840-1882), a grandson of William Corbit, accession no. 2020.118.

Dating the cuff link and suggesting a maker or place of origin is problematic.  Silversmiths worked in gold, but only when they had the opportunity.  Philadelphia is a likely place.  As for timing, Corbit may have acquired the pair before embarking on construction of his expensive house in 1772 but probably waited until later.  He visited Philadelphia regularly and moved his family there in late 1794, settling on a farm in Passyunk Township in the southern end. Corbit returned to Odessa in 1802. Thus, a date range of 1770-1800 seems plausible.