Plate

1740-1800

Measurements

3/4 in x 8-7/8 in (dia)

Materials

Pewter

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.

Accession Number

1971.875

Inscription

“E * B” is engraved into the outside bottom.  A maker's touchmark is so worn that it is no longer legible.

Condition Notes

The plate is pitted and oxidized and worn.

Provenance

Ex coll. Mrs. E. Tatnall (Mary Corbit) Warner

Comments

This smooth-brimmed plate has a relatively narrow brim that is smooth on the face.  A bead the strengthen the edge runs around the underside.  Plates with a single bead on the face of the brim are far more common.  Both types were made in England and America, although American examples are very rare.  Marked examples with narrow brims are known from the Boston area and Rhode Island.  However, because this plate also has a hammered booge, a way of reinforcing the metal where it regularly strikes a table, it is probably of English manufacture, although a few American pewterers were known to use this technique.

The E B initials engraved into the outside bottom are almost certainly those of a one-time owner, the identity of whom is now lost.  The block lettering suggests the 18th century.