Description:
Pewter dish made by Samuel Ellis with several touchmarks on the base: a rose with a crown above with "LONDON, "SME". Samuel Ellis was elected to the Freedom or Yeomanry of the London Company in 1721; Livery or Clothing in 1725; Office of Steward in 1730; Renter Warden in 1737; Upper Warden in 1747; and Master in 1748. His was Touch Plate No. III, #746, which he had leave to strike on 11/10/1721. He died in 1773, and was succeeded by Thomas Swanson with whom he had been in partnership. Pewter, a combination of tin, copper, bismuth, and lead, was the most common choice for Connecticut Valley dining table in the 18th century. Although soft and relatively expensive, pewter could be remelted and cast into new forms. American preferred modest single-bead pewter plates of 8-9" in diameter, which were produced in great numbers both by American makers and English pewter exporter makers. These types of pewter plates were in use in Deerfield, as found in the E. H. Williams 1838 inventory: "3 plates 12 ..... 0.40". This plate is inscribed on the rim: "Presented by Mary T. Stratton". Miss Mary T. Stratton of Northfield gave the plate to PVMA, listed in the Kitchen as: "256. Pewter Platter, 1725. Belonged to "Kiah" and "Moll" Stratton, before 1736."
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