Description:
Pair of brass and iron andirons marked "R * WITTINGHAM N*YORK", for either possibly Richard Whittingham (1747-1821) or probably Richard Whittingham, Jr. (b.1776), father and son. Whittingham, Sr. was born in Birmingham, England, where he learned the craft of brass founding; he moved to America in 1791, eventually settling in NYC where he was recorded as brass founder in city directories at 95 Henry Street from 1795 to 1818. Also born in Birmingham, Whittingham, Jr moved to America with his family and established himself as a brass founder in NYC in 1807, working at a different address than his father. It appears that he took over his father's business in 1818 since he was listed as working as a brass founder at Henry Street until his retirement in 1855. According to Donald Fennimore, it has not yet been determined whether the father, the son, or both used the misspelled "R. WITTINGHAM" mark; however, the son was in business 48 years and the father, 23 years, suggesting that the son was the principal user of the stamp. These andirons have urn-shaped finials over circular columns supported on plinths, and spurred cabriole legs ending in raised pad feet. The brass parts are cast in sand flasks; the legs are cast solid, and the finials, columns and plinths were each cast as hollow vertical halves and then brazed together, which was the standard method of making hollow casting in America in the 18th and early 19th centuries. All parts of the andirons are held together witn an internal rod to which the finials are threaded.
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2163 |
