Teapot, spoon vase, and butter dish
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1880-1888
Maker
Peter L. Krider and Co. (c. 1870-1888)
Measurements
1972.112.1 teapot: 9 in x 11-1/2 in x 4-1/4 in; 1972.112.2 spoon vase: 6-3/8 in x 6-1/4 in x 4-1/8 in (dia); 1972.112.3 butter dish: 3 in x 9 in x 4-5/8 in
Materials
Silver, ebony teapot handle
Credit Line
Historic Odessa Foundation, gift of Mrs. Earle R. Crowe
Accession Number
1972.112
Inscription
Teapot: “AJ” in script is engraved on each side. “STERLING” and three Krider hallmarks are stamped into the outside bottom. Spoon vase and butter dish: “AJ” in script is engraved on one side. “STERLING” and three Krider hallmarks are stamped into the outside bottom.
Condition Notes
The teapot has two small dents in one side.
Provenance
Ex coll. Mrs. E. Tatnall (Mary Corbit) Warner. The donor's mother was a niece of Mrs. Warner and was a likely owner of these pieces of silver.
Comments
The teapot, spoon vase, and butter dish were acquired by Mrs. Mary Warner to fill out a four-piece coffee service (accession nos. 1972.108-.110) made about 1808 for Ann Jefferis, Mrs. Warner's grandmother, when she married David Wilson Jr. Although made some 75 years later, the three additional objects were engraved with an "AJ" cypher that duplicated the engraving on the 1808 coffee service. The teapot has the initials engraved on both sides; one side is slightly larger than the other.
The style of the three new objects also recalled that of the earlier service. The tea pot augmented the coffee pot in the earlier service. The spoon vase was a modern object type, as was the butter dish. The butter dish has a removable liner that establishes as surface for butter above a well for ice. The butter dish almost certainly had a cover at one time, as was characteristic of that object form. The dish has a fully formed rabbet to support a cover, although one did not accompany the group of objects at the time of the 1972 gift.
The touchmarks are those of the Peter L. Krider and Company. Peter L. Krider (1821-1895) used the “and Co.” name from about 1870 until he sold his business in 1888 to August Weber, who continued to use the name until 1903.
