New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-06-04
OLD PEWTER IN FAVOR.
COLLECTORS NOW INTERESTED IN FINE
AND QUAINT PIECES.
HOW SOME VALUABLE COLLECTIONS "i''N
FOIiMED-ME. HARPERS AND MIX
BRAKES PEWTER

doubtless wished many times tnat tneh '''''
ware could be Of the more costly substance Ger
ta.nly they would have been greatly astoh'sheu
II Trey could have Known that in the course Vi
years their common pewter utensils "oulu pc
sou~ht fer by collectors and would acquire a
value absurdly out Of proportion to their orIS-
inn cost. lust as long as there was nothing to
take its pacc-and no longcr-did pewter con-
tinua 10 he the ordinary tableware for persons
I'm Door and moderate circumstances. AS soon as
the improved methods Of making cheap crockery
md glass and plated silvcrware came into use
pewter began to be out of fashion and people
,yere clad TO throw away their old pieces and
Inv Tie new articles. which made n much more
uriliiant show for the money. Only in compare
ltiytIv few families there enough affection
for the old pewters TO keep them in their FORMER
state. and this accounts for their rarity to-day.
Iycn the art Of making the metal fell into
disusc and with ii was lost the exact process
employed by the weli-known makers OF that
period. certain amount of cheap stun cai'eu
pewter is still manufactured. but it is FAR from
being the same the old, no modern maker
having been able to produce combination OF TN
and lead equal to that turned out in the last
century The usual formula for the alloy known
rs pewter is given four parts of tin TO one
part Of lead but either these proportions Varleu'
or, as is more probable, there was some other
ingredient known to the pewterers of past gen.
crations. 1t is not likely that lead ever consti-
tuted more than one-ffth of the alloy, for an in
crease OF this metal makes the pewter liable to
corrosion, and consequently dangerous to use.
The fancy for accommodating old pewter is n
recent one among the various collecting hob
bies, little having been heard of II until five or
six years ago. Since then the taste for pewter
seems to have been growing until now in this
country as well as in England and Europe gen
orally where opportunities for obtaining fine old
pieces are much more abundant than here, there
are many large and interesting collections OF the
metal The articles of pewter most often seen
are ale mugs and beer tankards these having
been made OF ii from very early times. ii had
the merits OF being unbreakable. cool and easily
cleaned; and 1t was also said to give flavor to
the beer-an effect due 1t has been declared, TO
eectrolytc action on the lead.
At the Players in this city, there Is a
fine collection of pewter mugs most of which
were collected by Stanford White. the architect.
The Lambs also has a creditable array 81
them. At the Larchmont Yacht Club there is
an unusually excellent collection. including
plates and basins. as well as tankards. and num-
bering about 400 pieces. These were al brought
together by Horatio X. Harper OF this city, and
given by him to the club.
Mr.. Harper spent large part of one summer
in collecting his pewters in England, and they
come from all over the island, chiefly from inns
and country taverns 1t is not difficult for one
>ho has studied the metal somewhat to dis
guish old pieces from comparatively recent
4..es, and as the English innkeepers in general
set little store by their old tankards, Mr..
Harper was able to buy them readily. In many
cases he merely presented pieces to the
owners, TO replace those he took, and not only
were the PROJECTORS satisfied with this, but they
even considered themselves gamers by the ar
rangement. Some OF the pewters in the coec-
ton have a special interest and value owing to
the places from which they came. There
London pieces from the Bleeding Heart. made
famous in the pages Of Little Dorrit," and
some from the Cheshire Cheese, once a favorite
resort Of Goldsmith and Johnson. Still others
are from Simpsons whose house antedates the
great fire Of 1866. and there are pieces from
Bakers and other places Of a similar kind
In the house Of Alexander w. Drake. at No,
81 Clinton Place there is a collection of pewter
pieces, not large in number, but of unusual
tstc value and rarity. Mr.. Drake has picked
them W from time to time in connection with
the brass and copper objects which he has been
gathering for years in many parts Of the world.
This wonderful collection of brass and copper
was described and illustrated In The Tribune
about year ago.
Il never have paid any especial attention to
pewter" said Mr.. Drake the other day, but
find have more Of il than | supposed Most OF
my pieces were picked UP for some historical
interest which attached TO them, because
they were artistic in themselves. l didn't try
to accumulate large numbers of any one kind Of