The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-12-16

oasch shs grease - y nsised from Ns
burning candle.
Bowls Of svery size and degres Of plain
ness, nom the small ones 20 use on b tee
equipage to the great n with battlements
on It for punch. Then there were the caudle
cups, which appeared with frequency In
those great old families which precludsd al
thoughts OF race suicide.
Then there were ladies' which were used
either for the punch bowl or the caudle,
and they had a lip IN one end out OF which
the liquor could be poured without slopping
IL. They had most often slender handles
Of twisted whalebone, black md delicate.
and sometimes a coin was set in the bottom
Of the bOwS part, but This should not be
taken as an Indication OF the age Of the
ladle, for it was generally chosen for the
beauty OF the coin, n with a choice o
on it being the favorite.
No article on silverware, no matter how
brief, should close without an abundant
mention Of Americas greatest silversmith.
His name was Paul Revere, and he achieved
a reputation in more ways han one, as
every school child Of the present day can
tell you. One cannot gay whether he him
self was most gratifed at his success a. .
maker OF nno and bells or a an en-
graver or as q silversmith, in which last
branch he included the making Of gold
beads and very dainty thimbles.
Paul Revere came by his trade OF silver
smith naturally, a. his father was n be-
fore him and was OF Huguenot extraction.
The natural bent which Paul had toward
an artistic career led hin to design many
Of the choice patterns with which the silver
ware was decorated, as well as to improve
on the shapes Of the pieces themselves.
His coffee pots and urns are extremely
graceful, his creamers low and wide. The
tankards have rising tops. as was the mode
at this period, but are much more elegant
tina those Of many OF his contemporaries.
At the exhibition Of early American
silver which was held at Boston last sum-
mer a whole case was filed with the work
of the Reveres alone. Perhaps the most
beautiful piece OF all was a covered por-
ringer exquisite in shape, which bears on itz
handle the entwined initials OF Paul and his
wife, and was made for their own use.
There was also on exhibition that punch
bowl made by Revere which is 30 connected
with our early history that il gives you q
thrill Just TO look at it. IL is inscribed,
"To the Memory of the Glorious Ninsty-two
Members Of the Hon'ble House OF Repre-
sentatives OF the Massachusetts, Bay, Who
Undaunted by the I~nsolent Menaces OF
Villains in Power, ron a Strict Regard to
Conscience and the Liberties of their Con-
~stituents, on the 3Oth OF June, 1853, voted
NOT to Rescind.' On the other side IL reads,
mo. As, Wilkes and Liberty and then.
come all the names.
The Revere silver Is often decorated with
beautiful crests and coats of arms besides
the wonderful patterns which Paul de-
signed. That his prices were somewhat
stiff, is shown by a receipted bill OF his which
Is exhibited in one Of the cases at the Old
South Church. 1t reads;
1870. May Is.
Tristram Dalton. Esq. 10 Paul Revere. Or.
To a Q Silver Can, weight ID OF. at 7s.......-e4 10
To the making ! 10
To Engraving the Armes, .....,......,..... 10
co 10
June Q. Reed the above in full Of iona Smelling. Esq.
The reckoning seems a trihe queer. but
it is given just az it was on the bill.
The mark of the Reveres varied on diff
ferent pieces, and it does not seem probable
that all the pieces which pear the name OF
Paul Revere were made by him. The
Revere mark was the name Revere i'm
pressed In capitals in a small oblong.
On many Of the pieces on the side Of the
oblong which faces the letter r. is a small
dot. This is commonly aiken to mean that
the piece was the work OF Paul's own hand.
and it is certain that the pieces are Of ex-
~ceptionally high grade. A'tankard on ex-
hibition in the Boston State House has this
extra dot.
Revere made many communion services
with graceful chalices and slender stemmed
goblets, wreathed and entwined with
flowers and scrolls. His aims basins and
those for baptism were also choice pieces
of workmanship, and his shoe buckles wei
wrought TO a remarkable degree of orna-
rnentation.
Another object which might take the form
OF great beauty and which came from the
Revere shop was the silver button. In the
days when it was the fashion to have metal
buttons on the rich coats Of velvet and
satin some of the handles owned az many
as ten or twelve dozen wrought silver but
tons Of various sizes and shapes. They
must rave been quite a source OF income
to the old silversmiths.