Collectibles-General (Antiques)/Pewter Teapot

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Expert: Martin G Roberts - 8/3/2008


Question

Teapot
Martin, I have a pewter teapot by Philip Ashberry & Sons Sheffield (indicated in lid). It is engraved on the base with B Whyte & Sons, High Street, Edinburgh and has the number 5 stamped above the numbers 521 on the base. Can you please tell me a little more about this item (age, value etc?. It is extremely dirty and would like to clean but not too sure how? I have attached a photo. Many thanks.

Answer
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This is a Britannia metal teapot. BM is a pewter alloy formulated for manufacturing from sheet metal, rather than casting. It was made by Ashberrys around 1870 I would say from the style, and retailed by Whyte in Edinburgh. Robert Whyte (the mark should read R Whyte) was a prominent Edinburgh pewterer in the earlier part of the 19th Century. I have seen before examples of Whyte's retailer mark on Sheffield Britannia metal, and it seems they must have ceased manufacturing and switched to retailing somewhere around 1850.

The Whyte mark is not recorded in the database of the Pewter Society, so if you are able to forward a good, sharp digital image of it, I would be happy to add it to the database to assist other collectors. Please send it to stynt@btopenworld.com

Cleaning: it doesn't look to me to be particularly 'dirty' - it is probably covered in hard dark grey oxide, typical of old Britannia metal. This is near impossible to remove, and would leave an ugly, rough surface if it was removed, so it is best left as it is.

Unfortunately, there is no real collectors' market for this type of object, so value is just a few tens of pounds at best.

Martin
www.antique-metalware.co.uk
    Questioner's Rating
    Rating(1-10)Knowledgeability = 10Clarity of Response = 10Politeness = 10
    CommentThanks so much!! An answer within 15 minutes. Superb expert and a credit to this website. I will forward the Whyte mark as requested.


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Martin G Roberts

Expertise

Pewter of the 19th Century and earlier from the British Isles and Ireland. I can comment on origin, date, rarity, and value. I cannot give detailed information on 'art' metalware, Art Deco, Art Nouveau or Arts & Crafts metalware. See my website for more information: www.antique-metalware.co.uk.

Experience

A collector for twelve years and a dealer for seven.

Publications
Journal of the Pewter Society
Pewter Society Newsletter
Bulletin of the Pewter Collectors' Club of America

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