Lidless bulbous or bellied measure with crowned "GR IV" "IMPERIAL" seal applied on front; half gill size. Applied rim with incised line below and cast circular base with vertical foot ring; faint line partially visible at seam. Molded D- or ear-shaped strap handle. Three marks to right of handle, crowned "N" and "N.C" verification marks and "No 5" (upside down).
Crowned marks not identified. This type of measure is associated with Sheffield, circa 1825-1835, made shortly after the adoption of the Imperial Standard in 1824.
Shallow, circular container with flared sides, inset flat bottom and flat-top, stepped lid with wide, slightly overhanging rim attached by a five-knuckle inset hinge. Lid and dish exterior scored with sets of one, two and three lines; circular punch at top center of lid. Partial small touchmark of Ashbil (or Ashbel) Griswold on bottom underside, consisting of his initials "A.G" in raised serif letters in a rectangle.
Haystack measure; gallon size. Conical or ovoid body with molded neck, midbody, and base bands; circular, everted rim with flared and beaded lip. Tapered, D- or ear-shaped handle has an arched and tongued thumbrest; upper scrolled terminal with stepped oval attachment below neck; flat lower terminal attached at midband. Front of body is stamped "1 GALLON" in incuse serif letters. Rim exterior is stamped to left of handle "J F N" and to right of handle with verification mark "CC / 89", both in incuse serif letters. Illegible verification mark on rim interior. Touchmark of Joseph Austen & Son and crowned "X" quality mark on bottom outside.
Maker is Joseph Austen & Son, Cork, Ireland; circa 1823-1846 (previous working dates, circa 1828-1833).
Onion-form teakettle with crooked gooseneck spout and cast-in, clipped-corner ears for the double-arched strap bail handle; three D-section feet. Triple-stepped conical cover with empty hole for handle. Both pieces are hollow cast: cover has gate mark on inside; kettle has horizontal and vertical seams on body and spout with single gate mark on bottom exterior. No additional marks.
Baluster measure with plain embryo-shell thumb piece; half pint size. Stepped, triangular extension is burnt to the flat lid, which has two pairs of incised lines on its exterior and two single lines on its interior. Body has a galleried rim and flared base; two incised lines around rim, one at base, and two pairs around body. Angular strap handle impressed with a bead-and-shell design at thumbrest; flared tab terminal with conical strut and circular attachment. Rim exterior is stamped to left of handle with a partial Dean of Guild mark and a George IV verification mark overstruck by an upside-down, circular City of Fife mark. Five concentric circles on bottom inside; "Dundee / 47(?)" scratched on outside, crossed out.
Haystack measure; pint size. Conical or ovoid body with molded neck, midbody, and base bands; circular, everted rim with flared and beaded lip. Tapered, D- or ear-shaped handle has an arched and tongued thumbrest; upper scrolled terminal with stepped oval attachment below neck; flat lower terminal attached at midband. Body is stamped on front "1 PINT" in incuse serif letters, with the letters "JK" scratched to left of handle. Four verification marks on rim interior, including a crowned Hibernian harp between "VR" over "563". Touchmark of Joseph Austen & Son and a crowned "X" in a clipped-corner rectangle on bottom outside.
Maker is Joseph Austen & Son, Cork, Ireland; circa 1823-1846 (previous working dates, circa 1828-1833).
Haystack measure; half gallon size. Conical or ovoid body with molded neck, midbody, and base bands; circular, everted rim with flared and beaded lip. Tapered, D- or ear-shaped handle has an arched and tongued thumbrest; upper scrolled terminal with stepped oval attachment below neck; flat lower terminal attached at midband. Front of body is stamped "1/2 GALLON" in incuse serif letters. Rim interior with two verification marks, a crowned Hibernian harp between "VR" over "547" and "VR / ER" crown, stamped twice. At least nine partial verification marks on rim exterior. Touchmark of Joseph Austen & Son on bottom outside.
Maker is Joseph Austen & Son, Cork, Ireland; circa 1823-1846 (previous working dates, circa 1828-1833).
Large, shallow, circular skimmer attached with three rivets to a slender, cylindrical, downturned handle flattened into a flared and pointed end with pierced hole. Bowl is perforated with small holes arranged into a circle around the center rivet with eight straight radiating arms and groups of four holes between them; turning marks visible on front and back of bowl. Front of handle struck incuse above hanging hole "W.BARTON" in roman letters.
Skimmer 1978.0939.006 and ladle 1978.0939.011 appear to be a pair. Both were possibly made by William Barton (1762-1849), who established foundries for making horse and sleigh bells in East Hampton, CT, in 1808, and in Cairo, NY, in 1826.
Large, repousse chased oval tray with oval profile portraits of Queen Marie-Antoinette and King Louis XVI of France suspended from laurel swags connected to ram's heads and fasces in the well, their coats-of-arms joined by an imperial crown above at center of the wide, everted, plain-edged rim; four panels of floral bouquets and a trophy of crossed quivers and bow complete the rim decoration. No foot ring. Obverse right edge of rim struck with a horizontal diamond or lozenge containing the raised serif letters "ED" flanking a perched bird with imperial crown, and the profile head of Minerva, facing right, with small "1" at top right in clipped-corner square.
Plain, oblong, boat-shaped teapot on four ball feet with flat, rectangular hinged lid domed at center and topped by a rectangular rosette knop. Spurred, C-shape wood handle is pinned into cylindrical sockets. Bellied gooseneck or S-curve spout with elongated D-shaped lip and flat inside face. Body perforated at spout. Underside of slightly raised bottom struck incuse "I.VICKERS" between "B 4" and "586".
Maker is John Vickers of Sheffield, England; working, 1809-1836. His father, James Vickers (1737-1809), is said to have discovered and was the first to produce Britannia ware in 1769 or 1770, establishing Sheffield as major manufacturing center in the trade.
Patent model (U.S. Patent No. 249) of a freestanding fireplace with grate that has three horizontal radiators placed above the mantel, made by Roger M. Sherman of Fairfield, CT, and patented on June 30, 1837. One flue with damper that connects directly from the grate to the chimney and three separate flues with dampers open into the radiators. Maker's name engraved on back. Patent information printed and handwritten on original patent tag glued to index card stored with object and on reproduction patent tag tied to grate with red wove ribbon.
Rectangular waffle iron, plier form; both plates feature a grid of squares with raised, eight-petaled rosettes. Two, long, cylindrical handles, the shorter one ending in a small loop with shaped locking ring that fits over the bulb terminal on the other to secure closed. Both handles with arrow-shaped pads double-riveted to plates. Handle pivot is peened over a domed washer. No marks.