This section of the Estate Inventory of Cornelius DuBois mostly lists tools, utensils, and furniture, along with their prices. Within the inventory, utensils made from five different types of metal are recorded. The most frequent of these materials are pewter, appearing 6 times and tin, appearing 7 times. That is in contrast to brass, only appearing twice, and silver which is only listed once. Iron is in the middle, referenced 4 times, not including the tools that can be inferred are also made of iron. Over metal, plates and pitchers are often recorded in this inventory as being made from different types of decorated earthenware, which would be cheaper to produce than any of the metal plates.

Pewter itself is a tin-based alloy, made of mostly tin mixed with a small percent of another metal. When pewter was first being produced in ancient Rome, it would consist of about 70% tin and 30% lead (Britannica). Over time, the amount of lead in the pewter would lessen, though modern pewter tends to contain 90% tin with the other 10% being made of copper, antimony, and/or silver (Britannica). Early pewter’s high lead content allowed it to be made cheaply, however it also made using these utensils very dangerous. Due to lead being a poisonous material, the daily use of pewter utensils and drinking vessels led to many people dying from pewter poisoning (Way). The higher the amount of lead in pewter, the more dangerous it is, this meant that lower income individuals that could only afford high lead pewter were more exposed to lead poisoning. This tended to prove specifically fatal to sailors during the early development of pewter (Way). 

Despite this danger, pewter was initially viewed as a very desirable material to have in your home. In modern times, knowing the danger of lead we would avoid these utensils. However in early America this was very different, as stated by the collector Agatha Cowan, “From the time of first settlement through the Revolutionary War, all Americans aspired to eat and drink from pewter. Every American who could afford it used pewter daily. For the common man the appeal of pewter continued into the I870’s…” (Cowan 297). This shows that despite not reaching the same pristine image of silver, pewter was still a hot commodity for the emerging middle class of America in the 18th and 19th centuries.

When looking at the inventory one can see that a collection of 14 silver teaspoons and tongs recorded on page 10 are worth $12. Calculating inflation, this would be equivalent to spending roughly $269 today (Webster). While there is no direct set of 14 pewter spoons listed, for comparison, we may look towards the collection of 3 pewter plates and 6 pewter spoons on the inventory page 9. This set is valued at 50 cents, after calculating inflation, using the same system as we did with the silver spoons, this value equates to roughly $11 today (Webster). This depicts the practicality of buying pewter over silver from a purely financial point of view, which is why it was so desirable as a material for utensils and dinnerware. The fault of pewter came with both its danger when containing high volumes of lead, but also with its degradation. Pewter may replicate the shine of silver at first, but this is hard to maintain, as over time it will become dark and dull. 

This can be seen when comparing antique silver spoons and antique pewter spoons. While both metals require a certain amount of maintenance and polishing, there is a notable difference in the quality of these utensils. The silver set of spoons from 1810, when maintained, are able to achieve a mirror-like shine and a smooth texture. When viewed beside a set of 18th century pewter spoons, one can see the ways that pewter was used to mimic silver, without reaching that level of brilliance. There is a dullness to the spoons, as this pewter’s surface has darkened and degraded with age. There is also visible damage to the pewter spoons, not visible on the silver spoons. This may be due to the pewter being more of a daily use object rather than the more special or valuable silver spoons. This also could be because of the softs of the metals in pewter as opposed to silver, depicting another one of pewter’s downfalls. Pewter’s tendency to become damaged would go on to be a part of its initial production. The pewter industry in American relied heavily on the metal from worn-out pewter objects for its raw material (Cowan 297). Therefore, recycling of material was an important step in production, making early pewter pieces a rare find in today’s collecting world due to the melting down of these objects.

Pewter, when containing a large amount of lead, can also be notably heavy when compared to other mixtures of the metal (Way). Thus, adding on to its danger and its darkening, pewter is rather clunky to use as opposed to silver. However, the fact that pewter appears far more often on this inventory than silver shows that this household preferred the more affordable material despite its drawbacks. This can be shocking due to the DuBois family’s known wealth. Though pewter might have been seen as a close enough material to silver for utensils used everyday, rather than particularly special silvery utensils which may be used in the presence of guests.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “pewter”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Sep.2019, https://www.britannica.com/technology/pewter. Accessed 21 November2021.

Cowan, Agatha. The Art Bulletin, vol. 57, no. 2, [Taylor & Francis, Ltd., College Art Association], 1975, pp. 296–97, https://doi.org/10.2307/3049390.

Way, George. “Early Pewter Was Beautiful, but Dangerous.” Silive, 18 Mar. 2010,https://www.silive.com/homegarden/antiques/2010/03/early_pewter_was_beautiful_but.html.

Webster, Ian. “$12 In 1810 → 2021 | Inflation Calculator”. Officialdata.Org, 2021,https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1810?amount=12.

Webster, Ian. “$0.50 In 1810 → 2021 | Inflation Calculator”. Officialdata.Org, 2021,https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1810?amount=0.50.

“Set 4 Antique Dundee Silver Fiddle Teaspoons, Dated Circa 1810 Alexander Cameron For Sale At 1Stdibs”. 1Stdibs.Com, 2021,https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/dining-entertaining/sterling-silver/set-4-antiqu-dunde-silver-fiddle-teaspoons-dated-circa-1810-alexander-cameron/id-f_1535582/.

“Three Large 18Th Century Pewter Soup Spoons, Handcrafted For Sale At 1Stdibs”.1Stdibs.Co.Uk,2021,https://www.1stdibs.co.uk/furniture/dining-entertaining/tablware/three-large-18th-century-pewter-soup-spoons-handcrafted/id-f_9967923/.