Object Name: Teakettle
Object ID: 1958.036
Creator: Wilcox Silver Plate CompanyManufacturer
Place of Origin: Meriden, CT
Date: 1886 circa
Description: Presentation Tea Kettle on stand. Silverplated metal. Three pieces including kettle, stand, and burner. Kettle is vase-shaped with an attached hinged lid, a D-shaped handle with mother-of-pearl insulators and a S-shaped spout with a built-in strainer, and four pins which extend from the sides which rest on the stand. Stand has a circular plate with two uprights with notches at the top to hold the kettle. Burner unit is cylindrical with a slightly larger cap and a tube in the center to hold the wick. Burner unit fits into hole in center base of the stand. Kettle fully decorated with floral designs that appear to have Japanese influence. Rim of kettle decorated with birds and flowers. Tall finial on lid made up of geometric designs: disc and cone on top. Lid engraved in script: "Presented to J. C. A. Hill. By the Unitarian Sunday School. Christmas. 1886." Stamped on bottom of kettle in uppercase letters "QUADRUPLE PLATE [WILCOX] SILVER PLATE CO" which encircles an image of 2 crossed hammers. Also stamped on bottom is the number "100" and also stamped is the number "12". The thumbrest of handle is a raised triangular shape. Stand is decorated along the plate rim with birds, urns, and flowers. Uprights have a rod at the center from which geometric designs are added at the base and sides and lugs for holding kettle on top.
Material: Metal
Silver
Dimensions: H-10.05 W-10 D-8 inches
Provenance: Joseph Chaffin Appleton Hill (1821-1901) was superintendent of the Sunday School at the Concord, NH, Unitarian Church, then called the Second Congregational (Unitarian) Society. This kettle was presented to him by the church upon his leaving Concord for California. Hill married Ellen Downing (1827-1917), daughter of coachmaker Lewis Downing (1792-1873). Lewis Downing was also very generous financially to the church. Hill moved to California to represent the Abbot-Downing Company there.
The kettle was later owned by Hill's niece, Gertrude Downing (daughter of Lewis Downing Jr.), who gave the kettle back to the Unitarian Church in 1946. The Unitarian Church donated the kettle to NHHS in 1958.
Credit Line: Gift of Unitarian Church of Concord, N.H.
People:
Hill, Joseph C. A. (1821-1901),
Downing, Gertrude (1865-1952)
Subjects:
Birds,
Flowers,
Urns