Tray, Serving

Object Name:

Tray, Serving

Object ID:

2018.039

Creator:

Tufts, James W. (1835-1902) -- Manufacturer

Place of Origin:

Medford, MA

Date:

1886

Description:

Presentation serving tray. Silver-plated white metal. Rectangular with beveled, reeded edges and two attached curved handles. "I. L. Witherell / from / The Employees of the / BREED SHOE CO. / Rochester, N. H. / 1886" engraved in script on a scrolled cartouche held by two cherubs on an oval panel with scrolled background surrounded by hanging blackberries and leaves. "JAMES W. TUFTS / QUADRUPLE PLATE / BOSTON / WARRANTED" stamped in a circle on reverse; number "1410" stamped below.

Material:

Metal
Silver

Dimensions:

H-3 W-18 L-23.25 inches

Provenance:

Ivers Lincoln Witherell (1821-1906) was the son of Alanson and Achsa Witherell of Wrentham, MA. Witherell was a shoemaker, shoe tool maker, and later managed shoe factories in Norway, ME; Lynn, MA; and Rochester, NH. The Breed Shoe Company, a branch of the F. W. Breed Company based in Lynn, MA, opened a shoe factory on Wakefield Street, Rochester, NH, in 1883. Shortly thereafter, Witherell was made superintendent of the factory, a post he continued to occupy until the company shut the Rochester factory down in 1893, after a worker strike and national economic depression.

Entrepreneur James W. Tufts (1835-1902), of Medford, MA, began producing plated silverware during the early 1870s, when he manufactured parts for soda fountain fixtures. In 1875 Tufts began to produce an extensive line of domestic silver-plated wares such as pitchers, baskets, dishes, and trays. In 1891 the business was consolidated with other manufacturers under the name of the American Soda Fountain Company. Tufts left the management of the company in 1895, retiring to North Carolina, where he engaged in land speculation.

The tray was purchased from Annette Hannon of Belmont, MA, by the donors, and donated in memory of her father, Philip Nackley (1923-2018) of Boston and Belmont, MA.

Credit Line:

Gift of Keith Arbour and Nancy Hallock, in memory of Philip Nackley (1923-2018)

People:

Witherell, Ivers L. (1821-1906)

Subjects:

Silverware, Silverware industry, Trays, Shoe industry, Shoemaking, Cherubs, Blackberries