Ledlie I. Laughlin, in his authoritative Pewter in America, found in William Will’s products “a distinction and an originality not found thus far in the pewter of any other American maker.” Fine workmanship, ambitious designs, and an impressive variety of forms contribute to the high esteem in which this craftsman is held. As one of the most productive pewterers in 18th-century America, Will is noted for the aspiration and accomplishment of his products. The so-called tulip-shaped tankard has been described as being particularly characteristic of Philadelphia, making the present tankard an especially fine representative of its time and place. This tankard, with its bellied form, double-domed lid, molded foot, and boldly scrolling handle, is among the most sculpturally ambitious and aesthetically successful of American pewter tankards. These elements, cast in separate molds and later joined together, are exceptionally well integrated into a visual whole with pleasing proportions and a carefully considered combination of curves.

Unlike the silversmith who created hollowware by hammering a disc of silver, and who was at least theoretically free to make any shape he wished, the pewterer was limited by his molds. The better molds were made of brass and were expensive. There was every incentive for the pewterer to limit the number of shapes he could cast; the test of his ingenuity lay in discovering multiple uses for each shape. Thus the domed lid of a tankard also served as the base of a chalice, and on close examination it appears that both came from the same mold. The interchangeability of parts was the pewterer’s stock in trade.