Joseph Danforth, Sr.
Cann

CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Cann
Datec. 1779–1788
Made inMiddletown, Connecticut, United States
MediumPewter
Dimensions4 1/2 × 3 13/16 × 5 3/8 in. (11.4 × 9.7 × 13.7 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg
Object numberB.60.66
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Queen Anne Sitting Room
On view

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

Pewter cans were produced in America as late as the 1830s. More common than the tankard because of its lower cost, the can, too, was intended for hard cider, beer, or malt liquors. Typically it is of a cylindrical shape tapering downward, although bellied and barrel-shaped examples are also known. Quart and pint cans, such as the museum’s examples by the shop of Joseph Danforth, Sr. (B.60.65), were the most popular sizes but, as Samuel Danforth’s 1816 estate inventory records, half-pint, gill, and, presumably, half-gill sizes were also available.

Related examples: Similar Joseph Danforth cans in public collections include Hood 1965, p. 18, no. 41; Fairbanks 1974, pp. 39, 107, nos. 139, 140.

Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.


Provenance[Thomas D. and Constance R. Williams, Litchfield, Connecticut]; purchased by Miss Ima Hogg, 1960; given to MFAH, by 1966.
Exhibition History"Fill the Other Bowl, Boys!," Texarkana Historical Society, Texarkana, TX, September 1–October 16, 1993.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
[no inscriptions]
On left of handle and inside bottom: marks of Joseph Danforth, Middletown, 1780–1788 [Laughlin 1940, vol. I, pl. LIII, nos. 374 [left of handle] and 374 [inside bottom])

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

Cann
Joseph Danforth, Sr.
c. 1779–1788
Pewter
B.60.65
Plate
Joseph Danforth, Sr.
c. 1779
Pewter
B.2006.16
Cann
Thomas Danforth, II
c. 1755–1818
Pewter
B.69.25
Porringer
Samuel Danforth
c. 1795–1816
Pewter
B.58.97
Porringer
Thomas Danforth Boardman
c. 1810–1830
Pewter
B.58.99
Saucer
Thomas Danforth, III
c. 1777–1820
Pewter
B.60.73
Plate
John Danforth
c. 1762–1793
Pewter
B.60.74
Dish
Thomas Danforth, II
c. 1755–1782
Pewter
B.60.71
Saucer
Thomas Danforth, III
c. 1777–1820
Pewter
B.60.76
Beaker
Edward Danforth
c. 1786–1800
Pewter
B.60.61
Beaker
Thomas Danforth, III
c. 1777–1818
Pewter
B.60.62
Porringer
Thomas Danforth Boardman
c. 1810–1830
Pewter
B.56.186.1