Thomas Danforth Boardman reminisced that in about 1806 he was experiencing problems working up some English tin for teapots. In preparing the alloy, he introduced copper and an equal amount of antimony. Boardman described the vessels as “the best I had ever made,” noting that “with the propper proportion of Regulus of antimony and copper the ware would finish up equal to English bright.” Members of the Boardman family are believed to be the first American pewterers to produce Britannia, an alloy that, in addition to possessing a high sheen, was more
 easily worked. Before long it spelled out pewter’s demise and completely transformed the industry, with objects now assembled from sheet as well as by stamping and spinning.

Related examples: Kernan, Ross, and Eilers 1969, p. 29, no. 79; Evans 1972, pp. 1030–31; Butler 1983, p. 142, no. 227; Barquist 1985, p. 25, no. 203.

Technical notes: The body is composed of two fused components (see B.61.27). The lid is attached by a three-part hinge and is vented. Its finial is riveted in place. The handle is Britannia rather than wood.

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.