Throughout the eighteenth century, London pewter was synonymous with the finest quality and enjoyed an international reputation. Some provincial English, American, and even Continental craftsmen, seeking to further their own business, stamped their work “London.” Perhaps this was done to suggest their wares were comparable with London pewter, or possibly it was an attempt to pass off their work as an English product.

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.