Antique 19th Century English Shaw & Fisher Pewter Teapot w Wood Handle 13"

Description

Mid 19th century English pewter teapot by Shaw and Fisher (mark used until 1872). Onion shaped body with footed base and top shaped finial. Dark wood handle.

"The Shaw family specialised in the manufacture of Britannia metal goods. The business was originally based in Whitecroft and Pea Croft, where Matthew Shaw was a whitesmith. In 1821, he was listed at Whitecroft as a table knife, silver and brass bolster manufacturer. His death at the age of 55 was reported in The Sheffield Independent on 3 May 1823. Two of his sons – George Shaw (1798-1861) and James Shaw (1800-1878) – continued to trade in Britannia goods. George Shaw & Co was listed at Pea Croft in the early 1820s. By 1828, George had been joined by his brother James at Kellam’s Wheel. Their partnership had ended by 1829, when George relocated to Allen Street. James Shaw had married Matilda Fisher and by 1833 was in partnership with her brother, Thomas Fisher (1803-1870). Shaw & Fisher traded at Kelham Works, Kelham Island (in premises later covered by Kelham Rolling Mills). In 1835, Shaw & Fisher moved to Howard Place, Eyre Lane. In about 1842, the partners relocated to Norfolk Place, Suffolk Road. The firm’s specialities were tea and coffee sets, and dishes and covers. Apparently, James Shaw was the traveller, who began by journeying by stagecoach to local markets, then extended his travels to London and the Continent. In the early 1850s, extensive dealings were conducted through their agent in New York, Charles Congreve. By the 1870s, Shaw & Fisher goods were sold in Australia and New Zealand. Shaw retired to France in about 1860, and later lived in Jersey and Brighton. He died on 1 March 1878. Thomas Fisher died on 24 September 1870. In his last years, Thomas Fisher increasingly relied upon his son, Henry (1832-1878). The latter was joined by Frederick Hall (c.1826-1893), who was the firm’s long-serving bookkeeper and traveller (Century’s Progress, 1893). He was the youngest son of John Hall, who had been a cutlery manufacturer at Cornhill. However, Henry Fisher died at his residence Norwood Grange on 21 December 1878. Frederick Hall and his son, William Wootton Hall (1852-1899), became the owners of Shaw & Fisher. The firm held patents for seamless Britannia metal dish-covers and Hall’s teapot infuser. Other articles were an improved hydrostatic percolator and a range of earthenware jugs, with Britannia and electro-plated covers. The company registered a silver mark ‘FH’ in 1884, which highlighted its involvement in the electro-plate trade. Hard white-metal goods were also produced. ‘SHAW & FISHER’ had been stamped on the firm’s products until 1872, when a cross-arrows mark (with the letters ‘S F’) was adopted. Frederick Hall died from influenza and pneumonia at Oak Grove, Collegiate Crescent on 12 June 1893. The business had probably been contracting since the 1870s, when Britannia metal was increasingly superseded by electro-plate. Shaw & Fisher had only slowly embraced this technology, perhaps because the Suffolk Road workshops were too small to install electro-plating tanks (though the firm did have melting furnaces). In 1894, Shaw & Fisher’s assets, goodwill, stock-in-trade and tools were offered for sale as a going concern or in separate lots (Sheffield Independent, 1 May 1894). The firm was broken up. The cross arrow trade mark was acquired by James Deakin & Sons Ltd, which used it prominently. That mark later passed to I. S. Dearden, when it acquired Deakin. The firm also used the trade mark BRISBANE SILVER." (Source: Hawley Sheffield Knives / Silver Collection)

Condition

Good Overall - Gentle wear; handle slightly loose

Dimensions

12.5" x 7.5" x 8.25" (Width x Depth x Height)