Pewter

	Although pewter has been around for hundreds of years, it’s rare to find anything which dates back before the 19th century. Anyone who does have anything from before this period should hold onto it as much of the pewter from this age was melted down and re-used. Most of the pewter contained in private collections will be from the 19th century and will certainly include a few pub tankards. Tankards, or mugs, are what most people will think of when they hear the word pewter. In the 19th century glass was not yet used for drinking from and British pubs were well stocked with pewter beer tankards instead.

Pewter Candle Holder

Pewter Finish
10 1/8 Inches Long

Pewter Dolphin Candle Holder

Made of Pewter
Glass Candle Holders
10 1/8 Inches Long

Pewter Unicorn Figurine

Made of Pewter.
4 Inches Tall

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Pewter

But a collector can hope to find much more in the way of pewter than just the standard mug. Sheffield in England, known as the steel city, produced many different pieces made from pewter, almost at the rate it did with steel. These included pin cushions, vases, thimbles, candlesticks, snuff boxes, ink stands and tobacco jars, as well as trays and teapots. Many homes in Sheffield up until about 25 years ago still had pewter teapots in daily use.

For anyone wanting to start a pewter collection it’s worth noting that many items made from pewter were made with no mark on them whatsoever to confirm that they are indeed pewter. On the other hand some pieces can be found adorned with quite confusing words and symbols that might seem daunting to have to decipher. The best advice is to get a guide book before starting a collection. That way a collector will not only become adept at recognising pewter, but will also understand any markings, or lack of, they might see.

But it isn’t all about collecting pieces from by gone days. Pewter is still very much in use and much in demand. Gifts of pewter are given at times of celebration like weddings, anniversaries and christenings, and are recognised as being something to treasure. These include everything from pewter backed bibles for christenings to pewter coasters and photo frames.

Pewter doesn’t tarnish in the way silver does and so keeping pewter clean is quite easy, usually only needing an occasional rub. However some collectors do prefer an antique look to their pewter. This is perhaps often the case in photo frames if they contain old black and white photos which look out of place in highly polished, bright pewter frames. New pewter can’t be aged in this way at home and would have to be done professionally using chemical darkeners, but old pewter often had a darker more charcoal appearance and it is possible to maintain this antique appearance in such pieces.

The differences between old and new pewter may be in the way it is made, ie the absence of lead today, but even now there are many different ways of creating pewter, the only constant appearing to be the high content of tin.

All of this makes collecting pewter unique. From the many diverse objects created in history and today, to the difference in appearance and the riddle of the markings, it’s easy to see why pewter continues to fascinate and appeal.