What’s in Our Museum Collections?
Silver, Ceramics, and Glass
Many of the ceramic and glass pieces in the Society’s collections are made not only by New Jerseyans, but are made from the state’s natural resources—red, yellow, and white clays, and finely-grained sand. Dummer (Jersey City) Glass and Whitall Tatum Glass Co., and Lenox and Boehm are all nationally recognized makers. These pieces tell us of the state’s industries, the workers who made them run, and the domestic life of upper- and middle-class citizens. Five hundred pieces of silver include a pair of Tiffany candelabra made in Newark for the 1900 Paris World’s Fair, a 1900 Tiffany dessert bowl owned by New Jersey Governor Franklin Murphy, and a tankard crafted in 1767. Examples of pieces in the collection show the diversity of the Society’s collections and story possibilities—items like the Lenox plates made for the White House, the 206-piece French porcelain dinner service owned by Governor Mahlon Dickerson, and silver pieces crafted in 1792 by Benjamin Cleveland, Newark’s first silversmith and the grandfather of President Grover Cleveland.
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Teapot by Elias Boudinot, Philadelphia. Pennsylvania, about 1750. Elias Boudinot, a well-known early American silversmith, made this teapot for John and Abigail Stockton. They were the parents of Richard Stockton (a signer of the Declaration of Independence from New Jersey) who married Boudinot’s daughter, Annis. |
Dessert Plate by Ott & Brewer, Trenton, New Jersey, about 1885. This hand-painted porcelain plate was made by highly skilled craftsmen in a small studio in Ott & Brewer’s large factory. Ott & Brewer, a manufacturer of fine art porcelain, was active in Trenton from 1871 to 1892. |
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Paperweight, Whitall Tatum Glass Company, Millville, New Jersey, about 1900. This yellow rose design in a glass paperweight was produced by the Millville, New Jersey, glass manufacturer Whitall Tatum, and is referred to as the “Millville Rose.” Its design is attributed to Ralph Barber, a skilled worker of the firm. |
Tankard by Nicholas Roosevelt, 1767. The tankard was a typical Colonial drinking vessel. The lid made it possible to carry ale without spilling. |
What else is in our collections?
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