Three from an American Silver Five-Piece Tea Service Made for Noah Webster

Object Details

Object Essay

The epitome of the New York Empire style, these three pieces originally may have been part of a larger service, including one or two additional pots and a slop bowl. Boldly ostentatious in concept, and of complex sculptural design, tea and coffee services like this were the ultimate status symbols of their period. This set is oversized in scale; the capacity of the sugar bowl is almost equal to that of the teapot, and is nearly as great as that of a small tureen or entrée dish.      

The narrow stamped band that forms an everted collar between the pedestal and body is a New York feature that became more prominent on silver made in the 1830s and 1840s. The scroll handle, rectangular in section, with emphasized spur above the lower joint, is also characteristic of New York workmanship, as is the large modified bud, or acorn, finial.        

Garrit (or Garrett) Eoff was one of the most important silversmiths working in New York during the first half of the 19th century and one of many who produced tea and coffee services in this style. This set exemplifies Eoff’s preference for sculptural massing of volumes and simple, bold decoration. The son of Garrett and Sarah (Heyer) Eoff, he is listed as a silversmith in directories as early as 1805 and as late as 1845. He was variously in partnership with Paul Howell from about 1806 to 1808; John H. Conner from 1824 to 1835, and John Chandler Moore—who later worked for Tiffany—from 1835 to 1836.^{1_{Silver Supplement, 51–52; von Khrum, 44–45; New York State Silversmiths, 71.}}

The tea service was originally owned by educator, journalist, and lexicographer, Noah Webster (1758–1843). Webster, the first American authority on the English language, was born in West Hartford, Connecticut, and graduated from Yale College in 1778. After graduation, he taught school and studied law for several years, writing the first edition of his famous speller in 1782, A Grammatical Institute of the English Language in 1784, and An American Selection of Lessons in Reading and Speaking in 1785. Webster’s schoolbooks were carefully calculated to serve the needs of an American audience, and many of the readings were patriotic in nature. In 1782, he traveled throughout the thirteen states seeking approval for copyright laws and became a vocal supporter of the Federalist belief in a strong centralized government. In 1787, Webster settled in New York and began his career as a journalist as the editor of the American Magazine. He later launched two Federalist newspapers, the daily Minerva and the semi-weekly Herald. In 1798, he moved to New Haven, Connecticut and, in 1803, he sold his newspapers so he could devote himself, once again, to his studies of the English language.  

According to family tradition, this tea service was a gift to Webster, possibly upon the publication of his monumental two-volume American Dictionary of the English Language in 1828.^{2_{DAB, s.v. “Noah Webster;” Warfel, 423–35, 445–46, 448–52, 457–58, 509–11, 518–20, 539, 548.}}

Barbara McLean Ward and Jennifer F. Goldsborough

Excerpted from Clement E. Conger, et al. Treasures of State: Fine and Decorative Arts in the Diplomatic Reception Rooms of the U.S. Department of State. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1991.