Why was a pewterer important ti colonial America?

Answer 1

Throughout much of the 17th and 18th centuries - the majority of which comprise the colonial period in America - amongst all but the wealthy in north-west Europe, pewter was the material of choice for household utensils such as plates, bowls, mugs, jugs, and spoons. It has been said that pewter then fulfilled the functions that now rely on plastics and ceramics. Colonists from Britain and Europe brought with them this reliance on pewter in their everyday lives. Vast quantities of pewter were exported from Britain and Europe to satisfy demand in the American colonies. But, like any emerging economy, an indigenous manufacturing capability inevitably developed, at first perhaps just repairing pieces, then moving on to recycling scrap metal into newly-fashioned wares. Some of the pewtering skills were imported too. Records about pewterers in London tell us that several craftsmen crossed the Atlantic to ply their trade in the New World. With the skills present, consumer demand strong, and a significant quantity of pewter around, most of the pre-conditions for a fully-fledged pewter industry were in place. However, there was one stumbling block: pewter is principally an alloy of tin, and there are no indigenous sources of tin in North America, so the primary raw material had itself to be imported. Because of this, the numbers of pewterers relative to the population in America never approached that found in north-west Europe, and the pewter trade in America maintained a significant reliance on imports of manufactured wares until the end of the period of pewter's dominance in the utensil market in the 19th century. Hope that helps. Martin Roberts, www.antique-metalware.co.uk