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 Click image for more information  Made in Dorchester: Roswell Gleason, Pewter and Silverplate Manufacturer
Exhibit at UMass Boston, Healey Library, Special Collections Department and Gallery, February-April, 2009
Plan to visit the library between 9 am and 5 pm when the Special Collections Department is open, so you can see the cases inside the department as well as in the main gallery.
The Gleason Pewter and Silver-Plating Company was located on Washington Street, Dorchester
Born in 1799, Roswell Gleason spent his early years on a farm in Putney, Vermont. In 1818 he arrived in Dorchester and found employment with Mr. Wilcox, a maker of tinware. After Wilcox retired, Gleason went into business for himself about the year 1830, beginning with the manufacture of block tin and pewter.
By 1837, when the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association awarded Gleason a medal for his tinware, he had also branched out into the production of britannia ware (fine pewter work) with considerable recognition. In the 1850s with the encouragement of Daniel Webster, Gleason and one of his sons opened the first silver-plating establishment in America. At one time he employed 125 men at his factory on Washington Street. By 1851 Gleason had become wealthy enough to be included in a book entitled Rich Men of Massachusetts. Indeed, Lilacs, his home on Washington Street, built in 1837, had become one of the show places in the neighborhood of Boston. He owned a property of 25 acres with a 1,000 foot frontage on Washington Street encompassing his house and 15 other structures including stables, outbuildings and factory buildings. Park Street was installed on the southern border of his land.
In the 1890s after Gleason's death and the subdivision of the property, Claybourne Street (originally Ridge Road) was constructed, and the Gleason House was turned around to face east, later becoming 101 Claybourne Street. The house was one of the area's finest examples of the transition from Greek to Gothic Revival domestic architecture. The form of the house was characteristic of Greek Revival standards, but the decorative elements were part of the late Gothic style. The two-bay entrance contained a portico of gothic spirelets and floor-length lancet-shaped sidelight windows. There was a two-story, three-bay porch composed of arcaded, pointed arches supported by clustered columns with annulets below the capitals and scroll-carved decoration in the spandrels. The interior of the house was decorated in Empire style. Many of the features of the house were taken by the Boston Museum of Fine Arts for its collection prior to demolition of the building in the 1980s.
When Gleason began the production of silver-plate, the style of his work began to change from the simple, traditionally inspired design of his early work to a more heavily ornamented and opulent style which better suited the tastes of his Victorian clientele. Largely due to this ability to adapt to changing tastes and to keep abreast of technical advances in manufacturing, Gleason's operation continued to prosper. In his later years, business suffered when the Civil War interrupted sales in the southern states. After both his sons died, and an explosion occurred in one of his factories, he retired in 1871 at the age of 72. He died in Dorchester in 1887.
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The substance for candles was tallow rendered from fat of sheep or cattle. Although beeswax was sometimes used, it was usually too expensive for everyday use. Due to their com-position, candles were likely to be eaten by mice, so candles were kept in a protective container. Late in the eighteenth century, spermaceti was introduced?the waxy fat from the head of the sperm whale. Candles made from spermaceti produced a bright steady flame with no odor or running, but were too expensive for ordinary people. In 1831 stearine candles came to market?these were made from animal and vegetable fat converted into soap that was then treated.
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Pair of Roswell Gleason candlesticks.
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Pair of Roswell Gleason candlesticks.
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Whale Oil Lamp
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Double bull's eye lens whale oil lamp.
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Whale Oil Lamp
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The most distinctive feature of the burning fuel lamp is the shape of the wick tubes. They extend about an inch and a half above the base plate and not at all below it, so as to keep the flame away from the font. The tubes are narrower than those of whale-oil burners, and have a distinct taper from bottom to top. This gives a tight fit, with less chance for vapor to escape and ignite. If there are two or more tubes, they diverge from base to top, because separate flames create less heat. Each tube has a deep metal cap, usually attached to the base plate by a fine chain. This served as an extinguisher and prevented evaporation of the volatile fluid when the lamp was not in use. Two-wick burners are the most common, but burners with single, triple, quadruple and quintuple tubes are known. The burner base plate screws into a threaded collar on the font, and there is no vapor vent.
When kerosene became popular in the second half of the century, other lamp designs were introduced, but by then Gleason had retired.
Reader's Comment
From: Name Charles Leib
Camphene and burning fluid are two distinct fuels. As you correctly stated, camphene is distilled spirits of turpentine only. The term was patented by A.V.H. Webb on February 19, 1839, #1082. Burning fluid is a mixture of distilled spirits of turpentine and alcohol. While Isaiah Jennings is credited with the introduction of the fuel in 1829-1830, the term was patented by Henry Porter on April 8, 1835. Camphene, while inflammable, was not explosive as in the case of burning fluid vapor (high in hygrogen), which caused most of the terrible accidents, when the vapor mixed with oxygen in the household atmosphere and was ignited by a flame.. The burning fluid burner, with the two tapering wicks and caps is the typical style, and was used without a chimney. Camphene, on the other hand was burned in Argand style lamps, with chimneys and draft systems to facilitate combustion of the camphene which was high in carbon, and, which would smoke without such draft.
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Burning fuel lamp
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Burning fuel lamp
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Whale oil lamp
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Whale Oil Lamp
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Whale oil lamp
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Much of Gleason's work was for the table. This mug is one of the simpler designs.
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Pewter tumbler
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Porringer
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Porringer
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Silverplated bell
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Pewter bowl
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Communion Cups or Chalices
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Small syrup pitcher
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Creamer
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Silverplated creamer
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Creamer
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Ceamer
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Panel sided teapot. These panel sided pots could be made with the wide end at the top or at the bottom.
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This panel sided teapot is an inverted form of the one above.
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Pear shaped coffee pot
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Lighthouse shaped coffee pot
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Pigeon breasted teapot
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Pear shaped Queen Anne Revival teapot with foot
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Squash shaped silverplated teapot
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Castor Stand
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Flagon
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Lidded water pitcher
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Here are some images from the Atheneum archive related to this topic. Click on any of these images to open a slideshow of all 21 images.
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Created: February 4, 2009 Modified: March 27, 2009
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