The Winterthur Library

 The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, Winterthur, DE  19735

302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883

 

 

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

 

Creator:          Laughlin, Ledlie I.                                                        

Title:               Collection

Dates:             1926-1973

Call No.:         Col 58 

Acc. No.:         73x157

Quantity:        26 boxes (8.5 cu. ft.)

Location:        16 E 1-4, and Map Case 3, drawer 1

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

 

Ledlie Irwin Laughlin, 1890-1977, was a renowned pewter collector, scholar and author.  In 1928 he became assistant Dean of Freshman at Princeton University.  He retired from there in 1953 as Associate Director of Admissions.  He was very active in the Pewter Collectors' Club of America.

 

 

SCOPE AND CONTENT

 

The bulk of the collection contains research notes and notecards pertaining to pewter and its makers, inventories, and touchmarks of pewter makers, most of which was compiled while researching his book Pewter in America: Its Makers and their Marks.  Typescripts of the book, photographs for that work, and correspondence with the publisher are also found.  This important work of his was first published in two volumes in 1940.  Those two volumes were later republished and a third volume was added in 1971.  There is also correspondence with other collectors, copies of dealers’ catalogs, and some magazine articles about pewter and Britannia ware. 

           

 

ORGANIZATION

           

Boxes 1-3 hold drafts and typescripts of Laughlin’s book. Correspondence with publishers and fellow pewter collectors is in Boxes 3-8.  Research notes and notebooks are found in Boxes 9-13.  Copies of plates for his book, photographs, and negatives are in Boxes 8 and 14-24.  Oversize copies of pewter touchmarks are in the map case. 

 

A more detailed description of some of the materials in the collection is available at this repository.

 

 

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

 

The materials are in English.

 

 

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

 

Collection is open to the public.  Copyright restrictions may apply.

 

 

PROVENANCE

           

Gift of Ledlie I. Laughlin.

 

 

ACCESS POINTS

 

Topics:

            Pewter - United States.

            Pewter - Collectors and collecting.

            Pewter - Marks.

            Pewterers - United States.

            Inventories of decedents' estates - United States.

            Notes.

            Correspondence.

            Illustrations.

            Inventories.

            Photoprints.

            Notebooks.

            Pewterers.

            Collectors.

 

 

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

 

Location: 16 E 1-5

 

 

Box 1:   Pewter in America

 

Folders 1-3:     Manuscript for "Pewter in America," part 1

Folders 4-6:     Manuscript for "Pewter in America," part 2

 

 

Box 2: Pewter in America

 

Folders 1-4:     Vol. III: manuscript

Folder 5:          Vol. III: manuscript: contents

Folder 6:          Vol. III: manuscript: list of plates

Folder 7:          Vol. III: manuscript: index of makers (pewter shown in plates)

Folder 8:          Vol. III: manuscript: bibliography

Folder 9:          Vol. III: manuscript: list of people to be thanked

Folder 10:        Vol. III: manuscript: acknowledgements

Folder 11:        Vol. III: manuscript: index

Folder 12:        Vol. III: material for plates, Frontispiece

Folder 13:        Vol. III: typescript, duplicate copy (folder 1 of 3; continues in next box)

 

 

Box 3: Pewter in America; Correspondence

 

Folders 1-2:     Vol. III: typescript, duplicate copy (folders 2 and 3 of 3; continued from previous box)

Folders 3-5:     Vol. III: page proofs

Folder 6:          Vol. III: photocopy of cover and inside dust jacket

Folder 7:          Vol. III: typescript of general index

Folder 8:          vol. III: List of plates with memo to Laughlin

Folder 9:          Correspondence: 1926-1940; A-B

Folder 10:        Correspondence: 1926-1940: C-E

 

 

Box 4:  Correspondence

 

Folders 1-2:     Correspondence: 1926-1940: Cotterell, Howard

Folder 3:          Correspondence: 1926-1940: F-G

Folder 4:          Correspondence: 1926-1940: H-L

Folder 5:          Correspondence: 1926-1940: M

Folder 6:          Correspondence: 1926-1940: Minor, Edw. E.

Folder 7:          Correspondence: 1926-1940: N-Q

 

 

Box 5:  Correspondence

 

Folder 1:          Correspondence: 1926-1940: R-S

Folder 2:          Correspondence: 1926-1940: T-Z

Folder 3:          Correspondence: 1940-1971: A-Blaney

Folder 4:          Correspondence: 1940-1971: B’s continued

Folder 5:          Correspondence: 1940-1971: C-D

Folder 6:          Correspondence: 1940-1971: E-F

Folder 7:          Correspondence: 1940-1971: G

 

 

Box 6:  Correspondence

 

Folder 1:          Correspondence: 1940-1971: H

Folder 2:          Correspondence: 1940-1971: Hilt, Wendell, 1966-70

Folder 3:          Correspondence: 1940-1971: J-Mc

Folder 4:          Correspondence: 1940-1971: M’s continuted

Folder 5:          Correspondence: 1940-1971: N-P

Folder 6:          Correspondence: 1940-1971: R

Folder 7:          Correspondence: 1940-1971: S-V

 

 

Box 7:  Correspondence

 

Folder 1:          Correspondence: 1940-1971: W

Folder 2:          Correspondence: 1940-1971: Williams, Thomas D.

Folder 3:          Correspondence: 1940-1971: Y

Folder 4:          correspondence received after publication of vol. III: A-G

Folder 5:          correspondence received after publication of vol. III: H-Y

Folder 6:          Correspondence with various publishers, 1940 and later

Folder 7:          Correspondence with publisher Barre Publishing Co., 1967-72, Vols. I-III

Folder 8:          Correspondence with publisher Chanticleer Press, re: Encyclopedia of American Art, 1971

 

 

Box 8:  Correspondence

 

Folder 1:          Correspondence with publisher Houghton Mifflin

Folder 2:          Correspondence with publisher Meriden Gravure, 1966-70

Folders 3-4:     uncut pages of plates [cut pages of plates are in box 13]

 

 

Box 9:  Research notebooks and notes

 

Folder 1:          Research notebooks for Vols. I-II: books 1-2

Folder 2:          Research notebooks for Vols. I-II: books 3-4

Folder 3:          Research notebooks for Vols. I-II: books 5-6

Folder 4:          Research notebooks for Vols. I-II: books 7-8

Folders 5-8:     Research notebooks for Vols. I-II [no book numbers; typed indexes prepared by another person are in the folders]

Folder 9:          Research notes for Vols. I-II (notes may not have been transferred to notebook)

 

 

Box 10:  Research cards and files 

 

Folder 1:          Research cards for Vols. I-II: Pewterers A-E

Folder 2:          Research cards for Vols. I-II: F-M

Folder 3:          Research cards for Vols. I-II: N-Y

Folder 4:          American pewter in private collections

Folder 5:          American pewter in museums and historical societies, after 1940

 

 

Box 11: Research files  

 

Folder 1:          Articles on pewter

Folders 2-3:     Articles, publications, and research notes

Folder 4:          Dealers lists and auction sales, after 1962

Folders 5-6:     Dealers lists and auction sales, checked prior to 1966, for revision [continues in next box]

 

 

Box 12: Research files  

 

Folder 1:          Dealers lists and auction sales, checked prior to 1966, for revision [continued from previous box]

Folder 2:          "Dethroned Pewterers"

Folder 3:          Hilt, Wendall; Connecticut research

Folder 4:          Pewter Collectors’ Club of America

Folder 5:          Pewter Society (England)

Folder 6:          Research notes, clippings, and rubbings

Folder 7:          Rubbings of touches (some photos; mostly Britannia)

Folder 8:          St. Peter Hungate Church Museum, Norwich, [England]: catalog

Folder 9:          "Semper Eadem - Who?"

 

 

Box 13: Research files (legal size files)

 

Folder 1:          Bigelow, Francis H.: Notes on pewterers

Folder 2:          Boggs, Benjamin R. (of  Harrisburg, PA): Research papers,

Folder 3:          Miscellaneous research material

Folder 4:          Pewter in America, Vol. I: notes, drafts, correspondence

Folder 5:          Pewter in private collections and museums, before 1940

Folder 6:          Danforth, Joseph: inventory

Folder 7:          Danforth, Samuel, of Hartford

Folder 8:          Danforth, Thomas: inventory, 1782

Folder 9:          Danforth, Thomas: inventory, 1787

Folder 10:        Danforth, William: inventory

Folder 11:        Eggleston, Jacob: inventory

Folder 12:        plates for vol. I-II: extra copies [uncut pages of plates are in box 8]

Folder 13:        Prospectus for book

Folder 14:        Records of measurements of pewter forms, Vols. I-II

 

 

Box 14: Plates

 

Folders 1-29:   Plates I-XXIX (1-29): photos, layouts, notes about images in plates

 

 

Box 15: Plates

 

Folders 1-26:   Plates XXX-LVI (30-56): photos, layouts, notes about images in plates

 

 

Box 16: Plates

 

Folders 1-22:   Plates LVII-LXXVIII (57-78): photos, layouts, notes about images in plates

 

 

Box 17: Plates

 

Folders 1-26:   Plates LXXIX-CIV (79-104): photos, layouts, notes about images in plates

 

 

Box 18: Plates and photographs

 

Folders 1-12:   Plates CV-CXV (105-115 and vol. 3 frontispiece): photos, layouts, notes about images in plates [missing plate CXIV (114)]

Folders 13-14: photos of touches [i.e. touchmarks]

Folder 15:        photos of touches gathered for Vol. I

 

 

Box 19: Photographs

 

Folder 1:          photos of touches gathered for Vol. I

Folder 2:          photos of touches gathered for Vol. II

Folders 3-6:     photos of touchmarks for Vol. III

Folders 7-8:     photos accumulated before 1940 for illustrations in Vol. I

 

 

Box 20: Photographs 

 

Folders 1-2:     photos accumulated before 1940 for illustrations in Vol. I

Folder 3:          photos accumulated before 1940 for illustrations in Vol. II

Folder 4:          Photos accumulated before 1940, never intended for use on book

Folders 5-8:     photos not used in Vol. III

 

Box 21: Photographs

 

Folders 1-2:     photos not used in Vol. III

Folder 3:          Photos and miscellaneous

Folders 4-5:     Photos used in Encyclopedia Britannica, 1973

Folder 6:          Photos of exhibition at Reading

Folder 7:          Photos loaned to Charles F. Montgomery

Folders 8-10:   Additional photos

 

 

Box 22: Negatives

 

Folders 1-5:     Negatives, not wanted for 2nd edition

 

 

Box 23: Negatives and photographs

 

Folders 1-2:     Negatives, not wanted for 2nd edition

Folders 3-6:     Negatives

Folder 7:          negatives and slides

Folders 8-11:   study prints for glass negatives [originals in box 24]

 

 

Box 24: glass plate negatives

 

26 glass plate negatives – must use study prints in Box  23

 

 

Map case:

 

Folder 1:          uncut sheets of plates

Folders 2-3:     11 boards with drawings of pewter touchmarks, with a note that these were not used in Pewter in America