Estimate: $8,000 - $12,000
American Furniture, Decorative & Folk Art
Auction: April 19, 2016 11:00:00 AM EDT
Marked twice to underside with additional engraving, "Andrew Elliot to Margaret McCall 1759."
H: 12 1/2 in. Total Weight: approx. 40 3/4+ troy oz.Provenance: Private Collection, Virginia.
According to the marriage records of Christ Church, Philadelphia, Andrew Elliot (1728-1797) married Eleanor McCall (1732-1756) on October 31, 1754. Eleanor's sister, Margaret McCall (1731-1804), married Joseph Swift (1731-1806) on February 3, 1759, and it is likely that this coffee pot was gifted to Margaret in honor of her nuptials and then descended in the family.
Margaret and Joseph's son, Samuel Swift (1771-1842) married Mary Shippen (1773-1809) on February 11, 1793. One of Samuel and Mary's children was Joseph Swift (1799-1882), who married Eliza Moore Willing (1800-1840) in 1831. The larger engraved initials on the present pot could be those of their daughter, Emily Swift (1835-1917), who married Thomas Balch (1821-1877) on October 5, 1852. It would then follow that the smaller engraved initials are those of their daughter, Elisa/e Willing Balch (1853-1913), who could have received pot from her grandfather, Joseph Swift (d. 1882).
The Balch Family papers are presently in the collection of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.