The William Clap Beaker: An American silver beaker, Jacob Hurd, Boston, dated 1745

tall tulip shape, engraved on one side in contemporary script The Gift of Mr William Clap To the First Church of Christ In Dorchester 1745

Bequest of William Clap in 1743 to
The First Parish in Dorchester, Dorchester, MA

Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1911. American Church Silver of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, with a few pieces of Domestic Plate, no. 601, p. 71
Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, loan, 1938-2011

William Blake Trask, Early Matters Relating to the Town and First Church of Dorchester, 1886, p. 11.
John Henry Buck, Old Plate, its Makers & Marks, 1903, p. 239.
E. Alfred Jones, The Old Silver of American Churches, 1913, p. 145.
Hollis French, Jacob Hurd and His Sons Nathaniel & Benjamin, Silversmiths 1702-1781, 1939, p. 31.
Patricia E. Kane, Colonial Massachusetts Silversmiths and Jewelers, 1998, p. 585.

tiny rim crach and firescale around flared rim, otherwise good, nice color with great engraving and clear mark
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

William Clap(p) and his twin brother, Desire, Jr. were born in Dorchester, MA on 13 August  1694.  Clap(p) was the son of Desire Clap(p), Sr. (1652-1717) and his wife Sarah Pond (1651/52-1716).  His paternal grandfather was Captain Roger Clapp (1609-1691/92), for whom his cousin Deacon Hopestill Clapp had the coat-of-arms of Rogers engraved on a Hurd tankard to be offered in this sale as the following lot.

On 11 April 1717 Clap(p) married Elizabeth Humphrys (1694-1775) in Dorchester.  As the couple did not bear any children and all of Clap(p)'s six brothers died during infancy (including his twin, who died six days after birth), the Clap(p) surname became extinct in his father's line upon his death on 2 October 1743.  This beaker is thus a memorial to the end of this proud line.

The donation of the present lot was specified in Clapp's will dated 28 November 1735 in which he stated "I give & bequesth  to ye Church in Dorchester the sum of £20  to be given into the hands of the Deacons of the S^d Church, to be laid out in a piece of Plate or what else shall be by them judged most necessary or convenient for the use of the Lords Table in the s^d Church."

As his cousin Hopestill Clapp was a Deacon at the time of his death it is likely that Deacon Clapp was responsible for the purchase of this beaker, as well as his own tankard, from Hurd in 1745.