TONTINE. A George III silver teapot, George Smith, London, 1784

beaded oval, the sides and base engraved with the names and dates of death of 18 participants in a tontine, wood handle and finial, scratch weight: '12 oz 10 dwt'

Garrard & Company Ltd., The Marchioness of Crewe, Inventory of Plate at West Horsley, 20 December 1950, p.5.

The handle and finial are both original; the finial is made of horn. The marks and engraving are good. The surface is a little bright. There are significant repairs to the base of the spout and the hinge of cover interior. There is also a small tear in the silver at this point. The cover does not sit quite flush to the body.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The names of the tontine participants are as follows:

‘Marg^t. Shore OB 1 Jan 1754 Æ 37

John Milnes Arm OB 12 Oct 1771 Æ 62

Esther Torre OB 14 June 1782 Æ 28

Sam^l. Shore DIED 23 Sep 1785 Æ 78

Tho^s. Day Esq OB 28 Sep 1789 Æ41

Jn^o.Thornton Esq OB 7 Nov 1790 Æ 71

John Finch Esq OB 23 Dec 1791 Æ55

Esther Day OB 12 June 1792 Æ 39

Dorothy Sykes OB 12 Mar 1796 Æ 68’

 

‘Mary Rodes OB 14 March 1789 Æ 76

James Milnes OB 2 Dec 1792 Æ 71

George Cotton OB 11 Dec 1793 Æ 70

Pemberton Milnes OB 6 Dec 1795 Æ 67

Martha Lamb OB 17 Oct 1797 Æ 73

Freeman Flower Esq OB 8 Jun 1797 Æ 83’

 

‘Eliz Milnes OB 28 Mar 1788 Æ 72

Sarah Lumb OB 21 Nov 1795 Æ 72

Ar: Heywood Esq OB 11 Feb 1795 Æ78’

A tontine is a financial device for raising capital. Popular in the 18^th and early 19^th Centuries, each subscriber’s investment to the fund yielded an annual dividend. Upon the death of a subscriber their share was transferred to the other members, thus increasing the annuity. The tontine ceased upon the death of the last subscriber.

Among the more notable members of the tontine recorded on this teapot, all of whom appear to have been linked by ties of family or friendship in the English Non-conformist community, were the following:

Thomas Day of Anningsley, near Chertsey, who was killed while on a visit to his mother on 28 September 1789 by a fall from his horse at Bear Hill, near Reading (The General Evening Post, London, 1 October 1789-3 October 1789, p. 4d). He was ‘a Gentleman distinguished for eminent abilities, which he employed, as well as his affluent fortune, in such a manner as shewed that he considered these advantages as having been entrusted to him, not for his personal gratification, but the for the benefit of mankind; . . . His literary productions are known and admired. His poems breathe the spirit of poetry and freedom. His political works and speeches were not less distinguished for nervous eloquence than for the most disinterested patriotism and regard for the rights and liberties of mankind. He was among the first of those who exerted their efforts to emancipate the negroes from cruelty and tyranny. . .’ (The London Chronicle, London, 6-8 October 1798, p. 339b)

Pemberton Milnes (1729-1795), merchant and political reformer of Wakefield, Yorkshire, who made a fortune in the clothing trade. ‘This gentleman was the great uncle of Mr. Richard Monckton Milnes. . . He was a very honourable upright man, and being chief magistrate of the part of the country in which he resided, and chairman of the General Quarter Sessions, held for the West Riding, was always called Justice Milnes. He was the head of the dissenting interest in the county, and a stout partisan of Lord Rockingham [Prime Minister, 1765/66 and 1782]. Mr. Milnes was noted for his conviviality, and is supposed to have drunk more port wine than any many in Yorkshire, even in those six-bottle days. . .’ (George Thomas, Earl of Albemarle, Memoirs of the Marquis of Rockingham, London, 1852, vol. II, p. 395)