AN AMERICAN SILVER SOUP TUREEN AND COVER, THOMAS FLETCHER, PHILADELPHIA, 1833

the shaped base raised on four claw feet, lower body chased with acanthus and palm, handles terminating in eagles heads, cover with bud finial, one side engraved with the Webster coat of arms, the other side engraved Daniel Webster.

Daniel Webster (1782-1852)
Jonathan Trace, May 30, 1980

America Sampler, 2002
Fletcher and Gardiner, 2007, NO. 78

Silver Studies 2004, illus.

cover with small dent to rim, overall good condition, heavy weight
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.

Daniel Webster was Secretary of State, Senator for Massachusetts, and Representative for New Hampshire in the first half of the 19th century.  A graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and Dartmouth, he was considered a Conservative, as opposed to Jacksonian Populists, and was a supporter of industry and of banking.  Nicholas Biddle, president of the Second Bank of the United States and another Fletcher customer, was a close friend.

In 1808 Daniel Webster married Grace Fletcher, third cousin of the silversmith; they had a son Daniel Fletcher Webster in 1818.  She died in 1828, but the connection was maintained by the widower despite his remarriage in 1829.  In 1834, Thomas Fletcher named his eighth child Daniel Webster Fletcher

Webster continued to purchase silver from Fletcher as well.  On April 17, 1833, Fletcher wrote to Webster that he had just sent a box containing two soup tureens, costing $685.25.  The debt to French Empire design is obvious, but eagle heads have been substituted for a more patriotic handle support.  

Daniel Webster obviously liked putting his name on his silver.  In addition to this tureen, a similarly engraved Fletcher & Gardiner tea urn of c. 1825 was sold at Parke-Bernet, New York, May 17, 1968, lot 153, and a covered pitcher with Webster's name, by John B. Jones, Boston, c. 1830, is in the Diplomatic Reception Rooms, Washington, D.C. (Treasures of State, no. 231).