AN AMERICAN SILVER BOOKPLATE DEPICTING THE DECATUR FAMILY, HENRY DAWKINS, NEW YORK, CIRCA 1783

oval, the obverse with a portrait of the Decatur family in front of an open window with two ships in the distance above an inscription To Mrs. Ann Decatur This Design is Inscribed by Her Ob. Humb. Servt. H. Dawkins, the reverse engraved in reverse as for a plate for engraving with the Decatur arms and motto and the inscription The Arms of the Ancient Family of Decatur, set within a gilt frame and floral matting.

Captain Stephen Decatur (1752-1808)
Commodore Stephen Decatur (1779-1820)
Colonel John Decatur (1786-1832), brother
Commodore Stephen Decatur (1814-1876), son
Stephen Decatur (1855-1935), son
Stephen Decatur (1886-1964), son
by descent until sold at
Christie's, New York, January 20-21, 2005, lot 141
Jonathan Trace, January 2005

Stephen Decatur, "The Conflicting History of Henry Dawkins, Engraver," American Collector, January 1939, pp. 6-7

good
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.

Henry Dawkins emigrated from England to New York after 1750 and became one of America's most important early engravers. He made the first engraving of the New York State coat-of-arms, and his 1762 engraving of a view of Princeton College is one of the earliest views of that school. He also established himself in Philadelphia. A 1758 advertisement from the Pennsylvania Journal records that: "Henry Dawkins, Engraver from London. Engraves all sorts of maps, Shopkeepers bills, bills of parcels, coats of arms for gentlemens books, coats of arms, cyphers, and other devices on Plate; likewise seals, and mourning rings cut after the neatest manner and at the most reasonable rates."

Dawkins is also notorious for counterfeiting paper money. Arrested in 1776 and imprisoned in deplorable conditions in White Plains, Dawkins wrote to the Provincial Congress of New York pleading for his own death. The circumstances of Dawkins release from prison are unclear, but he returned to Philadelphia where he continued work as an engraver, with a considerable trade in bookplates. 

This bookplate is particularly important, as it is signed by Dawkins and it depicts members of a prominent Philadelphia family. The sitters are Captain Stephen Decatur (1752-1808), his wife, Ann Pine and their three children, the future naval hero, Stephen (1779-1820), Anne Pine (1776-1819), and the baby, James Bruce (1782-1804). 

According to family tradition, this bookplate passed from Captain Stephen Decatur to his son, Commodore Stephen Decatur, who died without issue. The bookplate then passed to Commodore Decatur's brother, Colonel John Pine Decatur (1786-1832), and then by descent to vendor in the 2005 sale.

The most illustrious member of the Decatur family, Stephen Decatur, is notable for his naval victories in both Barbary Wars in North Africa, the Quasi-War with France, and the War of 1812. He became the youngest man to reach the rank of captain in the history of the US Navy, and in 1816, he was appointed to the board of Navy Commissioners in Washington, where he built an impressive federal residence designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe. Decatur was mortally wounded in a duel in 1820. His Washington residence is now the Decatur House museum.