AN IMPORTANT AMERICAN SILVER SALVER, RICHARD HUMPHREYS, PHILADELPHIA, CIRCA 1775

on four high claw and ball feet with foliate headers fluted and gadroon rim with foliated cartouches at the points, the caveto with chased leaves at the angles, large floral cartouche in center of tray surrounding elaborate engraved script initials GE.

George Emlen IV (1741-1812) m. 1775 Sarah Fishbourne, to his grandson
George Emlen, to his sister
Martha Emlen (b. 1826) m. John Langdon Wentworth
Mary Cecilia Wentworth m. Charles Seward Foote
Thomas Foote Wentworth m. Elizabeth Gervaise Canning, by descent until sold
Sotheby's New York, January 16 and 18, 1997, lot 92
Jonathan Trace, February 2003

SAM American Sampler 2002-2005.

couple of dimples, one bump in surface at 3 o'clock, super unworn engraving
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.

The monogram is that of George Emlen IV (1741-1812).  He was the eldest child of George and Ann (née Reckless) Emlen of Philadelphia; the first George Emlen arrived in the city in 1682.  George IV owned a town house on the corner of South Fourth Street and Willings Alley, as well as properties in Oxford Township and Whitemarsh Valley, Pa.  The latter, "Emlen House" or "Emlenton," served as Washington's headquarters from November 2 to December 11, 1777.  It was later described by Benson S. Lossing as, "a sort of baronial hall in size and character where Emlen, its wealthy owner, at the time of the Revolution, dispensed hospitality to all who came under its roof."

Emlen married February 1, 1775 the 19-year-old Sarah Fishbourne, daughter of William and Elizabeth Tallman Fishbourne; they had seven children.  On his father's death the following year, as adminsitrator he was responsible not just for his own inheritance, but the life interest of his mother's and much of his two brothers' properties.  Emlen served as treasurer of the Mutual Assurance Company from 1784 to 1796.  A prominent member of the Society of Friends, he was interred in the Burial Ground on his death November 23, 1812.  He died intestate, with an estate of $167,000 including early twenty parcels of property.

The Emlens were one of only 84 families in Philadelphia in 1774 to own a carriage, and they were known for their houses and for their silver plate.  Earlier generations had patronized Johannes Nys and Joseph Richardson Sr., but George IV was a strong patron of Richard Humphreys.  He purchased a coffee pot, tankard, three sauce boats, a pair of canns, and a 7 1/4 inch waiter, engraved with his monogram as on this salver, and also a pair of casters and a pair of salts just engraved with initials.  All of these pieces except the coffee pot are now in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  Many pieces were featured in the 1976 exhibition Philadelphia: Three Centuries of American Art, where it was noted that Humphreys "was an obvious choice for the Emlens' patronage... they were associated through the Society of Friends and were board members of the Mutual Assurance Co., the Emlen and Humphreys families were related by marriage and Ann Morris Humpreys' home was not far from George Emlen's country place at Camp Hill, Whitemarsh."

This is the largest known marked Philadelphia salver of the rococo period.  The form can be compared with two pairs of salvers at Mount Vernon, engraved with the Washington crest, and attributed to Humphreys.  The engraving on the Emlen salver is very similar to that on the Charles Thomson tea urn by Humphreys (1774, Philadelphia Museum of Art).  While that urn is regarded as the first datable example of neoclassical silver in America, the engraving is still rococo and is signed "Smither Sculpt" for James Smither (1741-91), who may also have been responsible for the engraving on this salver.