Eoff & Phyfe Antique Coin Silver Presentation Ewer or Pitcher, New York City, c. 1848

This beautiful pitcher has eight vertical panels on a bulbous body. Each panel is wonderfully decorated with bright cut engraving of scrolling floral and foliate designs. The body rests on a pedestal foot with a lobed edge and a beautiful cast and applied handle balances the spout. Edgar M. Eoff and William M. Phyfe worked in New York City as partners from 1845-49.

A cartouche on one side is engraved:

Presented to the

HON. JOHN GREENWOOD

by Members of the

Church of the Saviour,

In grateful testimony of

their high appreciation

of his gratuitous

services as its

Organist,

Brooklyn, L.I.

AD. 1848.

Not only was Judge John Greenwood the organist, but he was one of the trustees of the church, the First Unitarian Congregational Church of Brooklyn. The church was located at the northeast corner of Pierrepont Street and Monroe Place and can still be found there today.

According to The New York Times: John Greenwood was born in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1798. He moved to New York in 1810 where he studied law in the office of Aaron Burr. He moved to Brooklyn in 1833, resided at 174 Remsen Street and was present at the meeting incorporating Brooklyn in 1833. He was instrumental setting up ferry service between Brooklyn and Manhattan, served as a city judge for over five years, was vice president of the Long Island Historical Society and a director of the Nassau Fire Insurance Company. He died from a fit of 'apoplexy' suffered on his doorstep after returning from a service at the church on December 11, 1887. (1)

The pitcher measures 12 inches high to the top of the handle and weighs 33.15 troy ounces. Underneath, it is marked with Eoff & Phyfe's maker's mark along with the retailer's mark, 'Ball, Tompkins & Black' - who would become Ball, Black & Co (the leading jewelers in New York City in the 1850's) and then Black, Starr & Frost. It is in very good/ excellent condition.

Endnote:

1. The New York Times: 12 December 1887, p. 1, 'Stricken at his Doorstep'.