Sellew and Co.: Historical Notes
Sellew & Co. was the oldest company that produced
pewter and Britannia metal wares in Cincinnati.
Kerfoot, writing in 1924, was unaware of the
origins of the Sellew brothers’ pewter company,
saying “. . . we have no definite knowledge as yet as to the true dates
assignable to the firm.” However, Brown
(1979) states that Sellew
& Co. was founded in 1832. Studebaker (2012) writes that Sellew & Co. produced thousands of pieces between 1832
and1860. They made tea and
coffeepots along with plates, lamps, and communion wares of excellent quality
and metal. William Sellew
was born about 1814 (Brown says
1806) in Glastonbury, CT Marriage: Mary Ann Munson on 9 Feb 1847. He died on 15
Oct 1877, Cincinnati, OH. Osmon Sellew came with William to Cincinnati in
1832. He was born on 1 Jun 1810, in Glastonbury,CT. Marriage:
Hepzibah Goodrich.
He died in1886. Enos Sellew joined the
firm in 1835. He was born on 3 Apr 1808, Glastonbury
CT and died in1876. There was another
brother, Ralph Sellew, born 27 Jun 1813, Glastonbury, CT, but there is no evidence that
he ever worked in the Cincinnati firm.
The Wolfs (1977) noted:
·
The
apparent association between Sellew and Boardman
manufacture (a strong relationship between many Boardman and Sellew teapots, creamers and sugar bowls.
·
The
interchangeability of parts utilized by both Sellew
and Homan.
In a 1987 article, they show a later
small mark of Sellew & Co: 3/64” high compared to
the older larger mark which was 3/32” high.
·
Form of the pot is late 1850s-1860s: fluted spout,
C handle, lid
·
Exhibits the elongated pear-shaped form typical of Sellew.
Many
of their earlier design items were taken from the Boardmans.
Sellew produced a double belly coffee pot strikingly
similar to the Boardman's with the exception of the handle. Similar
pots are found in:
·
Laughlin plate 609 (Boardman and Co.)
·
Kerfoot figure 214 (Boardman & Co.)
·
Kerfoot figure 34 (Boardman & Hart)
·
Kerfoot figure 209
·
Studebaker, p. 57 “distinctively later Victorian”
·
Montgomery, p. 185, Fig 11-23 (Boardman & Co.)
·
Wolf (2006), Fig. 178 (Thomas Boardman)
·
Wolf (2006), Fig. 196.
Selected Sources
Brown, John F. “The Sellews
of Cincinnati.” The Pewter Collectors
Club of America Bulletin, v. 7 no. 9 (78), March 1979, 384-387.
Montgomery, Charles F. A History of American
Pewter. (A Winterthur Book) New
York: Weathervane Books, 1973.
Studebaker, Sue.
Pewter. (Sue Studebaker’s Antiques Study Series) Edited by Jessica Thress. [Lebanon, OH] Warren County Historical
Society, 2012.
Wolf, Dr. Melvyn D. and Bette A.
Wolf. “Cincinnati Pewter.” The Pewter Collectors Club of America
Bulletin v. 7 no. 3 (75), September 1977, pp. 220-231.
Wolf, Dr. Melvyn D. and Bette A.
Wolf. “An Unreported Coffee Pot by Sellew & Company.” The
Pewter Collectors Club of America Bulletin v. 9 no. 4/5 (94/95)), September
1987, pp. 1104-105.
An American Pewter Collection: The
Collection of Dr. Melvyn & Bette Wolf. First edition. 2006.
The
advertisements below were found in various Cincinnati city directories, most of
which can be found online at: http://virtuallibrary.cincinnatilibrary.org/virtuallibrary/vl_citydir.aspx
The image of
the 1840 ad was taken from the Pewter Collectors Club of America Bulletin.
1840 Sellew & Co. ad
1842 Sellew & Co. ad
1850-51 Sellew & Co. ad
1855 Sellew & Co. ad and J. H. Stalkamp & Co. ad
1860 Sellew & Co. ad