Tankard

The details of Thomas Grant’s silversmithing career are somewhat hazy. Silversmith John Touzell (about 1727 – 1785), of Salem, Massachusetts, may have been his master or employer. From Touzell, Grant apparently purchased chisels and a “Tea Spoone punch of your Large Size.” Although Grant’s estate included a “Small Goldsmiths Shop,” the silversmith owned a schooner that saw action in the Revolutionary War and may have been a source of income in peacetime. Grant produced several spoons and a few examples of hollowware, including casters and a pair of beakers also made for the Marblehead church. This is his only known tankard.

This text has been adapted from "Silver of the Americas, 1600-2000," edited by Jeannine Falino and Gerald W.R. Ward, published in 2008 by the MFA. Complete references can be found in that publication.