AN AMERICAN SILVER TANKARD

Elias Pelletreau (1726-1810) was born in Southampton, New York, and studied in New York before being apprenticed to goldsmith Simeon Soumaine in 1741. Pelletreau married Sarah Gelston in 1748 at the end of his apprenticeship, and became a freeman of New York City in 1750 before moving back to Southampton where he set up his own workshop.
Pelletreau's daybooks, as reproduced in D. Failey, Elias Pelletreau: Long Island Silversmith and Entrepreneur, 1726-1810 (New York, 2018), mention numerous purchases from Pelltreau by the Smith family. As this is the only family whose surname begins with an S mentioned in the day books, it is possible that the present lot was also commissioned by a member of the Smith family. A similar tankard with scroll thumbpiece and baluster drop on the handle is reproduced on the cover of Failey's book, as well as on page 80.