Pewter plate

Pewter vase

Pieces of pewter

Detail on a pewter fork handle from Norway, showing three scenes: the Viking King Heilag Olav, His People, and a Viking ship

Pewter is a malleable metal alloy, traditionally 85–99% tin, with the remainder consisting of copper, antimony, bismuth and lead. Copper and antimony act as hardeners while lead is common in the lower grades of pewter, which have a bluish tint. It has a low melting point, around 170–230 °C (338–446°F), depending on the exact mixture of metals.^[1] The word pewter is probably a variation of the word spelter, a colloquial name for zinc.^[2]

History[link]

Pewter was first used around the beginning of the Bronze Age in the Near East. The earliest piece of pewter found is from an Egyptian tomb from 1450 BC.^[3]

Types[link]

The constituents of pewter were first controlled in the 12th century by town guilds in France. By the 15th century, the Worshipful Company of Pewterers controlled pewter constituents in England. This company originally had two grades of pewter, but in the 16th century a third grade was added. The first type, known as "fine metal", was used for flatware. It consisted of tin with as much copper as it could absorb, which is about 1%. The second type, known as "trifling metal" or "trifle", was used for holloware. It is made up of fine metal with approximately 4% lead. The last type of pewter, known as "lay" or "ley" metal, was used for items that were not in contact with food or drink. It consisted of tin with 15% lead. These three alloys were used, with little variation, until the 20th century.^[3]

Older pewters with higher lead content are heavier, tarnish faster, and oxidation gives them a darker silver-gray color.^{[citation needed]} Pewters containing lead are no longer used in items (such as cups, plates, or jewelry) that will come in contact with the human body due to health concerns stemming from the lead content. Modern pewters are available that are completely free of lead, although many pewters containing lead are still being produced for other purposes.

A typical European casting alloy contains 94% tin, 1% copper, and 5% antimony. A European pewter sheet would contain 92% tin, 2% copper, and 6% antimony. Asian pewter, produced mostly in Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, contains a higher percentage of tin, usually 97.5% tin, 1% copper, and 1.5% antimony. This makes the alloy slightly softer.^[3]

Uses[link]

Pewter items are often found in churches. Use of pewter was common from the Middle Ages until the various developments in glass-making during the 18th and 19th centuries. Pewter was the chief tableware until the making of porcelain. Contrary to urban legend, the use of lead-containing pewter tableware was unrelated to the mistrust of tomatoes as a foodstuff in Northern Europe during the 16th century.^[4] Mass production of glass products has seen glass universally replace pewter in day-to-day life. Pewter artifacts continue to be produced, mainly as decorative or specialty items. Pewter was also used around East Asia. Although some items still exist, Ancient Roman pewter is rare.^[5]

"Unlidded" mugs and lidded tankards may be the most familiar pewter artifacts from the late 17th and 18th centuries, although the metal is also used for many other items including porringers, plates, dishes, basins, spoons, measures, flagons, communion cups, teapots, sugar bowls, beer steins and cream jugs. In the early 19th century, changes in fashion caused a decline in the use of pewter flatware; however, there was increased production of both cast and spun pewter tea sets, as well as whale-oil lamps, candlesticks, etc. Later in the century, pewter alloys were often used as a base metal for silver-plated objects.

Today, pewter is used in decorative objects, mainly collectible statuettes and figurines, game figures, aircraft and other models, (replica) coins, pendants and so on. Certain athletic contests, such as the United States Figure Skating Championships, award pewter medals to the fourth place finishers.

See also[link]

• Britannia metal
• English pewter
• Royal Selangor
• Spin casting

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• PewterBank

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pewter

Benjamin Mervyn ('Sandy') Griffiths (17 January 1909 – 21 January 1974^[1]) was a Welsh football referee from Abertillery, Monmouthshire. In his professional life he was a teacher.

Career[link]

He first took up a teaching post in Devon but soon returned to Newport and began his refereeing career in 1934 in local leagues. Within five seasons he was appointed to the Football League list as a linesman and, after the War, refereed the England versus Scotland clash in 1949,^[2] and then the 1953 FA Cup Final, otherwise known as the Matthews Final.^[3] It was his decision, with two minutes remaining, that enabled Stan Mortensen to equalise from a free-kick awarded just outside the penalty area.

Griffiths represented Wales at the 1950,^[4] 1954^[5] and 1958 World Cup Finals.^[6] In the first of these he appeared in the opening fixture, and in the second took charge of the semi-final between Hungary and Uruguay, and assisting William Ling in the final. In the closing minutes of the match, and with the score at 3-2 to the West Germans, Griffiths flagged Hungary's Ferenc Puskás offside, just as he beat Toni Turek in the German goal.^[7]

He was the first Welshman to referee an international at Wembley, the first from his country to referee an FA Cup Final, and the only Welshman to appear in a World Cup final.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]