Beschreibung:

dovetailed construction with a gooseneck spout, a swivel handle, and a brass finial. The entire surface is covered in engraved decoration, including vines and leaves, oak leaves, a dove, a pointing finger, and Masonic symbols. Encircling the lid is Jefferson and the Embargo. On one side is mind your business and on the other is Prudence is the best Remedy for hard times. On the base is encircling inscriptions including, full words, single letters and symbols, likely being a rebus of untranslated message, we will let the buyer figure it out. Probably southeastern Pennsylvania, ca 1808; 2.75" high (excluding handle) x 2.5" diameter (at the bottom). The construction of the handle, particularly the brackets which affixe it to the body of the kettle, relates to the work of Francis Sanderson (Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Baltimore, Maryland, fl. late 18th century). See Horvath, Signed Gooseneck American Copper Tea Kettles: A Pictorial Dictionary. The Embargo Act of 1807 was President Jefferson's attempt to show the importance of neutral American trade to the warring British and French, and thus deter them from molesting American trade ships. The act did not have the desired result in Europe, and it infuriated American manufacturers and merchants, most of whom found ways around the law, just as they had flaunted similar restrictions placed on them by the British prior to the American Revolution. Anti-embargo sentiment found its way onto a myriad of manufactured goods. Condition: A few very minor bends and dings; still VG.