Elias Pelletreau: Long Island Silversmith and Entrepreneur, 1726–1810
$65.00
Dean F. Failey with contributions by Jennifer L. Anderson ed., Deborah Dependahl Waters, and David Barquist
Preservation Long Island, 2018
$65.00 ($58.50 members)
Based on research by decorative arts specialist Dean Failey (1947-2015), this is the first dedicated study on the life and work of the Southampton silversmith, Elias Pelletreau (1726-1810) since 1957. A Long Island contemporary of Paul Revere, Pelletreau lived through America’s tumultuous transition from colonial outpost to new republic and was one of very few rural silversmiths to maintain a viable business as a producer of complex silver forms. He served a clientele drawn from the period’s most influential Long Island families (including the Tallmadges, the Gardiners, the Floyds, and many others) and his legacy of surviving objects (lavishly illustrated here) record the tastes and aspirations of the region’s manorial class.
