Jeremiah Dummer

Jeremiah Dummer (September 14, 1645 – May 24, 1718) was a silversmith, painter, and engraver from the Thirteen Colonies. He created the first paper currency in the Connecticut Colony, and his son Jeremiah Dummer was involved with the foundation of Yale University.

Life Dummer was born in Newbury, Massachusetts Bay Colony, the first son of Richard Dummer and his second wife, Frances Burr.

At the age of 14, he was apprenticed to John Hull, the mintmaster at Boston. He is said to have introduced into American silver the ornamentation known as "gadrooning", curved flutings on the surface of silver. although some sources also credit Dummer with the engraving of the Massachusetts copper plates.

Dummer was also one America's foremost early portrait painters. Among his paintings are a self-portrait and portrait of his wife, Anna, together with portraits of many of his contemporaries.

He died on May 24, 1718, in Boston. John Coney (brother-in-law) Eleazer Russell Edward Winslow Kiliaen Van Rensselaer (1683) John Edwards John Allen (1685) John Noyes William Cowell Sr. Daniel Gookin (1696–1704) Shubael Dummer (nephew)

Works Francis Skerry Beaker, c. 1670He was a prolific craftsman and over one hundred pieces listed as made by him have been preserved.

Among his works in public museum collections: Boston Museum of Fine Arts Porringer, – 1670. Engraved "NG" for Nabby (Abigail) Gardiner and "B over E M" for Ebenezer and Mary [Turner] Bowditch. The handle design is believed to be unique in American silver. Spout cup. Engraved "SCE" around center point on bottom; "1680" on side. Made for Stephen Codman and Elizabeth Randall, m 1674. One of only two Spout cups by Dummer. Baptismal Bowl, 1695. The property of the First Parish, Cambridge. The bowl was made and presented to Brattle in 1695 by his Harvard students, as the original inscription "Ex dono Pupillorum" indicates. The Brattle coat of arms is engraved on the rim. The bowl bears Dummer's mark, a heart-shaped device within which are his initials, with a small pellet between the initial, and a fleur-de-lis. It was made for domestic use. Communion cup. Engraved "gifft / of / E B" for Edward Brattle, brother of Thomas Brattle, one of the founders of the Brattle Street Church for whom the cup was made. Communion cup, 1700. Engraved "Ex dono / Mr. Joshua & / Mrs. Hannah / Bangs / To The Church of Eastham / 1700". This is the earliest example in this form. Pair of candlesticks. The coat of arms of Col. Peter Lidgett, a rich merchant, are on the base. These are the earliest surviving American-made silver candlesticks known. These candlesticks are the property of Yale University Art Gallery and were included in a temporary exhibition "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" at Seattle Art Museum (February to May 2009) and the Birmingham Museum of Art (October 2009 to January 2010). Beaker, c.1697. This beaker is one of twelve that was made by various silversmiths for the First Church of Ipswich and made with silver donated by Captain Simon Stacy, whose name is engraved on the side. Two-handled Bowl, ca. 1690–1700. The bowl in engraved with the initials "RPI" that probably stand for Richard and Jane Pattishall. This form is thought to be unique in American silver and was probably influenced by seventeenth-century Portuguese silver. Dummer had trade connections with Portugal and there were examples of Iberian silver in Boston at this time that may have served as sources for the design. Spoon, ca. 1685–1700. The spoon has an oval bowl with foliate stamped decoration and bears the initials "NRM" engraved on the back of the handle. The initials are for Rev. Noadiah and Mary Russell, who were wed in 1690. Seattle Art Museum Tankard, 1685. Made for Simeon Stoddard's marriage to Mary Downing. With its large, three quart size and elaborate chinoiserie decoration, it is ranked among the finest extant pieces of early American silver, Art Institute of Chicago Tankard, 1696–1705. Handle engraved in Roman capitals:"B / IE". Maker's mark on lid and on body in Roman capitals: "ID" in a heart with a star below. Historic Deerfield Caudle cup. Engraved on base "G" over "IA" for Joseph and Anna (Waldron) Gerrish.

Works at auction From time to time, Dummer's work comes up for auction.

In January 2005, several pieces of silver from the First Church of Christ, Farmington, Connecticut, came up for auction at Sotheby's, New York. Top prices were achieved by a silver two-handled cup ($144,000), a silver two-handled cup ($168,000) and a silver two-handled cup, by John Hull and Robert Sanderson, overstruck by Jeremiah Dummer, which fetched the top price of $204,000.

In January 2007, a beaker from 1670 was auctioned at the New York auction house Christie's, with an estimate of $150,000 to $250,000. The cup, which was given to The First Church in Salem in 1684 by Francis Skerry, who ran a local malt house, realised $204,000, and was bought by an "anonymous collector".

Family

In 1672, he was married in Boston to Anna Atwater, daughter of Joseph Atwater of Boston. They had eight children: Samuel (1673–1737), became Sheriff of Middlesex County 1729–31 Mary (1673–1691) Samuel (1689–1737)