Presented is a fantastic quality 5 piece American silver tea set. The original three pieces of the set, a teapot, creamer, and sugar bowl, were made by Virginia silversmith John Gaither, and date to circa 1807-1812. Given this time range they are certainly coin (900) purity silver. The remaining two pieces of the set, a coffee pot and waste bowl, were custom made by Tiffany & Co to match the original set, and date to 1871-1891. The set is done in a lovely vertical ribbed form, with continuous bands of floral and foliate decoration around the shoulders and feet. The rims have an elegant gadrooned border, and even the finials and the handles of the sugar bowl and creamer have finely detailed decoration. The original set is quite well made and was obviously a cared-fr family heirloom, as evidenced by the later addition of the two Tiffany & Co pieces. All the pieces have a monogram on the side of M.E.K. Each piece also has a name inscribed around the interior side of the foot. The original teapot is presented to Charles Denison Kingsbury, the sugar to Alice Eliza Kingsbury, and the creamer to Edith Davis Kingsbury. The Tiffany pot and waste bowl are presented to Rebecca H. Kingsbury and Frederick John Kingsbury Jr, respectively.

The set consists of:

• Teapot: 10 1/4 inches tall. Capacity of 7 cups (56 fluid ounces/1.65 liters)
• Coffee pot: 9 7/8 inches tall. Capacity of 6 cups (48 fluid ounces/1.41 liters)
• Creamer: 7 inches tall.
• Sugar bowl: 8 1/2 inches tall.
• Waste bowl: 4 3/8 inches tall.

This set is in great overall condition. Both of the pots have a very small piece of one of the insulators missing. There is some wear to the high points of the decoration around the midpoints of the three older pieces, but they are in great shape, particularly for their age. Overall the designs are nice and crisp. The two Tiffany pieces are likewise in great condition. There are no splits, no leaks, no dents, no monogram removals, and no repairs.

Three of the pieces (one pot, the sugar, and the creamer) are stamped with the maker's mark for John Gaither, an Alexandria, Virginia silversmith circa 1807-1812. The other pot and the waste bowl are stamped with the Tiffany & Co. maker's mark, sterling 925-1000 and the initial 'M' for the company director between 1873-1891, Edward Moore.

The total weight for the set is 3227 grams or 113.8 regular ounces.

-jm