Vintage James W Tufts Silver Plated Dish | Triangle Thistle Dish | Vintage Silver Thistle Dish | James Walker Tufts

This is a beautiful and unusual triangle shaped dish with elegantly wild embossed thistle pattern. It is a striking piece with gorgeous details. We were drawn to the thistle pattern then discovered that it was made by James W Tufts.

James Walker Tufts, businessman, resort developer, and philanthropist, was born in Charlestown, Mass., of English ancestry. One of his forebears, William Brewster, went to Plymouth on the Mayflower in 1620. The son of Leonard and Hepzibah Fosdick Tufts, he attended the primary school of Miss Putnam and the Training Field School of Masters Baker and Swan. At age fifteen he became an apprentice to Samuel Kidder and Company, druggists in Charlestown. Enterprising and ambitious, he opened his own pharmacy in Somerville, Mass., in 1856 and later expanded to Medford, where he eventually resided, and to Boston, Winchester, and Woburn, Mass.

Within six years of launching his business career, Tufts had patented and begun to manufacture in Boston his Arctic Soda Apparatus, the perfection of which had involved much experimentation. He disposed of his drug-stores in order to concentrate on this new venture. Phenomenally successful, he ultimately sold more soda fountains than all of his competitors combined. The firm of James W. Tufts also produced a complete line of soda fountain supplies, including extracts. Italian marble and silver-plated fixtures were used in the elaborately constructed fountains, one of which Tufts displayed at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. As a by-product of the silver-plating process, he designed and sold silver-plated pitchers, dolls, dishes, and the like.

BIXLEY NOTES
• Vintage James W Tufts Triangular Silver Thistle Dish
• Circa 1860s
• Measures approx 9" wide x 9" tall

VINTAGE NOTES
• In good vintage condition, some small scratches and dents (see pictures)
• Aged patina

At Bixley, forgotten treasures are looking for a home to call their own. We love the "as is" quality of vintage pieces and hope you do too. Please read our description carefully and take a good look at our photos. We'll do our best to point out any of the bumps and bruises of age.

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