TidesNet—Online Collections Entry Detail

DescriptionA five piece coin silver tea service set dating to 1867. Each piece is inscribed: "Boston Board of Trade to Hon. Lorenzo Sabine as a testimonial for his able and faithful service as secretary for a period of ten years. 1867." The set was made by Shreve, Stanwood & Co. of Boston, one of Boston’s leading silversmiths at the time. Sabine lived in Eastport, Maine for many years in  the early 19th century and then moved to Boston. He died in 1877 and is buried in Hillside Cemetery in Eastport. An historian, he is best known for one of the earliest works by an American historian on the history of the American Loyalists who moved to what is now Canada after the American Revolution. The tea service set came down through his family in Eastport. The last descendants in Eastport moved in the 1960s and put the service set up for sale. There was a local effort to raise funds to keep the set in Eastport, but the effort was unsuccessful. Nearly 50 years later, the president of the Tides Institute’s board learned that the set was up for auction in Rockland, Maine. By the time inquiries were made, the auction had already taken place. The auctioneer, though, was asked by the Tides Institute about having the winning buyer contacted. The auctioneer obliged and the buyer, a dealer, was willing to sell the set to the Tides Institute for a price: $5,000. The Tides Institute was able to raise the funds in two days and the set is now back in Eastport as part of the Tides Institute’s collections. Classification: Silver Circa: 1867 Old Accession Number: 2276 Description: Coin silver presentation coffee pot. Part of a five piece sterling silver coffee and tea service set. Inscribed: "Boston Board of Trade to Hon. Lorenzo Sabine as a testimonial for his able and faithful serves[sic] as secretary for a period of ten years. 1867." Shreve, Standwood & Co. of Boston. TIMA purchase from Thomaston Place Gallery, Thomaston, Maine in 2009.