Danforth, Thomas, 1703–86, American pewterer, founder of a family of celebrated pewterers, b. Taunton, Mass. In 1733 he opened a pewter shop in Norwich, Conn., where he made a wide variety of ...

Britannia metal, silvery-white alloy of tin with antimony, copper, and sometimes bismuth and zinc. It is very similar in appearance to pewter, but is harder. It is used widely for the manufact...

China marks, potter's trademark or signature, incised in the plastic clay before firing or printed before glazing on the bottom of the piece to identify it as his product. The practice was ado...

Meriden, city (1990 pop. 59,479), New Haven co., S central Conn.; settled 1661, inc. as a town 1806, as a city 1867, town and city consolidated 1922. Silverware and pewter were made there in t...

Niepce, Joseph Nicéphore, 1765–1833, French chemist who originated a process of photography (see photography, still). In 1826 he produced the first known photograph, which he called a heliogra...

Huy, Du. Hoie, commune (1991 pop. 18,197), Liège prov., E Belgium, on the Meuse River; founded in the 9th cent. Huy produces paper, pottery, pewter, and machinery; grains are grown in nearby f...

Wigan, city (1991 pop. 88,725) and metropolitan district, N England, located in the Manchester metropolitan area on the Douglas River. Wigan has a wide variety of industries, including electri...

Stibnite, antimony sulfide, Sb2S3, a mineral, silvery gray in color, with a metallic luster. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic system. Found in many parts of the world, it is the most import...

Metalwork. Copper, gold, and silver were probably fashioned into ornaments and amulets as early as the Neolithic period. Goldwork and silverwork have since employed the talents of leading arti...

Antimony [Lat. antimoneum], semimetallic chemical element; symbol Sb [Lat. stibium,=a mark]; at. no. 51; at. wt. 121.75; m.p. 630.74°C; b.p. 1,750°C; sp. gr. (metallic form) 6.69 at 20°C; vale...