Elias Pelletreau: Long Island Silversmith & Entrepreneur

Elias Pelletreau (1726-1810), an important Southampton silversmith and craftsman, created richly detailed, beautifully ornate, and shimmering eighteenth-century objects: teapots, pepper boxes, porringers, tankards and jewelry.

While less celebrated than Paul Revere, Pelletreau created a remarkable body of work that exemplifies the best of American artisanship. This project illuminates his impressive legacy of surviving objects and business records, offering a fresh perspective into the world of patronage, commerce, and industry in colonial and revolutionary-era Long Island and New York City.  

Pelletreau apprenticed in Manhattan and began his career there in the 1740s. In this cosmopolitan setting, he gained a nuanced sensibility of then-current fashions and techniques as well as patronage connections.  He later returned to Southampton, spending the rest of his career as a rural craftsman, supporting the patriot cause, and maintaining his assets during a time of major cultural transition.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.