Britannia metal

Not to be confused with Britannia silver.

Teapot, Britannia metal

Britannia metal (also called britannium, Britannia ware,[1] or Vickers White Metal[2]) is a specific type of pewter alloy, favoured for its silvery appearance and smooth surface. The composition by weight is typically about 92–93% tin, 5–6% antimony, and 2% copper.[3][4] Some sources use the terms "Britannia metal" and "britannium" to mean different things.[5]

Britannia metal is usually spun rather than cast,[1] and melts at 255 degrees Celsius.[6]

History

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Britannia metal was first produced[7] in 1769 or 1770. James Vickers created it after purchasing the formula from a dying friend. It was originally known as "Vickers White Metal" when made under contract by the Sheffield manufacturers Ebenezer Hancock and Richard Jessop. In 1776 James Vickers took over the manufacturing himself and remained as owner until his death in 1809, when the company passed to his son John and son-in-law Elijah West. In 1836 the company was sold to John Vickers's nephew Ebenezer Stacey (the son of Hannah Vickers and John Stacey).

After the development of electroplating with silver in 1846, Britannia metal was widely used as the base metal for silver-plated household goods and cutlery.[8] The abbreviation EPBM on such items denotes "electroplated Britannia metal". Britannia metal was generally used as a cheaper alternative to electroplated nickel silver (EPNS) which is more durable.

For many years, britannia metal was used to make the solid core of the Oscar statuettes, which are 8½ lb (4 kg) and plated with 24-karat gold. For the first few years,[2][9][10] they were gold-plated bronze, then later (perhaps starting in the 1930s,[11][12][13] 1945,[14] or 1982/1983;[15][16][17] different sources disagree), they were made of britannia metal plated with copper then nickel silver then gold, except for three years during WWII, from 1942 to 1945, during which they were made of painted plaster due to metal shortages, and then starting with the 88th Academy Awards in 2016 they have returned to gold-plated bronze.[5][18][19][20]

In his essay "A Nice Cup of Tea", writer George Orwell asserts that "britanniaware" teapots "produce inferior tea" when compared to chinaware.[21]

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Britannia metal.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Britannia Ware English".
  2. ^ a b Plante, Chris (February 26, 2016). "The 2016 Oscars will abandon one of the ceremony's oldest traditions". TL;DR / Entertainment. The Verge. Retrieved November 3, 2024. (Cites Pewertbank, Silvercollection.it, and Oscars.org.)
  3. ^ "Britannia metal". Archived from the original on November 15, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  4. ^ Brunning, Andy (2017–2018) [February 2017 or March 4, 2018]. "THE COMPOSITION OF OSCAR STATUETTES / The Chemistry of an Oscar.indd / Chemical-Composition-of-Oscar-Statuettes-2018.pdf" (PDF). Compound Interest. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 29, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Cirilli, Corynne (February 21, 2017). "A Look Back at the Intrigue and Scandals of the First Academy Awards". The Scene > Best Movies. Town & Country. Hearst Digital Media. Archived from the original on November 3, 2024. Retrieved November 3, 2024. Things were a bit more subdued back in 1929, the year the first Academy Award ceremony was held. [...] Juan Pineda, the Hollywood Roosevelt's director of entertainment sales and "resident historian." Academy President and actor Douglas Fairbanks Sr. hosted the ceremony, and only 15 "Oscars" were awarded. "The 12-inch trophies were made of 24-carat gold-plated britannium, which was eventually abandoned in favor of Britannia metal to give the statuettes a smoother finish," Pineda says.
  6. ^ Composition and Physical Properties of Alloys Archived April 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Oliver Seely, August 18, 2007
  7. ^ The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Micropædia (2002, 15th edition)
  8. ^ Krupp, Alfred; Andreas Wildberger (1888). The metallic alloys: A practical guide for the manufacture of all kinds of alloys, amalgams, and solders, used by metal-workers ... with an appendix on the coloring of alloys and the recovery of waste metals. H.C. Baird & Co.
  9. ^ "Oscar Statuette". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. February 23, 2016. Archived from the original on January 2, 2017.
  10. ^ Pavlik, John (January 19, 2017). "A Brief History of the Oscar®" (PDF). Oscars.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  11. ^ Fisher, Daniel (January 8, 2019) [updated 2023-12-13]. "Oscars February 25, 2019, and Gold / Oscars 2019 | The Oscar Statuette | What's Its Value?". Physical Gold. London. Archived from the original on November 3, 2024. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  12. ^ Glancey, Jonathan (February 19, 2016). "Who was Oscar? A history of the Academy Awards statuette". BBC. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  13. ^ Desjardins, Jeff (February 25, 2016). "The Oscar: How It's Made, and What It's Worth". Presented by: JMBullion. Archived from the original on April 17, 2024. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  14. ^ MonkEL (March 26, 2008). "Katharine Hepburn's Oscars: One of These Things is Not Like the Others". Exhibitions. Face to Face. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on November 3, 2024. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  15. ^ Almond, Kyle (March 10, 2023) [Updated March 8, 2024]. "Inside the making of an Oscar statuette". CNN. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  16. ^ Bonior, Jeffrey (February 24, 2017). "Oscar Has a New Maker, But the Statuette is Still Made in America". Made in America / Made in your City. Alliance for American Manufacturing. Archived from the original on October 2, 2024. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  17. ^ Hartwell, Brian (March 1, 2023). "Who is Oscar? The Trophy". News & Updates. First Place Awards. San Diego, CA. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  18. ^ Kojen, Natalie (February 16, 2016). "THE ACADEMY AND POLICH TALLIX FINE ART FOUNDRY REVIVE THE ART OF OSCAR STATUETTES". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on September 16, 2024. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  19. ^ "What's An Oscar Really Made Of?". Human Behavior > Arts & Entertainment / News / gold. Live Science. February 20, 2009. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  20. ^ "Oscar Returns to Bronze at Polich Tallix". News. polich tallix - fine art foundry. February 16, 2016. Archived from the original on February 19, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  21. ^ George Orwell (January 12, 1946). "A Nice Cup of Tea". Evening Standard – via Books AtoZ.
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