Cream Pitcher (from Tea and Coffee Service)

Description

In 1854, the stockholders of the Hartford and New Haven Railroad Company honored the company president with this elaborate silver presentation service. The tray bears an engraved inscription to Charles F. Pond, the presentation date, and engraved views of a locomotive and train car, the railroad stations in Hartford and New Haven, and Yale University, Pond’s alma mater. The engraved winged horses symbolize speed, which was associated with trains, and also may refer to the nineteenth century term for the train, “the iron horse.” The borders and handles of the tray were cast in the form of a railroad track.