Britannia metal explained

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

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,[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.[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

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Britannia Ware English .
  2. Web site: Plante . Chris . February 26, 2016 . The 2016 Oscars will abandon one of the ceremony's oldest traditions . November 3, 2024 . The Verge . en . TL;DR / Entertainment. (Cites Pewertbank, Silvercollection.it, and Oscars.org.)
  3. Web site: Britannia metal . September 16, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121115205056/http://www.pewtersociety.org/pewter/britannia-metal/ . November 15, 2012 . dead .
  4. Web site: 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 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220329192129/https://www.compoundchem.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Chemical-Composition-of-Oscar-Statuettes-2018.pdf . March 29, 2022 . November 3, 2024 . Compound Interest.
  5. Web site: Cirilli . Corynne . February 21, 2017 . A Look Back at the Intrigue and Scandals of the First Academy Awards . live . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/7F7uQ . November 3, 2024 . November 3, 2024 . Town & Country . Hearst Digital Media . en-US . 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. . The Scene > Best Movies.
  6. http://www.csudh.edu/oliver/chemdata/alloys.htm Composition and Physical Properties of Alloys
  7. The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Micropædia (2002, 15th edition)
  8. Book: Krupp, Alfred . H.C. Baird & Co. . Andreas Wildberger . 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 . 1888 .
  9. Web site: February 23, 2016 . Oscar Statuette . deviated . https://web.archive.org/web/20170102005739/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/statuette . January 2, 2017 . Oscars.org . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
  10. Web site: Pavlik . John . January 19, 2017 . A Brief History of the Oscar® . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20241007180257/https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/89aa_oscar_history.pdf . October 7, 2024 . November 3, 2024 . Oscars.org.
  11. Web site: Fisher . Daniel . January 8, 2019 . updated 2023-12-13 . Oscars February 25, 2019, and Gold / Oscars 2019 The Oscar Statuette What's Its Value? . live . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/8Ylp6 . November 3, 2024 . November 3, 2024 . Physical Gold . en-US . London.
  12. Web site: Glancey . Jonathan . February 19, 2016 . Who was Oscar? A history of the Academy Awards statuette . November 3, 2024 . BBC . en-GB.
  13. Web site: Desjardins . Jeff . February 25, 2016 . Presented by: JMBullion. The Oscar: How It’s Made, and What It’s Worth . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240417052217/https://www.visualcapitalist.com/the-oscar-how-its-made-and-what-its-worth/ . April 17, 2024 . November 3, 2024.
  14. Web site: MonkEL . March 26, 2008 . Katharine Hepburn's Oscars: One of These Things is Not Like the Others . live . https://archive.today/2024.11.03-051812/https://z.ossprod.si.edu/blog/one-these-things-not-others%E2%80%A6 . November 3, 2024 . November 3, 2024 . Face to Face . National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution . Exhibitions.
  15. Web site: Almond . Kyle . March 10, 2023 . Updated March 8, 2024 . Inside the making of an Oscar statuette . November 3, 2024 . CNN.
  16. Web site: Bonior . Jeffrey . February 24, 2017 . Oscar Has a New Maker, But the Statuette is Still Made in America . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20241002021324/https://www.americanmanufacturing.org/blog/oscar-has-a-new-maker-but-the-statuette-is-still-made-in-america/ . October 2, 2024 . November 3, 2024 . Alliance for American Manufacturing . en-US . Made in America / Made in your City.
  17. Web site: Hartwell . Brian . March 1, 2023 . Who is Oscar? The Trophy. . live . http://web.archive.org/web/20230411170035/https://firstplaceinc.com/2023/03/01/who-is-oscar-the-trophy/ . April 11, 2023 . November 3, 2024 . First Place Awards . San Diego, CA . News & Updates.
  18. Web site: Kojen . Natalie . February 16, 2016 . THE ACADEMY AND POLICH TALLIX FINE ART FOUNDRY REVIVE THE ART OF OSCAR STATUETTES . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240916194016/https://www.oscars.org/news/academy-and-polich-tallix-fine-art-foundry-revive-art-oscarr-statuettes . September 16, 2024 . November 3, 2024 . Oscars.org . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . en.
  19. Web site: February 20, 2009 . What's An Oscar Really Made Of? . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240226222509/https://www.livescience.com/5314-oscar.html . February 26, 2024 . November 3, 2024 . Live Science . en . Human Behavior > Arts & Entertainment / News / gold.
  20. Web site: February 16, 2016 . Oscar Returns to Bronze at Polich Tallix . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160219045919/http://www.polichtallix.com/2016/02/16/oscar-returns-to-bronze-at-polich-tallix . February 19, 2016 . November 3, 2024 . polich tallix - fine art foundry . News.
  21. Web site: A Nice Cup of Tea. George Orwell. Evening Standard. January 12, 1946. Books AtoZ.

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