eloped the fashioning of that metal into objects. Such a
presentation piece was a tangible and durable form of recognition which
could be appreciated, used, displayed, and enjoyed by the recipient.
Many of these silver pieces became for succeeding generations the
cherished evidence of recognition accorded to an ancestor, and they were
preserved long after the more customary family silver had worn out or
been lost.

The Smithsonian Institution's Museum of History and Technology has
what may well be the most varied and extensive collection of such
presentation pieces ever to be preserved and exhibited in one place. The
collection contains the work of some of the more prominent American
silversmiths, but most of the pieces are by lesser known makers and
are in the collection because of historic interest rather than artistic
merit. The chief usefulness of the collection lies in its value as a
social document and in the mute evidence it gives of the taste and
craftsmanship of the periods covered. The collection is also helpful
in dating type specimens that do not have specific associations with
persons and dates. Perhaps even more interesting than the gamut of
styles that the collection presents is the panorama of deeds, events,
and persons that our forebears considered worthy of recognition.
Silver presentation pieces were awarded to persons in almost every
walk of life--to military men, to peace-loving Indians, and to men
who achieved success in politics and agriculture. They were given for
sea rescues, for heroic deeds by firemen and school-patrol boys, and
for outstanding community and civic work. Within our time they have
been given as trophies for excellence in athletics, automobile
racing, and many other events.

[Illustration: Figure 2.--SNUFFBOX inlaid with mother-of-pearl and horn
made around 1769 by William Cario, who worked in Portsmouth, New
Hampshire. The box measures 2-7/8 x 2-1/8 x 1/2 inches. Bequest of Arthur
Michaels. In Division of Cultural History. (Acc. 162866, cat. 383486;
Smithsonian photo 36941.)]

18th-Century Pieces

Silversmiths have been making presentation pieces from the earliest days
of our country, but the Smithsonian Institution has only a few
18th-century pieces in its collection.

The earliest of these is an inlaid silver snuffbox (fig. 2) made by
William Cario, who worked in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, about 1763. The
oval box--evidently a gift to the silversmith's second wif