JFK's Silver Porringer

John Fitzgerald Kennedy NHS Museum Collection (JOFI 119)

Very early in life, after his birth in a second floor bedroom at his parent's house on Beals Street, John F. Kennedy received the silver porringer pictured here, perhaps as a christening gift. He likely used it during his time living in Brookline.

Porringers were a traditional, shallow bowl-like vessel for holding baby food or other similar foods, and date back to medieval times. Earlier forms often sported handles, commonly two for European models and one for colonial American versions - some of the most famous of which were made by Boston silversmith Paul Revere. Porringers without handles were a later development and tend to be found on bowls with more depth, such as this one.

NPS Photo

A maker's mark impressed on the bottom of the porringer indicates that this piece was made by the Watrous Manufacturing Co. of Wallingford, Connecticut. First incorporated in 1896, the Watrous Mfg. Co. became part of the International Silver Co. in 1898, which is still in business and continued to use the Watrous mark well into the 1900s. A 1922 advertisement stated that the company offered "Sterling Silver Flatware, Cigarette Cases, Tableware, etc." under the Watrous mark.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy NHS

Highlights from the Collection