Historic Trappe has announced the gift of more than 450 pieces of American pewter from the collection of Dr. Melvyn and Bette Wolf, who over a period of 60 years amassed the largest and most comprehensive collection of American pewter ever assembled.
“We are tremendously grateful to Bette Wolf for her generous donation of the collection,” said Lisa Minardi, executive director of Historic Trappe. “We are especially excited about the collection’s depth in both Pennsylvania German and Philadelphia pewter and look forward to sharing the collection with the public in our upcoming exhibition this fall as well as making it accessible to everyone via our online database.”
Wolf said she had always wanted to keep the collection together and had offered it to any museum that would take all of it before Melvyn died at 91 in February 2024. “The Philadelphia Museum wanted a hundred pieces, but we wanted to keep together the entire collection, which was a complete survey of forms and styles together with some of the rarer pewters,” said Wolf in a phone interview.
The flagon on the left, made by Philadelphia pewterer Johann Philip Alberti, a Pennsylvania German, is engraved “Georg Leonhart Müller 1763” on the body. Müller lived in what is now Lebanon County and belonged to the Hill Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lebanon. The flagon on the right was made in Philadelphia by William Will (1742-1798). Born in Neuwied-am-Rhein, Germany, he went to New York with his father, Johann (John), in 1752 and served his apprenticeship with his brother Heinrich (later Henry) before moving to Philadelphia with his brother Phillip. He rose to the rank of colonel in the Continental Army. Photos by Dave Holsten. Courtesy Historic Trappe, gift of Dr. Melvyn and Bette Wolf.
The collection went to Pook & Pook, Inc., but after several sales Bette Wolf said, “With the collection smaller in size I decided to offer it to Lisa Minardi for Historic Trappe. I knew she would do a good job with it.”
Minardi sought the advice of the Pewter Collectors’ Club of America (PCCA), founded in 1934 and dedicated to the study, discussion, and collecting of the art and craft of pewterers in all places and ages. Both Wolfs served as president of the PCCA, and they were the first couple to be made honorary members. Melvyn Wolf wrote over 200 articles for the PCCA Bulletin, which remains the gold standard of pewter research. The Wolfs also published a two-volume book on their collection, organized by form for ease of use and an invaluable resource. The Wolf collection includes important Philadelphia and Pennsylvania German pewter together with many outstanding examples from New England and the South.
PCCA member Gamal Amer, who serves on the Historic Trappe collections committee, is leading the team that is hard at work photographing and cataloging the entire collection so that it can be posted and fully searchable on the Historic Trappe online database.
An American Story: The Melvyn and Bette Wolf Collection will open August 29 and close October 26 at the Center for Pennsylvania German Studies, located in the Dewees Tavern in Trappe, Pennsylvania. Special tours led by members of the PCCA will be given throughout the day September 6.
Additionally, Donald Fennimore will give a talk on Tuesday, September 16, at 7 p.m. focusing on Pennsylvania pewter in the Wolf collection. The lecture, which will kick off Historic Trappe’s fall lecture series, is free and open to the public.
Amer said there will be other future lectures and workshops on pewter led by members of the PCCA at Historic Trappe, and the PCCA has pledged support and continuing participation for years to come.
Originally published in the May 2025 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2025 Maine Antique Digest
