Sometimes called a “Toddy Warmer,” this little covered pot stands up on three legs to straddle a candle or spirit lamp in order to warm its (doubtless alcoholic) contents. The Baltimore maker, Andrew Ellicott Warner, marked it with his stamp on the bottom. The piece bears City of Baltimore assay marks (an indication of the silver’s purity) for 1819 and can therefore be precisely dated. Until about 1843, Baltimore had America’s only government-sponsored consumer protection system for ensuring the quality of silver made or sold here. Modeled on the highly formal guild-operated hallmarks used in England, the Baltimore system met with resistance from somewhat free-spirited American silversmiths and lasted only about 25 years. The warmer’s engraved initials record its first owner, Harry Dorsey Gough Carroll (1793-1866). Its history, as well as its endearingly awkward design must have appealed to Dr. J. Hall Pleasants, the well-known Maryland antiquarian who presented the warmer to the BMA in 1937.