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Lot Essay
The engraved monogram S*S is almost certainly that of Sampson Simson (1725-1773), a prominent New York merchant and close associate of Myer Myers. Simson was among the founders of the New York Chamber of Commerce and served with Myers as an elder of Congregation Shearith Israel. Simson and Myers were also business partners, having co-invested in the Spruce Hill lead mine, located in Roxbury, Connecticut, on the banks of the Shepaug River. As a token of their friendship, Myers was bequeathed a mourning ring in Simson's will in 1773. The crest engraved on the brandy warmer is that of Simpson of London, although here charged with ermine. Joseph Simson (1686-1787), the father of Solomon and Sampson Simson, emigrated to New York from London in 1718.
Simson's nephew, also named Sampson Simson (1780-1857), was New York's first Jewish attorney and founder in 1852 of "The Jew's Hospital," the institution that would become Mt. Sinai Hospital.
Simson's nephew, also named Sampson Simson (1780-1857), was New York's first Jewish attorney and founder in 1852 of "The Jew's Hospital," the institution that would become Mt. Sinai Hospital.