Pewter known as "trifling metal" or "trifle", was used for holloware and is made up of fine metal with approximately 4% lead. The last type of pewter, known as "lay" or "ley" metal, was used for items that were not in contact with food or drink. It consisted of tin with 15% lead. These three alloys were used with little variation until the 20th century. Older pewters with higher lead content are heavier, tarnish faster, and oxidation gives them a darker silver-gray color. Pewters containing lead are no longer used in items that will come in contact with the human body
River aux Vases, Missouri town built around his store. Mr. Staab was postmaster from 1879 until 1924, whereupon his son took over the job as postmaster. In the past River aux Vases was a breeding center for mules. Mining was also prominent in the area and River aux Vases sandstone was used in the abutments of Eads Bridge in downtown St. Louis, with decorative onyx and limestone quarried nearby. The community just south of the River aux Vases along Missouri Route B. It is about ten miles southwest of Sainte Genevieve in Beauvais Township, and approximately 64 miles south of Saint Louis, Missouri. River