Ad blocker detected: Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker on our website.
Hello all! New member and first post, hoping I'll give good information!
This lovely spirit kettle is a recent acquisition. It is obviously in plate over copper, and in fairly good condition with the stand, no spirit burner though.
It is silver plate over copper- copper is showing through around the feet in particular.
The mark is the enigma. There is no maker letter marks of any kind - only the lozenge with the crown, some numbers inside the lozenge and what appears to be the letter H just outside the top right edge of the lozenge. Note that the stand is NOT stamped, only the kettle itself. However the kettle stand mounts fit exactly, and it balances perfectly on the stand.
This is the mark that appears on the kettle:
After looking through the entire list of silver plate marks from the UK on the main site, I did come across a mark that is similar. It shows the maker name, whereas my mark doesn't.
The reason I'm thinking this may be a match is due to the crown stamp. Since no 'standard' assay office marks were used on silver plate, the chances that the mark is from a different maker seems slim to me. As well the mark I found has the exact same crown mark, and the number stamps seem to be using the same font.
The mark on the main website was identified as belonging to William Spurrier, active in the 1840's and again registered in the 1880's with silver marks. The design of the stand jives with a late Victorian production.
Here is the mark as found on the site:
It would be great to get some kind of confirmation regarding the assumptions I'm making regarding the crown stamp being the deciding factor here. Any/all opinions and expertise is greatly appreciated!
Rather surprisingly there is still little information to be found regarding the marks used by the well-known firm, or firms, styled Spurrier. I say firms, because there is still, to my knowledge, yet to found any connection between the businesses of Spurrier & Co. and that of William Spurrier.
We know the trade marks of both firms:
That of Spurrier & Co.:
Spurrier & Co. - Birmingham - 1892
That of William Spurrier:
William Spurrier - Birmingham - 1871
But as to which one used the mark 'SPURRIER', again, to my knowledge, has yet to be established. What we do know though, is that William Spurrier was a known maker of tea kettles, as can be seen from the illustration in the below advertisement:
William Spurrier - Birmingham - 1855
I think on the balance of probabilities William Spurrier is the likely candidate as the maker of you tea kettle, but I would only say probably.
You may be interested in this article written by Professor Archer, President of The Royal Scottish Society of Arts, F.R.S.E., F.S.A.S., and Director of The Museum of Science of Art, Edinburgh:
WORKS IN METAL - SPURRIERS ART METAL WORKS
Although not aiming at the high artistic merit to which the works of Messrs. Elkington & Co. are carried in Birmingham, there are several manufacturers in that town who aim at elevating the taste of the country by improving the forms and the decoration of such articles of general utility, as are in everyday use amongst all classes of society. No firm has been more enterprising in such matters than that of Mr. Wm. Spurrier, whose magnificent new establishment is now one of the lions of Birmingham. The fact that equal beauty of design and finish can be obtained in Britannia metal, as in the much more costly German silver, and that no difference is discernible when both are covered with electro-deposited silver or gold, enables the manufacturer to meet the wants of a much larger class of persons who crave for tasteful objects, but whose means are not sufficient for the more expensive, and of course more endurable, articles in pure silver, or German silver. Mr. Spurrier, although making articles in the dearer metal, has for his speciality the manufacture of Britannia metal; the comparative softness of this alloy permits its being worked into an infinite variety of forms, by the process of spinning as it is technically called, and of being decorated by embossing, and by répoussé work, or by engraving and chasing.
Few persons are aware of the enormous extent to which the manufacture of ornamental metal-work for ordinary domestic purposes is carried, and a first ramble through the extensive showrooms of Mr. Spurrier would be rather bewildering than otherwise; but a prolonged study of its contents would-teach a number of curious lessons of human caprice and fashion. For here, side by side with communion services and tea and dinner services, are bottle holders, corkscrews, asparagus-tongs, almsdishes, vases in great variety, and many objects such as one never heard of before; such as “Ampulla vocans,” or call-cruets, “Augdauns,” or cigar lighters, “Colians,” or ice-cups, &c. Nearly three hundred different articles, with in many instances numerous varieties and patterns of each, make up this extraordinary show, in which also there is as large an amount of good taste as of ingenuity.
There is another side to this subject, and by no means the more agreeable one, but it is very prominent in the showrooms of Birmingham manufacturers; and that is the multiplicity of things which are kept to satisfy the demands of customers whose ideas of Art are of the lowest, and who will not be instructed or elevated; unfortunately, every one who studies shop-windows, either at home or abroad, is quite aware of this, and on reflection must pity the manufacturers, who know what should be done and are obliged to do the contrary. A great showroom like that of Mr. Spurrier must do good service by placing good examples before buyers, and by gradually leading them to the appreciation of superior designs. The processes used in the manufacture of Britannia metal, are probably not familiar to many of our readers: I will therefore endeavour to describe them.
First, Spinning.—This term, which seems so unfit in its application to metal-work, is derived from the fact that it is whilst spinning round on a lathe, the metal is fashioned into the desired shape. We will suppose for instance a vase-shaped tea or coffee-pot—to make this, the metal has to be rolled out into large sheets of the thickness required, which is rarely more than that of Bristol-board; one of these sheets is then passed through a stamping-machine, which stamps, or cuts out, as many round discs, called blanks, as its surface will yield; each of these blanks is sufficient to form the body of the vessel. The spinner takes a blank and adjusts it in his lathe, so that a wooden mandrell of the shape and size of the intended interior of the first form of the vessel is made to press exactly on its centre and hold it in position as long as itself is held by the slide of the lathe. The machine is now put in motion, and whilst revolving with great speed it is found that the blank of metal acts exactly as a soft piece of clay would do on a potter's wheel, and can be guided by the operator's tools into the shape of the mandrell with perfect ease. As we have supposed a vase-shaped vessel, the body has of course different diameters, therefore the mandrell first used must be fitted for the largest diameter, and the vessel assumes a cylindrical form, tapering or rounded at its innermost extremity, according to the form given to the end of the mandrell. It is therefore easily removed and another mandrell placed within, which will give the diameter of the neck of the vase, and the lathe being again set in motion, the spinner forms, or gathers in, the neck and other parts, completing the vase-shaped body. To witness these operations for the first time is most interesting and very surprising, for no one could imagine without experience that a plate of metal would obey so completely the will of the operator, acted upon by such simple tools as he uses; moreover the action is so rapid that the body of a teapot is made in much less time than has been spent in thus trying to describe it, and it is quite marvellous how wide is the application of this process, which can be employed, and is employed in making hundreds of forms of hollow articles, from a lady's thimble up to a good-sized and good-shaped tea-urn. Of course this process only produces a body with an absolutely plain surface, and as decoration of some kind is wanted it must in the next place be operated upon either manually or mechanically, according to the ornamentation required. If it is to be decorated by hand-raised or répoussé work, the operator first traces the design slightly on the outside of the vessel—let us suppose a group of flowers; he then, by properly-formed tools, which are made to operate in the interior of the vessel, hammers up the metal so that the marked-out group of flowers is raised up to the heights required, some portions being in high and others in very low relief, but still so rudely that no clear indications of the design are yet visible. This operation completed, the vessel is filled with melted pitch and set by to get cold. When the pitch has become quite hard the chaser takes it in hand, and, by dint of hammering and chasing the parts raised by the previous operation, he gradually produces from the beaten-up parts a beautifully-formed group of flowers, or any raised ornament he pleases. The use of the pitch is to give solidity to the body of the vessel, so that he can apply his hammer and chasing-tools without pressing in other parts than those he wishes. The pitch is afterwards removed by placing the vessel with its mouth downwards in a proper position in an oven, usually with many others, until all of it is melted out into receiving vessels, when it is ready to be used over again for other objects to be similarly treated. The vessel is next placed in oil to dissolve off such of the pitch as still adheres to the inner surface of the vessel, and the oil is in its turn cleaned off by boiling in a solution of caustic alkali. The vessel is then ready for the deposit of silver, if it is to be electro-plated, and is finally completed by burnishing and polishing. Another manual operation is now much used for decorating such vessels, and often with very tasteful effect; this is by engraving the surface, or forming incised patterns; these often require skilful treatment, in consequence of difficult forms of the various articles to which this style of decoration is applied: many very pretty specimens of this art are to be found in Mr. Spurrier's showroom.
The mechanical means of decorating hollow vessels are very simple, and applied with comparative ease to Britannia metal in consequence of its ductility; for instance, if it is wanted to flute the body of the vessel, it is acted upon by a press, which applies a steel die inside and its counterpart outside, after the manner of a pair of forceps, and indentations are formed one after another all round the body; of course by this means either elevations or depressions can be made to decorate the surface, and a very few minutes suffice to give the vessel an ornamental appearance. Such decorative enrichments as are furnished by the flute, ovolo, echinus, gadroon, &c., are best adapted for vase-shaped vessels like tea and coffee-pots, cream jugs, vases, and cups.
It would be impossible to enter into all the interesting operations carried on in a great manufactory like that of Mr. Spurrier; and even if it were possible, it is not within the scope of this article to do so. The real object is to point out that in the effort to supply ever-increasing demands for new designs to suit all tastes, there is a steady advance in Art-decoration of the multitudinous objects now required for use on the table or sideboard.
I hate to detract from the discussion of this kettle, but that's such a nice sample of the crown mark that maybe we can get a definitive answer for what turns up elsewhere in British metals and related industries. So, can we say this is the proper and sole representation of the "Victoria Crown", and not of any other monarch? (Her sporty Mini-Me version aside.)
My sincere thanks to all that have replied! The information shared here has been enlightening and encouraging to say the least. The image of the sample wares of William Spurrier is greatly appreciated, since it confirms that this maker did make this type of object.
In regards to the specific crown mark as seen on the spirit kettle, has it been cataloged as appearing on the works of other makers? This is more for my own knowledge and to start building a knowledge of silver plate practices of the British makers, as well as helping to support my hypothesis that the piece in question could have a foundation of being attributed to William Spurrier.
If not, this would most likely be of British make though, wouldn't it? I know it should be pre 1896 due to the 'no crown stamp' law passed on silver plate in that year. I mostly want to at least be able to have confidence in the country of origin and period of production.
The decorative finial strawberry is held in place with a wing nut. On another forum where I was discussing the kettle, a reply was posted stating that this could make this a later Victorian piece. A photo of the wing nut is shown below.
For a look at how a "Victoria Crown" was used in an Austrailian makers mark, and the mention of crowns elsewhere, here is a gold ring where the answer was found: http://925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic.php ... 46#p150380
To know the relevance of the crown in diamond on these items attributed to Spurrier, with or without the name stamped, may require a pool of information on such items. Someone here may already have an answer. I don't. But in a related area, i.e. British dining china, the firm of John Maddock & Sons is known to have employed a crown dating system. (Not metals, but bear with me here.) The system for the era of Edward VII and George V is now known, and uses Roman numerals to designate which year of the King's reign the ware was produced. But during the 1890's, there is a system of impressed crown and a single digit numeral which has not been deciphered (or at least not yet posted). By comparing the maker backstamps, and other knowns, it appears that these were probably also date code corresponding to consecutive years....the problem is finding which year the system began.
Whether the marks on the Spurrier items are maker identity related, or some form of attempt at a dating system is a good question. Maybe someone with a lot of tea kettles has worked out an answer. Of course, anything that was an internal system of codes for a particular firm does not make it an official system for anyone else such as the Hallmarking method.
As to the numbers and letters- most likely, as previously stated, they had meaning for the manufacturer. Breaking that 'code' would require, again as stated, a collection of objects using the same system and some known information of dates of manufacture of those items - this is most likely never going to happen!
Based on the actual design and style of the crown mark, I was just wondering if any other collectors have seen this particular crown appear on other works by other makers? I am trying to see if there were any standard crown marks on silver plate - every other crown I have seen on plate is in a series of marks much like standardized, official silver hallmarks, not in this rather stylized version.
As well, are these type of wares more scarce than common items? I can imagine that even to the middle class, a spirit kettle wasn't part of the typical household service.
Quikie history--Victoria becomes queen 1837. Full crown made 1838. Elkington & Co. (the originaters of electro-plate) put the representation of a two lobed crown (less detailed due to size) as part of their maker mark in 1840. From Rainwater-"The Crown, long used as part of many silverplater's marks, was dropped from Elkington's "E. & Co." mark in 1896." Presumably, the abuse of the official crown in an un-sanctioned application aggravated the royal administration and resulted in the law which has been said in other threads to be a ban on silverplated using marks of a "crown in a cartouche"...not my words, so someone would need to look into whether this was limited only to that specific form. Ref. Elkington here: http://www.925-1000.com/M_Elkington.html
Further...silverplate is in fact a general manufactured item, not a true precious metal industry. That said, the British diamond registry system used for other manufactured goods expired somewhere around 1888. This crown in diamond may well be this firm's internal attempt to keep up such a system. Whether it runs afoul of the no crowns rule is another question and may explain its' demise. But I would not expect something used by one firm to have any clear relationship to any other firm. (They had their own artists to create their specific design detail for the crown, so it is not likely to be an exact match to any other.) Guess we may have a bit of a wait to see if other examples turn up here.
To clarify a date, the diamond registry system began in 1842 running to about 1884 (the last year letter code I have is for 1883, but the serial numbers are listed up to June 1884). A new standard serial number overlappeed this beginning in January 1884.
