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Hi
I am trying to find the maker of a spoon I believe is attributed to Jedburgh? The marks are JM Jd Jd .
I can find the marks described in Richard Turner’s directory but no image or maker and I cannot find anything online. Does anyone have any more information. Are these still believed to be Jedburgh or has more been found out?
I am hoping the images have uploaded as I have never posted here before!
Thanks

Hi,

Welcome to the Forum.

I've never seen an example of the marks before, thank you for posting them. They do indeed seem a perfect match for those described in Richard Turner's book.

I suppose the first thing to do is to attempt to find out if a silversmith was working at Jedburgh at this period with the initials 'J Mc'.

Trev.

Thank you for your reply Trev.
Have you done that kind of research before? Where would you advise me to start my quest? I have never done anything like this before.
Thanks again
Suz

The other 2 marks are made from using the punch at the ends striking at a slight angle.

JMd

Interesting not seen this before, thanks for sharing.

If it is J.Mc then it’s a close match for James McEwan?

Hi Suz,

Everyone has their own methods, I would start poking around online, looking at old directories, newspapers, etc. One thing often leads to another.

Trev.

If it is JMd then it was attributed in Jacksons from Cork, Ireland.......

Hi Matt,

How about James McDonald of Aberdeen?

Trev.

His working period is listed as 1835-49

Using your tilted punch theory, James McDonald looks like a perfect match to me.

See: Illustrated Directory of Scottish Provincial Silversmiths & Their Marks - Richard Turner - p.17

Trev.

From the pics Trev it really looks like just the ends of the punch have been used to make up the other 2 marks but I guess you are always more sure when you can study it in real life.

Matt

One wonders if the punch broke on the initial strike, and then the two pieces were used on the other two. The J and the d look right for the McDougal JMd. Wonder how the rest of the set was marked.
This is indeed the auction lot from which I got my reference, and, as I declared, I collated my book from various sources, including catalogues. Sadly, a few of the auctioneers' attributions tended to lean more to hope of achieving a good price, and a new town mark was far more satisfying than even a named smith, but it definitely seems I have another item for the corrigendum

Hi all
Looking at the spoon against J McDonald on p.17 is could be the J and the d with the the M missing? The JM also is similar with the d missing.

It’s really good these items turning up even though sometimes they dispel previous attributions. It all adds up to a greater level of accuracy in mark attributions for future reference. It’s a great spoon because it provides evidence, it’s often why I buy items.

Again thanks so much for taking the time to post it on the forum it’s been interesting to see as it’s not often you come across some marks if at all.

Matt.

Thanks everyone.