A possibility is Edward Davies t/a E J Clewley & Co Jewellers of 111/112 Vyse Street Birmingham who registered a mark very similar to this at the Chester Office in 1907.
Hello again, I wondered about Makepeace but Grimwade has Mercer's mark in an oval shape so discounted him. I've not come across Thomas Matthews before. Is he a London maker? Glad to see we've settled the issue of who made the thimble. When you look at it again it's so obviously the work of Thomas! R...
Hello Carling, Without town mark or date letter this is a little difficult as you say! Taking your estimate of the date of manufacture there are several London candidates identified by Grimwade on page 202: Thomas Mann active 1720-50 (a bit early?) Thomas Meriton active 1791-1808 Theophilus Merry re...
Hello all, Further to the data for Chester assayed watchcases records show the troy ounce weight increased apace in later years: Year---------Silver-------Gold 1865------- 22303------15699 1866------- 16216------13504 1867------- 17023------10499 1868------- 17345------11446 1869------- 15583------1...
Hello Sebastiano, Arthur Grimwade's book on London Goldsmiths (page 435) notes the Parliamentary Report of 1773 records Bayley as a bucklemaker. Also that Heal records Bayley active only until 1783. There's nothing conclusive in either of these points but it seems that Bayley's career might not have...
For the record the piece was put to London assay by Alfred Lewis of 29 Islip Street, Kentish Town. He was an importer of silver and registered his mark in 1902.
Hello Miles, The second mark is pretty far gone but at a guess it probably started off as a capital B for Banff. Richard W Turner's Directory of Scottish Provincial Silversmiths shows many examples of Keith's marks containing the B and a third mark of various capital letters which I guess is how the...
Hello Luckee, There is a William Burley of Clerkenwell with a mark registered in 1903 very much like the one here and shown in John Culme's Directory of Gold & Silversmiths at item 14422. Burley was a stick & whip mounter. The mark for Cox is probably the retailer.
Hello Graham, The full title of the book is "The Compendium of Chester Gold & Silver Marks 1570-1962" by Maurice H Ridgway & Philip T Priestley published by Antique Collectors' Club Ltd of Woodbridge Suffolk IP12 4SI. Not only is there a comprehensive listing of Chester makers' mar...
Edward E Smith & William Bartlam of Regent Parade, Caroline Street, Birmingham registered this mark at Chester office in March 1905, the one with the central circle having been registered in February of the same year (Ridgway & Priestley on Chester Marks).
Hello Miles, I think Mr Fenwick does have an advocate for his innocence here. There seem too many mistakes in the punches to be a Duty dodging ploy and after all there's still a clear GF mark to trace the spoon back to him. What's perhaps less explicable is why he didn't simply put the spoon in the ...
Hello again Miles, If you've followed Trev's web trail to the Edinburgh assay office site you probably now wonder, as do I, why Fenwick was not only appointed Deacon but also joint Assay Master in 1824 and Master on his own in 1835 until his retirement in 1853. Not the sort of post you'd expect for ...
Hello Miles, It couldn't be George Fenwick of Edinburgh could it? He worked there from around 1807 (Jackson's 2002 Edition pages 551 & 562). I've seen a caddy spoon of his at some time so he's a known flatware maker.
Hello again Carling, The 1910-11 vesta is certainly by J Gloster Ltd. Can't be sure for the other two though. On the face of it Gloster continued to use the 1888 style punch but Ridgway & Priestley on the Chester marks identify J Gammage, later Lawson Ward & Gammage, having registered a very...
My dad told me never to ask what's in a midwife's bag but the item may have been in there with the rest of the epergne for the table celebrations on the birth of a child Miles!
Apart from the dimensions and the detachable nature of the cup the photograph shows a shield hence the thought it was a trophy cup! It could now be a salt; if there's a glass liner even more so. For the stand and cup to have originally been part of a whole both pieces should have the same hallmarks....
Hello again Trev, For the record there's nothing on the Birmingham silver mark website for a maker's registration under Thomason (name in full), ET&D, T&D or even CP. Having previously asked forum members if they have any evidence of the 1820 oval I wonder if they would also have a look for ...
Hello and welcome to the forum. Your cup was almost certainly made in Horace Woodward's Birmingham factory, assayed in London in 1874-5 where he had registered a mark in 1870 very like the one photographed. It was probably sold through his showrooms at Holborn Viaduct. Woodward employed artists spec...
Hello Carling, Joseph Gloster it is. His business address was 35 Vyse Street Birmingham. Some of your other vestas assayed in Birmingham may have the maker J.G, the letters without serifs. Gloster registered this mark at Birmingham in 1890.