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Trev I think you must be right. Heal lists John Colvill with the information that he was buried in 1670 which fits. Presumably his other entry for Covill, also buried in 1670, came from a source using the same alternative spelling as occurs in Lady Anne's will. As one of the wealthiest and best conn...

A WOMAN BANKER GOLDSMITH Not exactly a goldsmith's will, but perhaps relevant here. A few years ago, when researching the provenance of a piece of 17th century silver, I looked up the will made on 1 May 1674 by Lady Anne Clifford (died 1676), the dowager Countess of Pembroke Dorset and Montgomery. I...

Looks to me like a hot milk jug that would originally have been paired with a coffee pot.

F mark was only required for imported items and not any made in the UK.

The F is for "Foreign", i.e. imported by Gorham into the UK.

I see no reason to think the letters are anything other than the owner's initials.

Several possibilities. Somebody buys a set for 6 people, later decides that is not enough and increases it to serve 12. Or, and this is not unusual, a retailer regularly buys stock from the maker but combines it into sets to meet the varying wishes of customers. Batches of items from different years...

I was tempted to guess wildly at a travelling condiment container. S for salt, C for cayenne, but I..? I am stumped.

David

Sometimes toast is cut quite small - one slice of bread divided into four quarters. I would still think of this as a toast rack for occasions when refined or delicate pieces like that are being served.

It is a toast rack, used to hold slices of toast, i.e. bread that has been heated and browned in front of a fire or in an electric toast maker. Toast is served at an English breakfast and also sometimes at tea time.

I haven't seen one before, but perhaps an early version of chamber candlestick. The larger bowl would allow for movement as well as greater stability if the piece is not weighted.

David

These are the Birmingham hallmarks for 1977. In that year the extra Queen's Head mark was added to commemorate her Silver Jubilee - 25 years on the throne. The pendant is in effect a small silver ingot using the hallmarks as decoration.

The seller's name stamped on an item is really just a form of advertising. It reminds the buyer, or indeed friends of the buyer, where the item was bought and it might confer some prestige on the seller. Where the seller was well known it might add to the prestige of the item as well.
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The non-delivery will be because Lunt is sadly in liquidation.
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Barnard is the maker. The name stamp is not part of the hallmarks. It stands for the shop in Edinburgh where the item was sold.
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Thank Trev

That certainly seems a possibility. The pap boat could well be 19th rather than 18th century. I've had it for a few years and yours is the most promising suggestion so far.

Regards

David
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http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk231/agphile/pb1.jpg http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk231/agphile/pap004.jpg The plain form of this pap boat suggests a mid 18th century date. The rather worn marks appear to be a cursive AM struck three times just below the rim on the back of the piece. Does...

Gubernikij probirer must mean government assayer, mustn't it, rather than be first name and patronymic?
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Shlossy

My pleasure. It would have been a bit much not to have cited my source.

Clothcat

I should have added to my initial post that the book is a "must have" for any collector of tongs.

David
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In his book "18th Century Silver Tea Tongs" David Shlosberg attributed this incuse IG mark to James Gray (mark entered in 1736) as it is found on tongs which, like yours, can be dated stylistically to the late 1730s or early 1740s.
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