www.925-1000.com

Hi, A customer of mine purchased a pair of spoons apparently from the Amiens region from me, and I wasn't able to find the maker in Helft or any other reference I have - hoping someone can help out! The maker's mark appears to be LD. These appear to be from the 1819-38 period. Thanks! https://www.92...

Does this piece have a monogram? If so, can you provide a picture of it? Thanks!

Hi,

Thomas Johnston Hemphill (1812-1878), working in Philadelphia circa 1830s to the 1860s. His mark is not commonly seen, and didn't make it into Hollan's "Philadelphia Silversmiths", which contains his available biographical information.

Best,
WesternPA

They're definitely not Scottish, and almost certainly American. I have seen the mark, and will try to track down where.

There was a John Ayers working in Pittsburgh circa 1811-15, first in partnership with Benjamin Kendrick as Kendrick and Ayers circa 1811, and then alone. The spelling of Ayers would have been potentially variable then, and the spoon would belong to that period. Ayers was listed as a silverplater, as...

The retailer advertised as a jeweler, optician and watchmaker in Minneapolis, MN.

http://reflections.mndigital.org/cdm/ref/collection/mpls/id/22204

Hi,

It appears to be one of the marks given to Samuel Williamson of Philadelphia (working circa 1794-1813), and the style and period of the piece would fit. Catherine Hollan's "Philadelphia Silversmiths" has a picture of the mark.

V/r,
WesternPA

Thanks Trev - I should note that a spoon with this mark is in the Winterthur collection, available online. That spoon is a pointed-end, PA style spoon, but that doesn't definitively establish much. It does seem this mystery silversmith might have been around for a decade or more, though!

Trev,

Are you able to delete the first picture in my initial post, which was of the mark but which got taken over by hackers?

Thanks!

Looks like is not reliable - at least some pictures get taken over by hackers!

Hi, This ladle, circa 1805-30, recently purchased on eBay, has me stumped - it came out of Pinehurst, N.C., but the monogram, midrib and overall feel seem more like inland PA to me. I've not seen a maker's mark quite like this anywhere, certainly not on American silver - and yet I am very confident ...

Given the maker's mark, which is very French in form and style, and the nature of the piece, which seems to be a tourist piece from the Islamic world, I would think Algeria or another former French colony in North Africa or the Middle East would be a strong possibility.

Hi,

Thanks! It would be great to solve this one, but I suppose there are a number of marks that just can't be firmly attributed at this point.

Hello,

I haven't had any success tracking down this mark, which is fairly distinctive - not certain if it is even and American spoon at this point! Would appreciate any help on this one.



Best,
WesternPA

Hi,

I am stumped on where to even look for information on the maker of this brooch, or how to describe the mark - any help would be appreciated!



Best,
WesternPA

Has Scottish been ruled out?

This is definitely the George Russell from Philadelphia; there are many examples of later Philadelphia spoons in earlier styles, made either to replace lost or damaged spoons from earlier sets, or made in an "antique" style to suit the tastes of a client. Moreover, the die for Russell's ma...

Hi,

Thank you so much! For some reason I didn't get notification of a reply - hence my lateness.

Much appreciated!

Hi, I am hoping for help on this one, as I do not have many good references for Swedish silver - I have a pierced Swedish mustard or similar jar with a handle and removable lid, and the base and the lid are each marked with four marks (badly photographed here). One is the maker's mark, SWS, and the ...

By the way, the stamped initials (the "S" and "F" and any similar stamped letters) would be for the owner, and the stars between are merely decorative. The other marks are true French hallmarks.