www.925-1000.com

I can suggest the name Charles Usher which you can research. I know he worked in Birmingham around this time but nothing else.

Miles

English Silver Spoons by Michael Snodin suggests that the catch phrase and spoons occured slightly earlier than 1776, closer to 1770; this is supported in Spoons 1650-1930 by Simon Moore who dates one of these spoons to c.1770. I'm not sure why antiquesilverspoons.com dates them as circa 1776, when...

Thankyou for those links Patrick. I think my mark is upside down; as the letter on the left of my picture resembles the R of Philip Roker III who made spoons with this fancy back. The only other maker I've seen with this design is Thomas Wallis, and the door of his bird cage opens on the left wherea...

Here's a teaspoon with the "I love liberty" picture back. This is a reference to a John Wilks who was imprisoned. If anyone knows the exact story of this, I'd love to hear it. The maker's mark is quite worn, and, after leafing through Jackson's, I'm still no closer to finding him. I can't ...

For the budding collector "Jackson's Hallmarks pocket edition" is very good with a small list of maker's marks for all the assay towns. For a larger list of maker's marks go for "Jackson's Silver and Gold Marks". However, this does not treat London silversmiths past 1840. Here is a good review site ...

Jackson's suggests W. & J. Priest (p.213), and the article on which it found this mark was a tankard, so this seems like the best bet for your piece.

I can't help you with the inscription; does it say "The Head Chippenham Oct 1767"?

Miles
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If your marks look something like this, then your forks were made in 1808 in London by Thomas Barker. The head which looks like George Washington is George III.

I apologize if I misunderstood your descriptipon.

Miles

My money's on Thomas Dicks. The work of his that I've seen is all concentrated around this time, and his is the only mark I've seen with a pellet between the letters. Jackson's seems to think that the last mention of Thomas Daniel was in 1784 although I've seen a piece purporting to be his from 1788...

I've seen quite a few of these boxes with Queen Anne, George I and George II on the front; I think they're called patch boxes: counter boxes are a bit taller. However, these boxes have always been made by a Thomas Keddar so I can't help you I'm afraid. Here is a site with four Queen boxes: http://ww...

Thankyou Waylander; I think I'll go with him.
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Here is a sauce ladle assayed in Exeter 1854 (5 inches). The maker EO is not familiar with me nor it seems with my silver books. Jackson's, while not displaying a picture of an EO hallmark, does list an Edward Osment; can anyone verify this with me? Also, does anyone know with any certainty what sau...

That was the question we didn't quite manage to answer definitely. It's most likely that large manufacturers bought silver from other makers, sold it themselves and put their own mark on it to take responsibility. However, this is largely conjecture. Here is a good site for spoon patterns: http://ww...

This BP definitely seems to have been stamped over another mark which, judging by the differing shapes of the cartouches, is by another maker. This is called overstamping, but this is the earliest spoon I've seen it on. I'm afraid I don't recognize the BP maker, but here are some old threads on over...

I can clear a few things up for you. "Hanoverian" refers to a style of spoon where the end of the stem curves upwards to the front side of the bowl. It is called Hanoverian because this style roughly coincided with the accession to the throne of George I of the house of Hanover. This is a ...

Thankyou Nigel; I think I'll go with them.

Miles
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Thankyou both very much for your help.
I can well believe you Cheryl when you say these are common souvenir items: the quality is atrocious. These were the result of one of my blind forays outside the world of English spoons, a world where I'm, comparatively, only short-sighted!

Miles (:D)

Thankyou for your informative help Nigel.
I'm now torn between John Lautier and Joseph Lewis, and as I've never seen a piece (let alone a spoon) by either of them, any decision would really be a guess.

Miles
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Thanks for your help Mike; did John Lias work this early? The only mark of his in my picture database is 1814 and doesn't have a pellet between the letters.

Miles
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I think you may be right Waylander; "English Silver Spoons" by Michael Snodin says that the Rococo shell and scroll design was prominent c.1770, and also the ridge at the end of the stem signifies this date as well. I've included a picture of the reduction in prominence in this end of stem...

Here is yet another Hanoverian teaspoon, this one has a shell/scroll back. I imagine it was made in the 1750s. As the maker's mark has been squeezed into the narrowest part of the stem, the bottom is hard to make out, so it could be I.I, I.T or I.L. I'm tempted to say John Lambe, but the letters of ...