James Walker used Wa, lk, er as well as WALKER, and Ab, er, de, en not A,B,D,N or ABDN in the pieces I've managed to see. If you know of others, I would be very grateful to see the marks.
How sure are you that it is WA? Are the letters for ABDN each struck with a different punch, or are they all in one punch? Could it be W.W? William Whitecross was one smith who used the separate letters and worked there from 1824 - 40. I know of no WA worked out of Aberdeen.
Henry Hayens was working on to 1773, so one would imagine that he would have used more than one punch in that period, but, according to Grimwade, only the 1749 punch was registered.
What, exactly are the marks please? Is it definitely a bar under the c, or is it a .? There are a few with a full stop under the c, but most have other letters like RMcG or McQ. Are the other marks just a thistle and a duty mark?
Also, if you want to identify the crests on items Fairbairn's Book of Crests is very useful. Hunt around and you can still find them. Being sneaky, if you are interested in Scottish Provincial silver there is my "Directory of Scottish Provincial Silversmiths & their Marks which lists well over a...
Another trick is to use a tripod or some such support to remove any shake. Also try to photo from different angles, some marks are real sods, but come right from one way or another. I like to try to use the normal lens position for the photo, often zooming in on a mark fouls the focus. I have found ...
Difficult to make out, but the marks look like Chester 1953. Just cannot make out the 3 initials on the left for the maker's mark. If you can see it with a glass and let me know, I may be able to help. .
The maker could be William Abdy I who was a haftmaker in London 1763-90. The motto means "He who touches me will regret it". depends on the position of the wildcat, if on both rear legs, both paws raised, it was Gillespie-Stainton; if standing on left rear foot, left foot and paw out stretched, righ...
It's in the Directory of Gold & Silversmiths 1838 - 1914 Pt II by John Culme. Part I has all the details of the smiths. Quite expensive, very detailed and very useful, out of print, but sometimes pops up if you hunt around on the internet or book shops (if you are lucky).
A fair quantity. Members of the Raj had their nice canteens of silver out there, then, when they came home, they naturally brought it with them as the Indian stuff cost a fraction of the home produced silverwares. Added satisfaction was that it made them the 'Jones's' with whom everyone else had to ...
There was also John Watson, who was working c1880 - 90. He made brooches, as did Walker. Difference was that Watson had rounded corners to the oblong punch, Walker was squared off. I have a CD coming out shortly, to go with my Directory, which shows both.