Postby dognose » Wed Aug 04, 2010 4:20 pm
I must admit that my first thoughts were that this maker's mark appeared too early in style to be that of John Turton's, but now I'm not so sure.
John Turton was the defendant in a court case brought against him by the Sheffield steel manufacturer, Thomas Turton in 1890. The case itself is not of real interest to us in this post, but details revealed during the hearing give us some solid dates and other information that will be of interest to those who like to dig into the history of the plating trade.
John Turton commenced his business in 1869 in partnership with Frederick Lawton who was described as a sleeping partner, the firm was known as John Turton & Co.. From the beginning of 1872 until the end of March 1878, Frederick Lawton is now decribed as an ostensible partner and the business carried on known as Turton & Lawton. At the end of March 1878, Lawton left the partnership and the firm reverted to its former title of John Turton & Co., and continued under that name until June 1888, when John Turton took his two sons into partnership and the firm now became known as John Turton & Sons.
Another detail of interest and one that backs up user701's attribution the the name of Turton's manufactory, The Vulcan Works, this name would of course link nicely with the hammer in the above maker's mark.
Trev.