Could someone please help?

[aussiefencer]

I am new to the forum, so before I ask my question, I bid you all a happy new year and trust all is well wherever you are...

I purchased a gift for my better half this year for christmas/birthday, she is born on the 23 12.
Curiosity has got the better of me and I would like to know more about the maker, importer etc for the following canteen of cutlery.

I have been led to believe that it was made around the late 40s to early 50s... Is this correct?
It came as you see it in the photos, in a solid timber box with a felt lining in green and with most of the items still sealed in plastic bags...

I have searched around on this forum, eBay, the web, etc but can find no simillar items for sale or displayed in reference material.
I would like to know what the pattern name is, the actual year of manufacture and any other information that anyone can give...

We are not interested in selling the set but just want to learn more about it.

Is the LINCOLN mark on the back of the serving spoon a place of manufacture or a makers mark?

The setting is for 6 persons with the knives all being stainless steel (Christopher Johnston) and all of the other pieces being marked the same as the serving spoon shown below...

Lower handle of serving spoon







Close up of searving spoon shows some wearing on one edge, not sure if this is through use of just inconsistant stamping of the blank before electroplating...



Anyone help with this set of marks on the rear of all of the silver? Servers are 18 DWTS, desert spoons are 14 DWTS, down to 6 DWTS for the tiny jam or sugar spoons...









Blade mark of small butter knives/main knives



All of the forks and spoons are still sealed except the two servers

Sorry about photo, colour of box is not well represented here, but could be stained oak or the like.

[paulh]

Hello Aussiefencer,

Just a few points about your canteen of cutlery. You are probably right with the date. The pattern does suggest that sort of period. The knives in a set such as this would seldom have been made by the same manufacturer as the flatware. (Spoons and forks). In this case they were made by Christopher Johnson & Co. Who actually specialised in making pocket knives rather than domestic knives. They were founded in 1836. In 1955 the firm was taken over by George Wostenholm & Son Ltd. As with many Sheffield cutlers at that time, they had a large export trade to “the colonies”, especially New Zealand and Australia.

I have no information about the flatware by Lincoln. All I can tell you is that it is a mid range sort of quality. The DWTS markings represented the amount of silver per dozen pieces used in the plating. So the servers have 18pennywights of silver covering 12 spoons 20DWTS = 1Troy ounce. The other marks are EPNS =Electro Plated Nickle Silver. A1 has no particular bearing on the quality. It was just to make it sound good.

There were many flatware makers Sheffield and Birmingham at this time. I would also not rule out the possibility that this might even be an American company, exporting flatware to the U.K or even direct to Australia or where ever the canteen was put together. I am sorry I can’t help you with the pattern.

I hope this help a little. It seems that it has never been used, so I think a grand banquet is called for. As it has waited around fifty years to give service

Paul.

[aussiefencer]

Thankyou for your reply. There does not seem to be too much information around regarding this period of manufacturing...
I know that the value of EPNS is NOT that of Stirling, however, I am interestred in the origins of such things...

Does anyone know of another site/forum where I may find futher info?

Thankyou in advance, Mike...

[2209patrick]

Hello.

I think that, on American silverplate, the DWTS markings were used before WWI.

Pat.

[paulh]

Hello Pat, I didn’t know that about American silverplate, but as stainless steel blades were not introduced until 1926, I would think that this would be from a later date, if the set were put together as a whole.