Hayden & Whilden---merchants or silversmiths?

[Roxy]

I stumbled upon this sterling cold meat fork buried underneath a pile of silver plate at an auction. The markings on the back read Hayden & Whilden 925 lion passant. Can anyone tell me if Hayden & Whilden were silversmiths? Merchants? Where did they work? What era? Is this piece part of a larger set, or is it a separate serving piece? Does it have a pattern name?





Thank you for any information. I am new to this forum.

[2209patrick]

Hello and welcome.

That would be Augustus Hayden and William G. Whilden, Charleston, S.C., 1855 - 1863.
Believe they were silversmiths.

Check here (Wev's site) for more information:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.anc ... 169662.htm

Pat.

[Roxy]

Thank you for the information and the quick response! I'm so happy to know more about my fork.

[shayes]

Whilst not exactly the same pattern of engraving, your fork looks remarkably like my Bailey & Co. POINTED END TWIST (LEAVES).

Also, your fork's lion mark looks like the larger of the two lion marks on my knife. I would guess that Hayden & Whilden was the retailer and that your fork was made in Philadelphia under the auspices of Bailey & Co., who had exclusive relationships with various smiths there.
Sadly, we hardly ever know the true names of the patterns of this era (ca. 1860's). I have used a simple descriptive name to identify it.
The sifter's mark is the more notable of the two shown, since it includes the rare elephant mark with the Bailey coin standard marks.
Stan