Makers Mark on Tilting Teapot/Coffee pot

[MeOhMy]

I've been trying to find the maker's mark in all the usual places without success. This is on a teapot/coffee pot that rests upon a stand that contains an alcohol warmer. The teapot/coffee pot is attached to the stand with pins that slide through holes in the front and rear of the stand and the pot. Remove the rear pin and you can tilt the pot to pour the contents without lifting the post from the stand, as if the pin and the holes in the stand and pot were acting as a hinge. The maker's mark is a simple script "S "inside a very simple shield. Below this is the word "Sterling" and the number "2152" which I assume is some sort of pattern number.

I have a hard time believing the entire pot/stand/burner is really sterling throughout given the weight of the entire assembly. I'd sure appreciate being pointed in the right direction here.

[wev]

Simon Brothers

[silverly]

Welcome to the forum. About the silver content, I can only say that I would be surprised if it is not all sterling. The trademark is Simons Brothers. http://www.925-1000.com/americansilver_S2.html

[silverly]

Welcome to the forum. About the silver content, I can only say that I would be surprised if it is not all sterling. The trademark is Simons Brothers. http://www.925-1000.com/americansilver_S2.html

[MeOhMy]

Welcome to the forum. About the silver content, I can only say that I would be surprised if it is not all sterling. The trademark is Simons Brothers. http://www.925-1000.com/americansilver_S2.html

Thank you for the assistance. I can't believe I missed that mark, but I guess your eyes just glaze over after a while.

As the whole assembly breaks down into distinct parts - pot, stand, burner - I would think each piece would need to bear the sterling mark. No?

Also, in the picture I posted you can see the number 652 etched into the inside top of the pot, and there's a number 151 etched into the bottom of the alcohol burner, but no number etched into the stand. Do these sort of etched numbers have any significance? Like, perhaps, the separate components of hand-made pieces?

Thanks again!

[dragonflywink]

Hi ~ are all the pieces marked as Simons Bros.? Would expect each piece to be marked as 'sterling' if solid silver. The scratched '652' and other similar numbers might be from a repair shop, an inventory mark, or something else along those lines.

Your item seems an odd arrangement to me, is it possible that it's some sort of marriage? To my eye, the octagonal base doesn't look quite right with the pot having no other angular elements. Can't really see clearly in your picture, and not sure I'm understanding correctly - are there holes in the side of the teapot base? Tilting warmer stands with chained pins usually have a more flat-bottom kettle with one wing of the hinge (or hinges) attached and the pin used to join it to the other wing on the base.

~Cheryl

[MeOhMy]

Hi ~ are all the pieces marked as Simons Bros.? Would expect each piece to be marked as 'sterling' if solid silver. The scratched '652' and other similar numbers might be from a repair shop, an inventory mark, or something else along those lines.

Your item seems an odd arrangement to me, is it possible that it's some sort of marriage? To my eye, the octagonal base doesn't look quite right with the pot having no other angular elements. Can't really see clearly in your picture, and not sure I'm understanding correctly - are there holes in the side of the teapot base? Tilting warmer stands with chained pins usually have a more flat-bottom kettle with one wing of the hinge (or hinges) attached and the pin used to join it to the other wing on the base.

~Cheryl

The fact that only the pot is marked as Simons Bros. and "sterling" is why I speculated that only the pot was sterling and the rest of the items were not. Yet, despite that, the round pot and the somewhat angular base mate perfectly. I've attached a photo of the front "hinge". The pin, coming in from the left of the picture, slides in to the perfectly-aligned "knuckles" on the base and the middle knuckle on the pot. So I'm somewhat flummoxed as to what I have here. It seems strange to me that Simons Bros. might produce a set out of a mixed bag of sterling and plated silver. In spite of the lack of similar geometry between the pot and the base they just fit together so perfectly it just seems that they had to be made together.

[JLDoggett]

Your pot is properly marked for the American market. Since the pot and stand are hinged together the law allows for only one mark on the item. just as the lid and spirit lamp are unmarker as it is thought they were "fitted" to the pot and stand when they were made and wouldn't "fit" on another model. The style of base and pot do match with the federal revivals that happened in the mid 1870's, the 1920's and the late 1950's. It is a style that uses an "older" stryle pot being "modernized" with a more stylish base and lid (typically producing an odd discordant look.)

The numbers appear to be an aftermarket additionpossibly added by the owner. A repair shop would never mark an itenm like that unless they wished to be sued for damaging it. Factory applied numbers would be much neater (usually punched with number stamps) and woud be identical to all pieces. Inventory number would have been applied with a china marker for ease in removal when the piece was cleaned before being wrapped and packaged for the customer.

By-the-way it is most likely a hot-water jug neither a tea nor coffee pot. Tea was brewed in a smaller pot with water kept hot in this jug.

[wev]

A repair shop would never mark an itenm like that unless they wished to be sued for damaging it.

No; this was often done on pieces from pocket watches to large hollowware -- I have seen many such marks with documentation. That said, this may certainly be a personal notation.

[dragonflywink]

Ahhh - feel so much better seeing the hinge, was envisioning some awful hole drilled into the base...

Can't recall seeing a kettle & stand by Simons Bros. before, but have seen similar by other American manufacturers, and will say that all I've run across bore both the manufacturer's trademark and 'sterling' on the kettles, stands and burners, but there were/are no legal requirements that silver must be marked, only that, from 1906, if marked, it must be of at least of the fineness indicated (coin/.900 or sterling/.925), and 1961+, the manufacturer's trademark must be present. Not saying that your pieces aren't sterling, Simons made nice quality holloware and would expect the a matching stand and burner to be silver, but find it unusual that they aren't marked. Regarding the scratched numbers, hard to tell their purpose, but will stand by the possibility that they were placed there by a repair shop, or as part of some sort of inventory (have seen numbers matched up with accompanying paperwork).

~Cheryl