Need help with Hallmark Gorham?

[Ellie]

Hi, I am seeking help with a silver box I recently purchased. It has a very ornate pattern on the top and all four sides depicting scenes of people doing various 'life' stuff (work and recreation) The inside is lined with wood and the inside of the top of the box is gold coloured. The base has the numbers 3949 hallmarked on it and above that are three pictures. A pipe (Gorham symbol for 1911?) followed by a strange looking object that sort of looks like a windmill but not really sure, then another pipe. The box measures about 5" long and about 2"tall with four little ball feet. I do have pictures of this but for the life of me couldn't work out how to put them on this site, so any help anyone can give me will be greatly appreciated. Oh, there is also a personal inscription on the base saying that it was bought by someone called Sam from 5th Avenue and is dated Sept. 1919. I'm keen to find out what the box would have been used for and anything about it's maker or value. Thanks so much Ellie

[wev]

Not Gorham; the mark is Barbour Silver Company, founded in 1892 at Hartford CT. They were known for their repossee silverplate, often depicting dutch life of the 18th century.

[Ellie]

Thanks so much for what you've said. Can you tell me how I can find out then when this would have been made and what it would have been used for? Sorry but am new at all this and am not American or in America so have no idea about American makers at all.

Ellie

[wev]

I would say the inscription is a fair guess and in keeping with the stylistic motif you describe. Short of a miracle, you will not do better than that -- the vast majority of American silverplate is impossible to date nearer than a decade or more. I would guess, given the wood lining and size, that it was for cigars or cigarettes, but the catchall "trinket box" would fit as well.

[Ellie]

Thanks so much. I'm tickled pink to at least know where it is from, who made it, what it would have been used for and an approximate age. Well it made a long journey then across the sea to Australia and is in excellent condition. Ellie