Philip Hulbert - date correct in Currier?

[Jag]

I have a spoon which looks to me to have been made by Philip Hulbeart, according to the mark shown in "Marks of Early American Silversmiths" by Ernest Currier. According to the book he died in 1764. What I don't understand, is that the style of the spoon appears to me to be more recent than that. Am I wrong about the style of the spoon, or the mark?

Also, can anyone point to a reference that talks about the different engraving styles used on silver? I know that the engraving style can be helpful with dating, but don't know what to look for?

http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad13 ... 190016.jpg

http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad13 ... 190015.jpg

http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad13 ... 190014.jpg

http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad13 ... 190008.jpg

[silverly]

Could the mark be F . H instead?

[wev]

Likely Philip Huntington. Currier should be used with a goodly grain of salt and as a last resort; it was written 74 years ago, the marks were rather crudely drawn, and the attributions published without independent verification.

[silverly]

I can't say one way or the other for sure about the first letter, but I'm fairly certain that there is a period after the second letter.

[Jag]

I wasn't sure of the first letter, but closeup examination with a loupe led me to conclude it was either P.H. or F.H. It seemed to be one of these since I could definitely see a period after the first letter, and only a P or F would allow the period to be placed close enough. The reason it looked so clearly to me to be a match with the Currier drawing, is the period after the H, which is the whole lower right corner of the stamp. His drawings may be fairly crude, but the match is almost exact; even the sharp corners of the stamp.

In contrast the online mark for Huntington is quite different from the one on my spoon and the one in Currier. Here's the Huntington mark:


Is it possible that the Currier book's attribution is flat out wrong, and this isn't a mark by Hulbeart?

Alternately, is it possible that the spoon style really could date to that early?

[wev]

The Huntington shown (from my site) is quite dreadful, but the best I had found. Here is a somewhat better version, recently added, which matches that shown in Flynt & Fales, Hammerslough, etc.


Here is a picture of the accepted mark of Hulbeart

[Jag]

Thank you, and I apologize for not crediting you for the picture I stole. As I'm sure you've heard countless times, I am really indebted to you for the great resource you created and continue to maintain. Thank you again!

The marks you've shown make it clear that my spoon is indeed the one for Huntington. It has the sharp corners, second period touching the lower right corner, and correct font size.

I wonder if the picture you have online for Huntington actually belongs with Hulbeart?

Anyway, than you yet again. Would it be useful to you for me to take pictures of the couple of dozen stamps I have (mostly later 19th century coin silver)? I have a new camera now that can take much better closeups than my old one.

[wev]

The mark is too poor in quality for any use -- I should never have put it up and have now removed it.
Good images are always welcome and appreciated.