The very important trophy which was presented by the Triplex Safety Glass Co. for competition for the One Mile Flat Race at the Aircraft Workers' Sports at Stamford Bridge on July 21st. This magnificent "pot," which was supplied by the Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Company, was an outstanding feature at the display of the prizes.
Edward Payson Davis was born in 1838, in South Attleboro, in the section known as the Reed-Ide neighborhood. When Mr. Davis was only a few months old, his parents moved to West Attleboro on a farm, the house of which is only one hundred yards of the Rhode Island line, in the section
now known as Abbott 's Run, where he resided until about fifteen or sixteen years of age. From that time he worked in jewelry factories in Pawtucket, and he enlisted in the Civil War in a Pawtucket company. After his discharge from the service he worked in North Attleboro for a number of years, and finally came to Plainville to work for the firm of Jos. T. Bacon Co. where he was working in 1876, when Mr. Bacon induced him to engage in business for himself. Mr. Davis was one of the founders of the firm of Wade, Davis & Co., which was organized in August, 1876, and continued under this name until 1896, when the firm became Whiting & Davis. Mr. Davis retired from the firm in July, 1907, and died the following January, 1908.
Many of the older employees remember Mr. Davis for many years past. He was one of the old school of jewelers who could make a piece of jewelry from start to finish. When he learned his trade he learned to melt his metal, plate it, do his own stamping and press work, bench work, polishing, and finishing, and turned the finished piece of work in to the office from the raw material, consequently when he was manufacturing for himself, he was capable of showing and teaching men in every department, as he was thoroughly familiar with the work. He was a man who was highly respected both in and out of business, and one of the best friends the writer has ever had.
(Signed)
C. A. Whiting.
The testimonial takes the form of a solid silver centrepiece, consisting of an elegantly formed bowl for fruit or flowers having upon one side a panel containing in finely-executed relief-work a faithful representation of the Bulawayo Laager as it appeared during the late Matabele rising. On the reverse side are trophies of Matabele arms, shields, &c., one shield bearing the inscription “Umguza, June 6, 1896,” drawing attention to the two localities specially connected with Mr. Spreckley's name and his unselfish and valuable assistance to the community generally. Between these panels are ornamental shields surrounded by laurel and surmounted by the enraged African lion wounded by an assegai. Upon the pedestal are finely-modelled statuettes of a trooper of the Bulawayo Field Force and a Matabele armed with assegais, shield, and the formidable “knobkerrie.” Upon the side of the bowl is the following inscription : “Presented to John Anthony Spreckley, C.M.G., lately a colonel in the Bulawayo Field Force and Commandant of the Laager, at a public dinner at Bulawayo on April 17, 1897, in recognition of conspicuous services rendered to the community at a time of danger." The centrepiece, which has just been completed, was designed and executed in the highest style of art by the Goldsmiths' and Silversmiths' Company, 112, Regent Street, London.
An image of silversmiths from the Gothenburg firm of C.G. Hallberg demonstrating their skills at the Paris Exposition which ran from 14th April to 12th November 1900:
Two images of the exhibit of the Ceylonese jewellers, N.D.H. Abdul Caffoor, at the The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition held at Philadelphia in 1926:
An image of Queen Victoria of Spain's silver telephone:
Handsome Silver Telephone Instrument Presented to Queen Victoria of Spain
What is reputed to be the most costly telephone instrument ever made was recently presented to Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain and is illustrated on the front cover of this issue. The piece is a massive work in silver and was made by the Madrid Telephone Co. It consists of a highly ornate receiver and transmitter, as they are made in Europe, resting upon a stand supported by two cupids on either side of a shield showing the arms of Spain. These in turn rest on a platform, supported by the Pillars of Hercules. At the foot of each appear two dainty figures, one representing a Spanish boy and the other an English girl talking to one another on the telephone.
The signal bell of the instrument is between the pillars, and in front of this is a representation of a crown. The lower base of the whole piece extends out on four feet representing the head and shoulders of crouching lions. At the base is the inscription: “El Cuerpo de Telegrafos a Su Augusta Reina Victoria Eugenia Battenberg.”
An image of the Sheffield-born silversmith David Waite:
This image was published in 1917.
DAVID WAITE - ...... A native of England, he was born in Sheffield, October 4, 1844. His father, William Waite, born in Lincolnshire, was a merchant in Sheffield, who married Ann Fotheringham, a native of Nottinghamshire: and they became the parents of five children. David Waite was reared in Sheffield, attended the public schools and assisted his father in his store. At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed to a silversmith, and served seven and one half years ; and he followed that trade until coming to America in 1866. On his arrival in New York City, he went to Taunton, Mass., and was employed by the firm of Read & Barton, the largest manufacturing silversmiths in that city; and he remained with them until 1871, when he arrived in California.
Source: History of San Luis Obispo County and Environs, California - 1917
A gold-mounted mazer bowl, diameter 6½ inches. designed and made by Leslie Durbin, M.V.O. Commemorating the Golden Wedding of the Rt. Hon. the Earl Samuel and his wife.