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Hi, I have recently acquired a pair of Lewis Ourry tablespoons dated 1743. After searching the forum and the net in general, I am struggling to find any other examples of his work. These spoons seem quite well made and I would therefore be interested in seeing what else he produced, can anybody point me in the right direction?

Martin.

Hi Martin,

Wonderful find!

Just for the record, some catalogue detail from last weeks sale at Sothebys:

Louis Simon Ourry (1717-1779) was also a goldsmith. He was apprenticed to Augustine Courtauld, becoming free and entering his mark in London in 1740 (trading from New street near Covent Garden) His undated will and codicil was sworn by John Malliet, Paul de Lamerie’s son-in-law, in 1779 (PROB11/1055/315). Louis Simon’s brother Paul Henry Ourry (1719-1783) was married to Charity Treby, eldest daughter of one of Paul de Lamerie’s great clients the Rt. Hon. George Treby MP (1727-1805). His toilet set by de Lamerie is in the Asmolean Museum, Oxford. Elizabeth Ourry would have been either Louis Simon’s wife (nee Mott, died 1786) or more probably his sister Elizabeth (1725-1811). She became Mrs Beuzeville on her marriage to the Rev. Samuel Beuzeville and in her will dated 1806 she directed `I give to my Grand daughter Mary Julia Lempriere a silver coffee pot with the gilted {sic} Server belonging to it…’ Mary Julia died later that year whereupon Mrs Beuzeville altered her will by codicil dated 24 December 1806 `I now dispose of the Legacy I had given to her in said will in the following manner I give to….my Grand daughter Caroline (Charity) the Silver Coffee pot with the Server…’(Public Record Office, PROB11/1520/107). Charity Lempriere survived until her own death on 13th June 1886, in the house of her Nephew Sir Robert George Wyndham Herbert KCB (1831-1905) at Ickleton, Cambridgeshire. By her will, eventually sworn at a little over £7600, her estate consisting of money, stocks and shares was divided equally between various nieces and nephews (Family Division, Somerset House).

Source: Sotheby's 1000 Ways of Seeing: The Private Collection of the late Stanley J. Seeger - London - 5th March 2014

Trev.

Hi Trev,

Thanks for that information. Out of interest have you seen other examples of his work and is he known mainly for flatware?

Martin.

Hi Martin,

I don't recall seeing any examples of his work before.

Trev.

I can only quote Grimwade
Page 761 states

"OURRY, Lewis, (page 610) The doubts of survival of [any of] his work previously expressed [by Grimwade] are removed by the discovery of a dessert spoon of 1740 bearing his clearly indentifisble mark.....Nevertheless , his work is extremely rare"

Thanks Buckler, looks like I turned up a good find, it was definitely more luck than judgement.