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Help - are these tongs Carden Terry
Help - are these tongs Carden Terry
Hi - Could anyone help me identify these bright cut tongs, and confirm whether they can be attributed to Cork silversmith Carden Terry. Only reference to his mark I can find is with his daughter Jane Walters. Certainly look like late 1700s tongs - right weight too and have been used - bit of wear to the nips - Many thanks - Frank. Oh and does anyone know any interesting stories about Mr Terry?
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Hi Frank,
Yes, Carden Terry 1742-1821.
Carden Terry was apprenticed in 1758, registered 1784 and Freeman 1785.
His eldest daughter Jane was married to John Williams (m.6-8-1791).
John Williams entered into partnership with Carden Terry in 1795. John Williams died in 1806 and his widow continued in partnership with her father until his death on 16th July 1821, the business closed soon after. Jane died on 17th April 1845.
Regards Trev.
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Yes, Carden Terry 1742-1821.
Carden Terry was apprenticed in 1758, registered 1784 and Freeman 1785.
His eldest daughter Jane was married to John Williams (m.6-8-1791).
John Williams entered into partnership with Carden Terry in 1795. John Williams died in 1806 and his widow continued in partnership with her father until his death on 16th July 1821, the business closed soon after. Jane died on 17th April 1845.
Regards Trev.
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Hi Frank,
The silversmiths of Cork had made several attempts to establish an assay office since 1714, but the powerful Dublin Goldsmiths Company managed to crush every application.
They did have their own Guild, which also covered some other trades, since 1656, and it was after the failed attempt in 1714 that the Guild decided to use the 'sterling' mark along side the initials of the maker, sometimes the word 'dollar' was used to denote the item was made from melted Spanish Dollars.
The Guild was known to keep accurate records, but most of these were lost in a fire at the Cork Court House in 1891, and the few records that did survive were lost in another fire when the City Hall burnt down in 1920.
Very little Cork silver was assayed at Dublin due to the 320 mile return journey that was the haunt of highwaymen, until 1784 when an Act was passed enforcing silversmiths to register at Dublin under the threat of a £100 fine for every offence, this is when Carden Terry registered.
I'm not sure when Terry began working for himself, but an invoice issued by him is known dated 1774 from the address of 'At the Golden Cup' near Broad Lane, Cork. In later years he had shops at North Main Street and at Grand Parade, Cork.
Cheap imports of mass produced pieces from Sheffield and Birmingham was the death knell of silversmithing in Cork. The trade declined from 70 gold and silversmiths in 1800, with the last one switching off the lights in 1853.
Carden Terry's name is made up from the names of his parents, John Terry who died in 1751 and Sarah Carden who died 1767. He married Catherine Webb who died in 1784, they had nine children, two sons and seven daughters.
Regards Trev.
.
The silversmiths of Cork had made several attempts to establish an assay office since 1714, but the powerful Dublin Goldsmiths Company managed to crush every application.
They did have their own Guild, which also covered some other trades, since 1656, and it was after the failed attempt in 1714 that the Guild decided to use the 'sterling' mark along side the initials of the maker, sometimes the word 'dollar' was used to denote the item was made from melted Spanish Dollars.
The Guild was known to keep accurate records, but most of these were lost in a fire at the Cork Court House in 1891, and the few records that did survive were lost in another fire when the City Hall burnt down in 1920.
Very little Cork silver was assayed at Dublin due to the 320 mile return journey that was the haunt of highwaymen, until 1784 when an Act was passed enforcing silversmiths to register at Dublin under the threat of a £100 fine for every offence, this is when Carden Terry registered.
I'm not sure when Terry began working for himself, but an invoice issued by him is known dated 1774 from the address of 'At the Golden Cup' near Broad Lane, Cork. In later years he had shops at North Main Street and at Grand Parade, Cork.
Cheap imports of mass produced pieces from Sheffield and Birmingham was the death knell of silversmithing in Cork. The trade declined from 70 gold and silversmiths in 1800, with the last one switching off the lights in 1853.
Carden Terry's name is made up from the names of his parents, John Terry who died in 1751 and Sarah Carden who died 1767. He married Catherine Webb who died in 1784, they had nine children, two sons and seven daughters.
Regards Trev.
.
Hi,
Just for the record, I realise my post may give the impression that this was the end of silversmithing in Cork, this was not the case and maybe one of the most interesting periods of Cork silversmithing history was yet to come.
It was not just the cheaper imports and the enforcment of Dublin assays that led to the ecomonic decline of the Cork silversmiths, it was a nationwide problem, but Cork suffered more than most. The late eighteenth century had brought reasonably prosperous times to the city by supplying England's war needs. The end of the Napoleonic war was followed by high taxation to pay for twenty years of fighting the French, and the needs of Corks supply of food and textiles to the English army no longer required, this caused high unemployment and low wages, resulting in a severe ecomonic decline at Cork.
Trev.
.
Just for the record, I realise my post may give the impression that this was the end of silversmithing in Cork, this was not the case and maybe one of the most interesting periods of Cork silversmithing history was yet to come.
It was not just the cheaper imports and the enforcment of Dublin assays that led to the ecomonic decline of the Cork silversmiths, it was a nationwide problem, but Cork suffered more than most. The late eighteenth century had brought reasonably prosperous times to the city by supplying England's war needs. The end of the Napoleonic war was followed by high taxation to pay for twenty years of fighting the French, and the needs of Corks supply of food and textiles to the English army no longer required, this caused high unemployment and low wages, resulting in a severe ecomonic decline at Cork.
Trev.
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Tongtwister
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Great tongs-I, too am jealous!
From the publication, "Cork Silver and Gold: Four Centuries of Craftsmanship"
"The last two decades of the eighteenth century saw the emergence of Cork silver of the neo-classical style following the architecural inspiration of Robert Adam...Some of the finest quality neoc-lassical work fo the period was produced in Cork by makers such as John Nicolson, John Warner and Carden Terry.
Arguably Carden Terry was the most famous of all Cork silversmiths. Born into an old Cork family in 1742, he set up shop initially in 1764, and after a sojourn in Dublin and London, returned permanently to Cork in 1770. He became a Freeman of the City in 1785...
Bright cut decoration made its appreaance in the 1780s as a reaction to the rococo."
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From the publication, "Cork Silver and Gold: Four Centuries of Craftsmanship"
"The last two decades of the eighteenth century saw the emergence of Cork silver of the neo-classical style following the architecural inspiration of Robert Adam...Some of the finest quality neoc-lassical work fo the period was produced in Cork by makers such as John Nicolson, John Warner and Carden Terry.
Arguably Carden Terry was the most famous of all Cork silversmiths. Born into an old Cork family in 1742, he set up shop initially in 1764, and after a sojourn in Dublin and London, returned permanently to Cork in 1770. He became a Freeman of the City in 1785...
Bright cut decoration made its appreaance in the 1780s as a reaction to the rococo."
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