William Ward ?

[robert12]

Hi,

I have these plain tongs assayed in Dublin. I need a bit of advice please.

Maker WW, for William Ward, I have seen 4 listed with Dublin WW marks, are there 2 william Wards or is this for the same person?

The makermark on these tongs does not match any of the 4 marks on www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk site.

I have not got access to any other reference for marks.

Are these a Dublin maker or a Limerick one ?

Links;

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/67756755/LIM1.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/67756755/LIM2.JPG

With thanks,

Robert12

[dognose]

Hi Robert,

To my knowledge they are two seperate silversmiths. William Ward who trained under Christopher Skinner and worked in Dublin for the period c.1774 (Freeman) probably until his death in 1822, registered with the Dublin Company in 1784. The Limerick William Ward registered with the Dublin Company in 1798 and died in 1832.

Your mark appears to be that of the Limerick William Ward, as it has no pellets between the W's.

Trev.

[robert12]

Hi Robert,

To my knowledge they are two seperate silversmiths. William Ward who trained under Christopher Skinner and worked in Dublin for the period c.1774 (Freeman) probably until his death in 1822, registered with the Dublin Company in 1784. The Limerick William Ward registered with the Dublin Company in 1798 and died in 1832.

Your mark appears to be that of the Limerick William Ward, as it has no pellets between the W's.

Trev.

Hi Trev,
thanks for the info, was hoping maybe the Limerick William Ward maker mark.
can you recommend any reference sites for Irish silver marks ?
Any books available are extremely pricey.

Thanks Robert

[dognose]

Hi Robert,

Two very useful books that can often be found online at reasonable prices and are well worth investing in are:

'A Celebration of Limerick's Silver' Edited by John R. Bowen & Conor O'Brien. And 'Cork Silver and Gold - Four Centuries of Craftmanship' also by John R. Bowen & Conor O'Brien. They are both large catalogues from exhibitions and contain a lot of interesting information.

Trev.

[robert12]

Hi Trev,
thanks for the info on the reference books, I will try to get hold of them.

Cheers Robert