Sheffield Plate - Birmingham
Sheffield Plate - Birmingham
I just purchased a teapot with the words "SHEFFIELD PLATE" on a disk under the lid which holds the wing nut that holds the bone knob on. Underneath the pot in a straight line are the letters G S L in various shields, the Birmingham anchor in a clipped corner rectangle and the letters EP oriented vertically in an oval. All letters are serif. Beneath this nine are the numbers 3251 and beneath that is the number 5.
The decoration on the teapot appears to be hand chased.
Has anyone seen anything that sounds similar? Any ideas who made this? When?
Mike
The decoration on the teapot appears to be hand chased.
Has anyone seen anything that sounds similar? Any ideas who made this? When?
Mike
Additional information on the above. Based on Henry Veitch's "Sheffield Plate, Its History, Manufacture and Art" as found in Google Books, the style of the teapot appears to be ca. 1780. The screw mentioned in the previous post was hand made as was the wing nut.
In the same book, an Edward Palmer was listed in Birmingham from 1787-1793. Is this a possible match for the EP in an oval?
Mike
In the same book, an Edward Palmer was listed in Birmingham from 1787-1793. Is this a possible match for the EP in an oval?
Mike
Tom,
While I would tend to agree with you (that was my first interpretation) but the large amount of hand work on the piece has me confused. The chasing definitely has the appearance of having been hand done. The screw and wing nut are definitely hand done - the threads of the screw are irregular, with file marks, the wing nut is filed. The SHEFFIELD PLATE disk used as a washer is obviously late 19th, or early 20th century, but under it the lid shows the marks of where the wing nut was in contact with the lid in the past.
Was this a common forgery technique in the early 20th century?
Mike
While I would tend to agree with you (that was my first interpretation) but the large amount of hand work on the piece has me confused. The chasing definitely has the appearance of having been hand done. The screw and wing nut are definitely hand done - the threads of the screw are irregular, with file marks, the wing nut is filed. The SHEFFIELD PLATE disk used as a washer is obviously late 19th, or early 20th century, but under it the lid shows the marks of where the wing nut was in contact with the lid in the past.
Was this a common forgery technique in the early 20th century?
Mike
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I'm not 100% sure, but that might be a silverplate mark used by George Shadford Lee of Lee & Wigfull, Sheffield, England.
Notice the similarity of the shield marks in the first Lee & Wigfull mark.
Pat.
Notice the similarity of the shield marks in the first Lee & Wigfull mark.
Pat.
Last edited by 2209patrick on Mon May 19, 2008 10:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.