Partial signature? SH? London 1812?

[Lou123]

It looks like this signature had something else after it. It doesn't look exactly like the SH signatures in the list. The letters look too fat for Solomon Hougham. Is something missing? Thank you.


Maybe I'm wrong about the city and date? I don't get much British silver. Thank you.
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[buckler]

looks like London 1812/13 to me . Lion Passant is Guardant, which is fine and the SH mark looks like one of the series registered by Solomon Hougham in 1793 and 1812 (see Grimwade 2536) .

In addition marks, especially on spoons did get slightly distorted.

Also it please remember the human element .
You are a busy director of a big silvermaking concern. Every week or even every day one or more of your apprentices or journeymen go down to the assay office with a parcel of silver. The assay office staff know them well. You have a number of punches registered, all of similar design. You need a new punch as an old one is getting worn, lost, broken or another department has been created. So you get one made for you. But to register it means you personally going to Goldsmiths Hall as they need YOUR signature to the Register. An employee cannot do this for you. Can you spare the time, or do you just fail to register it ? It means a journey in pre taxi London when you could be running your business, or visiting your mistress. The assay office will not notice another different punch, or care much - they know your guys. I am personally sure that a substantial number of the punches created by existing silversmiths as replacements or increases never got registered for this reason.
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