Old Friends  
4058f   $105.00

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Lengthy at 9 5/8" and weighty at 2.9 T. oz., this serving spoon has a large, 4" long by 2 1/2" at the widest by 5/8" deep, bowl with flanged shoulders, a central rib in the base, and a gold washed surface that is bright cut and wriggle work engraved in a blackberry and leaves design.

Dating circa 1880, it is stamped "J.S. MacDonald" for the late 19th century Baltimore firm, and with the word "Sterling."

The "Old English Reverse Tipt" handle features an engraved "Lily" pattern that shows... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20191123-02   $120.00

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Offered is an excellent example of late 18th Century American silver sugar tongs, in this case by noted Albany, New York silversmith Isaac Hutton. See my other listings for a 1780s example by Hutton in partnership with John Folsom. The tongs in this listing were made by Hutton probably during the period between 1790 and 1796 when he working alone in Albany. These tongs have great wrigglework decoration and an engraved period block letter set of owner's initials. One really unusual feature... Click for details

Old Friends  
4039f   $22.00

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Measuring 4" long and weighing 7 grams (just over .2 T. oz.), this master salt spoon features a pronounced "Fiddlet Tipt" handle, with high, pointed, shoulders off the shovel form bowl.

It is marked "J.T & E.M.E. Chicago," whom John McGrew in his Manufacturing Marks on American Coin Silver identifies as J.T. and E.M. Edwards, working 1852-64.

There is a finely engraved, script letter, "HPC" set sideways on the handle.

Essentially without wear, it remains well-shaped, free of... Click for details

Old Friends  
4029f   $38.00

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There were several silversmiths or jewelers who worked in New York city in the 1830s to 1850s named "Gelston," as stamped on this pair of teaspoons, with confusion remaining about their respective marks.

Even Louis Belden's scholarly work, Marks on American Silversmiths, reflects this uncertainty, assigning this single surname to one of three possibilities, George S. or Henry Gelston, or Gelston & Co.

Attribution for this pair is more complicated by an additional "bust, eagle, leaf"... Click for details

Old Friends  
4028f   $65.00

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Relatively lengthy at 6", with slender, "Fiddle Tipt" handles in a style that is particular to Baltimore where they were made, this group of four, matching, teaspoons weigh 2.3 T. oz.

Each one is stamped "S. Kirk & Son" along with the standard mark "10.15," which is roughly equivalent to coin silver. This specific combination of marks was used 1846-61.

Each piece has a feathered script "EVE" monogram engraved on the front and an exposed thumb drop on the bowl reverse.

In exceptionally... Click for details

Gebelein  
5448   $70.00

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Fiddle, downturned handles, rounded fins, tipt. Length 8-3/4", weight 1.325 troy ounces each. The book NY State Silversmiths says he worked in Oswego NY in 1845,Danville NY in 1847,Painesville OH in 1850, and Milwaukee WI in 1858. The monogram is a script M.P. Allis (which might help identify Matson's location when he made the spoons). Overall and mark condition are excellent.

Old Friends  
4016f   $32.00

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A prominent name in New York City silver manufacturing for approximately four decades, William Gale, working alone and in several partnerships, produced some of that city's most impressive flat and hollow ware of its time.

This 8 1/2" long, 1.3 T. oz., place or table spoon, is an early example of his work and while showing the quality of craft for which Gale was known, is beguilingly simple compared to his later work.

The arced, "Reverse Tipt" handle is inscribed with a script "AJ"... Click for details

Old Friends  
4010f   $95.00

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Generally attributed to Michael Gibney, the patent for this 1862 eponymously named pattern was apparently issued to Francis H. Gibney. In either case, it has long been identified as a Whiting design.

This matched 6 5/16" long, .9 T. oz., youth knife and 6" long, .8 T. oz., spoon are coin silver and may predate the Whiting association (later production was made to a sterling standard).

Each piece is stamped "W. Kendrick" for the Louisville, Kentucky, jeweler, with the spoon additionally... Click for details

Old Friends  
3996f   $240.00

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Born in 1790 in Middletown, Connecticut where he apprenticed and then established himself as a working silversmith, George Kippen relocated to Bridgeport, Connecticut circa 1815, in which city he entered into several partnerships (as well as with George Hoyt in Albany, New York), dying there in 1847.

These six, 5 5/8" long, 2.9 T. oz. the group, "Sheaf of Wheat" pattern spoons all bear his individual mark, "G. Kippen."

This design is rarely found in such exquisite condition, absent... Click for details

Old Friends  
3991f   This item is currently being auctioned

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An early design in the production history of Wood & Hughes, the "Leaf," often identified as a "Shell," pattern on this 9 3/8" long, 3.1 T. oz., fork dates to the mid 19th century.

A coin silver fish server, this has four, broad, tines, the outer two of which are splayed, with all surfaces including the pierced heel, densely engraved in a floral, leaf, and scroll motif.

The pattern is double die struck, meaning it appears on both the front and back sides of the handle.

The handle front... Click for details

Old Friends  
3989f   $26.00

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The Albany, New York partnership of Hall, Hewson & Brower has narrow dates spanning the few years either side of 1850, although the firm and the main principal, Walter S. Brower, have a history that encompassed most of the 19th century.

This 7 1/8" long, relatively weighty at 1.2 T. oz., coin silver place or dessert spoon is imprinted on the reverse with the firm's "HH&B" in a diamond along with an eagle mark.

A "Tipt" aka "Fiddle Tipt" design, it has an exposed drop on the bowl backside... Click for details

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2409   $80.00

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Whitingham circa 1800, length 5 5/8 inches, total Troy weight .79 oz., very good condition, period script mono (obverse) and a slightly later one (reverse), marked as shown in third enlargement.

Notable as birthplace of Brigham Young, the town was a mere thirty years old when these spoons were made. We marvel a bit that such a small, rural spot could support its own silversmith, and can't help but suspect that he dabbled in other trades.

Old Friends  
3983f   $52.00

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One of two 9" long, just over 2.0 T. oz., table or serving spoons that are identical in every way, save one is marked for Horace Hinsdale, and one for the partnership of Taylor & Hinsdale, this has a "Shell" end handle and a second shell on the reverse heel of the bowl, as well as a large, feathered script "LC" monogram set sideways on the handle front.

Dating from the first third of the 19th century, the piece stamped "Hinsdale" also has a "bust, lion, G" pseudo-hallmark, while the "T&H" one... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20190825-01   $120.00

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Offered is a lovely and very early European or colonial (e.g., Dutch New York) silver dognose tablespoon circa 1700-20, or perhaps a few years earlier or later. This piece measures about 7 7/8 inches in length and weighs about 30 grams. It is prick-engraved with a period set of owner's initials, and is marked with a poorly struck or rubbed mark on the handle near the bowl. Please scroll through the pics. There appears to be only the single mark, pointing to a potential colonial origin,... Click for details

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2400   $375.00

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preserve spoon with gilt shell bowl, length 9 1/8 inches, excellent original condition, weight 2.01 Troy ounces, retailed by Larmour & Co. of Baltimore.

Though admittedly my memory is not what it used to be, I can't recall ever having owned an item in this pattern. It is a wonderful naturalistic form which Krider executed with the highest quality. We believe that the original cat tail and butterfly model was executed in clay, cut to create the flat side, then folded over (see arrow in... Click for details

Old Friends  
3926f   This item is currently being auctioned

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This 6" long, 1.3 T. oz., pair of coin silver tongs trace to Baltimore with an approximate 1830 date.

This information can be inferred from the marks, which are singular to Baltimore, and appear in an unusual combination on this particular item.

They include two "10.15" (coin) silver designations, one in italics, and the "head of liberty," used in conjunction with Baltimore assay marks beginning in 1815.

An essay in Maryland Silver published by the Baltimore Museum of Art... Click for details