Old Friends  
3625f   $135.00

click for details

Measuring 9 1/2" overall, this fish server has a filled coin silver handle joined to a solid coin silver, four tine fork. It weighs 3.8 T. oz., which includes the inner content of the handle.

The pattern is a "French Thread" aka "Thread."

The shank, which is stamped in two places "W.G & S" for William Gale & Son, New York City, 1850-66 various years, is four sided and attaches to an open heel area with pointed shoulders.

All surfaces of the serving end are extensively and attractively... Click for details

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2352   $55.00

click for details

Baltimore circa 1850. Length 9 1/8 inches, weight 1.71 Troy ounces, attractive floral engraving, monogrammed "Clintonia."

We've checked the big bad auction site, and can't find anything similar there for under one hundred mighty dollars, so if you're a reseller, there's a good chance that you'll be able to make enough on this to buy a minor league sports team, or at the very least a small yacht.

Old Friends  
3624f   On Hold

click for details

An early example of "Fairfax" made by Durgin, and not the successor Gorham Company, this tomato server measures 8 1/4" long and weighs 2.2 T. oz.

All silver, it has a reticulated, round blade with cupped shoulders and a scalloped edge.

The handle is engraved "R" in Old English lettering.

In choice estate condition, the only signs of use are faint surface scratches consistent with gentle use. The blade is free of bends, burrs, or mars in the piercing. The finish is bright and richly... Click for details

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2351   $95.00

click for details

length 4 3/4 inches, weight .68 oz. Troy, excellent original condition, monogrammed as shown, retailed by Boston's own Shreve Crump & Low.

You'd be hard pressed to find better examples than these.

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2350   $325.00

click for details

length 9 1/8 inches, weight 4.75 Troy ounces, no monogram, excellent condition.

In all probability, this item is not terribly old. Towle remanufactured many pieces of this pattern in the mid 1980's, in an attempt to recapture some of their former glory. So though it's entirely legit, we can't represent this as antique. However, as with Gorham's later (also 1980's) production of historic patterns, the utmost care has been taken and no apologies need be made for the quality of this... Click for details

Old Friends  
3623f   $145.00

click for details

Drawing upon Moorish, i.e. Islamic, design sensibilities, Whiting's 1880 "Alhambra" is a non-figural, repetitive pattern akin to the company's "Arabesque" of the same period.

This example is a 9 1/2" long, 2.1 T. oz., ice cream server.

The blade has a curved and upswept lower edge that leads to a pointed tip. The upper edge is raised and has a scalloped flange edge, which repeats on the lower shoulder.

The surface is engraved with a rosette motif with acanthus leaves leading from this.... Click for details

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2349   Sold

click for details

with squared chamfered shoulders and oval drop, length 8 1/2 inches, weight 1.93 Troy ounces, some light and faded scratches in bowl but fine overall condition, monogrammed as shown, fully marked.

Old Friends  
3622f   $75.00

click for details

New York City manufacturer Wood & Hughes responded to the pronounced interest in and popularity of "Medallion" pattern silver by producing several different series.

The example on this 7 1/8" long, relatively weighty at 1.6 T. oz., place fork is commonly referred to as "Diana" for the classical, female goddess portrayed without variation on all the pieces.

It dates from 1863 and was made to a coin silver standard, as indicated by the "WwH" stamped on the reverse with no additional marks.... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20180916-03   $47.50

click for details

Offered is a lovely pair of American coin silver tablespoons by noted New York maker Albert Coles, in a pattern that may have been proprietary to his firm. I've seen teaspoons in this pattern over the years, and occasionally another form, but these are the first tablespoons. Each bears a maker's mark of A.COLES for Albert Coles (which indicates he both made and probably retailed these, as otherwise he would have had his manufacturing marks on these), and each also has an engraved period script... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20180916-02   $67.50

click for details

Offered is a quite uncommon example of Russian Empire silver made in the Ukraine in the 19th Century and specifically in Odessa, on the Black Sea. These tablespoons are hallmarked by the Assay Master for 1893, and this matches the engraving of an aristocrat's initials and coronet, and the date of 3-16-1893. The hallmarks are accompanied by a maker's marks, but I haven't found anything about the maker. These tablespoons each measure about 8 1/4 inches in length, and the pair weighs about 100... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20180916-01   Sold

click for details

Offered is a lovely American coin silver creamer (formerly a christening cup, but with a spout expertly added in the 19th Century) by Grosjean & Woodward of New York for Tiffany & Company, goldsmiths and silversmiths, at 550 Broadway. The original owner, Mary Myers Howard (1859-1937) was part of a prominent family that originated in North Carolina but eventually settled around Hagerstown, Maryland. Mary herself was born in Florida, before the family moved North. This piece was probably given... Click for details

Old Friends  
3621f   On Hold

click for details

Measuring 7 1/2" long and weighing a substantial 2.4 T. oz., this serving spoon has a deep (1/2"), shell shaped bowl with a second shell on the backside heel.

It is marked "C. Bard & Son" and dates c. 1850.

Katherine Hollan in Philadelphia Silver indicates that Bard may have trained under Thomas Fletcher and that C. Bard & Co. "were awarded a first premium for a tea service in the Franklin Institute Exhibition in 1849," and that the firm's work is represented in the Philadelphia... Click for details

Old Friends  
3620f   $95.00

click for details

Each measuring 4 9/16" long, with the set weighing 2.4, these six, matching, coffee spoons trace to the mid 19th century.

They are stamped "T[heodore] Evans & Co.," for the New York City and Newark, New Jersey firm with dates 1855-65.

The pattern on these is a "French Thread" aka "Fiddle Thread" aka "Plain Thread" and they are monogrammed "Hofman." in script lettering set sideways on the handles.

In excellent condition, they retain well-shaped, pointed bowls that are free of tip wear,... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20180914-01   $35.00

click for details

Offered is a rare example of American coin silver made in Elyria, Ohio (a town somewhat west of Cleveland, near Lake Erie) - by the partnership of Seymour W. Baldwin and Orrin Cowles, working in partnership in Elyria between 1834 and 1839. This pair of sugar tongs measures about 6 3/8 inches in length and weighs about 35 grams. The maker's mark of BALDWIN&COWLES in a rectangular punch is rubbed but quite legible. To see the maker's mark, click on the picture and scroll through the picture... Click for details

Old Friends  
3618f   On Hold

click for details

Slightly larger than a teaspoon at 6 1/8" long, with a generously proportioned bowl, and heavy at nearly 1.7 T. oz., this piece is a youth spoon.

The pattern is Tiffany's elaborate "Olympian" which portrays a variety of mythological scenes. The image on this is "Diana and her nymphs," as identified by William Hood in Tiffany Silver Flatware.

In excellent overall condition, retaining clear detail free of polishing wear, this has the added embellishment of a gold washed bowl, front... Click for details

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2348   $150.00

click for details

length 6 inches, total Troy weight 9.1 ounces, marked and monogrammed as shown in enlargements, excellent condition. We also have dinner forks available, length 7 7/8 inches, weight 1.75 oz each.

To give these some historical perspective, consider that the high relief, elaborately detailed patterns such as New Art and Chrysanthemum didn't spring into existence out of nowhere. Early (1860's) die-struck designs such as this were the middle step between simple, swaged decoration and the... Click for details