Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20180107-11   $275.00

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Offered is a superb set of three early American coin silver spoons by noted Philadelphia silversmith Joseph Richardson, Jr. In my view, there is no more elegant expression of American silver flatware of the late 18th Century than that shown by these spoons. The spoons each measure about 5 5/8 inches in length and the three weigh a total of about 50 grams. Each spoon has a clear maker's mark and well-executed period engraved script monogram of 'LW' within an ovoid reserve. Condition is... Click for details

Old Friends  
3376f   $90.00

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Stamped with the cross emblem of J.F. Fradley & Co., along with the word "Sterling" and the number "1815," this solid silver page turner, aka paper cutter, measures a lengthy 12" and weighs 2.5 T. oz.

It has a flat surface, with slightly beveled edges, and rounded ends that taper from 1 1/4" across at the wide end to 1/2" at the narrow end.

Otherwise plain, it has a flourishing, Art Nouveau style, "JA" monogram, suggesting a date circa 1900.

It is in very good condition. There are... Click for details

Old Friends  
3375f   $85.00

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Having a double Philadelphia provenance, this coin silver spoon is marked with James Watts' horse head emblem, and "George M. Bechtel" for the well-known retailer, 1850-60, later in partnership with George Eno.

It is a substantially sized piece at 9" long and weighing just under 1.5 T. oz.

Having a scalloped handle with an engraved surface, it reads as both characteristic for the period and for Philadelphia. The backside is plain save for the marks.

There is a handsome, feathered... Click for details

Old Friends  
3374f   $34.00

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One of Tiffany's favored suppliers before it began to produce its own silver, was New York City's John Polhamus, who was the manufacturer of this 7" long, heavy at 1.6 T. oz., dessert or place spoon.

The pattern is "Ionic," patented in 1860, as marked on the reverse. Other identifiers include "J.P.," "Tiffany & Co.," and "Sterling." Tiffany was early to require a sterling, rather than the then dominant coin, standard.

"Ionic" is double die struck, meaning the design appears on both... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20180107-08   $27.50

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Offered is a good early American coin silver teaspoon by noted Philadelphia silversmith William Seal, born and perhaps trained in Virginia but known to be working alone and in partnership in Philadelphia between 1810 and 1822. He lived until 1853 but the style of his silver does not post-date about 1820. This piece is in good condition overall, with moderate wear and no dents, splits or repairs. It is nicely engraved with a period script monogram and has a legible maker's mark as well as... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20180107-07   $85.00

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Offered is a very good set of three early American coin silver teaspoons by noted Philadelphia silversmith Amable Brasier (b. 1764 - d. 1842), working in that city between about 1795 and 1826. These three teaspoons are in a fin-less fiddle pattern and probably date to between 1800 and 1810. Each piece is expertly engraved 'EW' in period script. Each spoon also bears Brasier's maker's mark - one mark is rubbed but legible, and the other two are clear and well-struck. These spoons each measure... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20180107-01   $95.00

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Offered is a nice pair of late 18th Century American coin silver sugar tongs marked only with a maker's mark of S.B - a mark given in Belden's "American Silversmiths" to Col. Standish Barry of Baltimore, MD. See Belden, page 49, mark d. for Barry. The strength of the attribution to Barry in Belden is based on stylistic similarities to known Belden work, and the relatively small number of potential craftsmen with the right initials working in the right time period. In any event, these sugar... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20180106-17   $125.00

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Offered is a nice pair of 18th Century silver sugar tongs dating by style to the 1760s or early 1770s, bearing only a maker's mark of T.H in a rectangle. This maker's mark is fairly crude and doesn't look like a British mark, but the proportions of this pair of tongs look more British than American to me. So, are these tongs British, and dodge paying duty? Were they perhaps made provincially within the UK proper, far away from an assay office? Could they be from somewhere else in the Empire,... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20180106-16   $65.00

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Offered is an interesting early American coin silver teaspoon or coffee spoon that by style appears to date to the 1750-70 timeframe; the maker's mark ends with an "E" that looks an awful lot like one of Samuel Edwards' marks, but I can't make out the first letter. The outline of the mark is right for Samuel Edwards as well, but the drop on the spoon is different from those I've seen used by Edwards. So, probably a different maker. Does anyone have a theory? This piece is engraved with block... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20180106-13   NOT FOR SALE

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Another mystery piece and mark, at least to me! Perhaps I've overlooked something obvious about this crested silver cream ladle, circa 1810-25, but I am assuming it to be American coin silver, probably from the New England region. However, I've had no luck tracking down a potential maker, despite a good maker's mark with relatively uncommon initials. The maker's mark is a crude "SL", indicating perhaps more provincial or small-town manufacture, though this is not dispositive. This piece... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20180106-10   $95.00

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Offered is a very sought-after table spoon from the heavy and luxurious American coin silver fiddlethread pattern made by celebrated Philadelphia silversmith Thomas Fletcher, circa 1827-42. Fletcher's fiddlethread is probably the height of quality for this pattern in America prior to the Civil War - it is uniformly excellent, and heavy. It virtually always has a well-done period script monogram to the reverse ("SHS" on this piece), making it quite possible to build a full service in this... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20180106-09   $75.00

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Offered is a very sought-after long-handled condiment spoon from the heavy and luxurious American coin silver fiddlethread pattern made by celebrated Philadelphia silversmith Thomas Fletcher, circa 1827-42. Fletcher's fiddlethread is probably the height of quality for this pattern in America prior to the Civil War - it is uniformly excellent, and heavy. It virtually always has a well-done period script monogram to the reverse ("CM" on this piece), making it quite possible to build a full... Click for details

Old Friends  
3372f   $46.00

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A substantially sized piece, measuring 8 3/4" long and weighing 1.4 T. oz., this spoon traces to the mid 19th century.

It is marked "Huntington & LaBoyteaux" for a partnership that existed 1850-56, between William C. Huntington, who first established himself in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1846, and Issac N. LaBoyteaux (Cincinnati Silver, Amy Dehan).

The "exaggerated fiddle handle and pointed shoulders" form is "typical of flatware associated with Cincinnati in the mid-19th century"... Click for details

Old Friends  
3370f   $225.00

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Large items, each measuring 10 1/2" long, the fork of this silver pair weighs approximately 2.5 T. oz., and the spoon 2.9 T. oz.

They are stamped "Porter Blanchard," who was a prominent, 20th century name in California Arts and Crafts silver, and "Sterling," on the backsides of "Pointed (1800)" pattern handles.

Alternatively identified as a large salad set, or buffet or platter items, they present as slender, elongated pieces, with a narrow bowl on the spoon, and two lengthy, splayed... Click for details

Old Friends  
3369f   $42.00

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Measuring 3" closed and 5" long fully opened, this circa 1850 knife has two blades, the larger one for cutting and the smaller one that resembles an awl, for piercing the skin of fruit.

Stamped "Coin" on the larger blade, there is no further identification, save that this belonged to "Emily" as engraved in script on the reserve area on one side of the engine turned surfaces of the handle.

There is a repeating line and star design on the upper edge of one of the blade braces, and a line... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20180102-03   $60.00

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Offered is a good and scarce Southern coin silver teaspoon with the maker's mark or retailer's mark of Charles Frederick Greenwood, living in Edenton, North Carolina in 1846 and then opening a small silversmith and jeweler's shop in Norfolk, VA in 1847. This spoon bears the earlier of his two marks, and he seems to have adopted sterling fairly early, so it would most likely date to the 1847-65 period, probably on the earlier end. This spoon is engraved with a period script monogram of 'FP' and... Click for details