Catalog

Having rounded, double scroll shoulders, with a triple leaf drop and a different single leaf also flanked by scrolls set mid handle, "Pacific" issued in 1870 by San Francisco's Schulz & Fisher was very much a period design. It is highly reminiscent, for example, of Knowles & Ladd "Crete" and Gorham's "Pompeii," both contemporaneous with "Pacific."

This example is an 8 7/8" long, 1.9 T. oz., pie server marked "coin" for the silver content.

It has a generously proportioned, 4 1/2" by 2 7/8" ...

This 7 7/8" long and weighty at 2.3 T. oz., small berry or jelly serving spoon is an original example of Reed & Barton's "Les Six Fleurs," a pattern issued in 1901.

It is marked with the company's "eagle, R in a shield, lion" emblem, "Pat. Appl'd For," and "Sterling" on the reverse, all in precise, fine lettering as would be expected of an original piece.

In addition, it is engraved on the backside in an Old English letter "C" monogram.

An extravagant design, the multi-floral portraitur...

Each of these six matching 5 5/8" long, 4.0 T. oz. the group, teaspoons is marked with a first standard Minerva head for 950 silver (vs. sterling at 925) with a requisite bigorne counterstamp on the corresponding opposite side of the handle, along with a maker's "LL with a cross between the letters and stars above and below" emblem.

Finely made, showing a level of elegance and refinement that are peculiarly French, the pattern is a "Thread" aka "French Thread" aka "Fiddle Thread."

The hand...

Designed for a very specific purpose, claret ladles are necessarily lengthy, and this solid silver example is especially so at 13 1/4". It weighs a substantial 2.4 T. oz.

Made by Gorham, it is stamped with the company's "lion, anchor, G" emblem, "Sterling," and model number "912."

While the handle is rendered in Gorham's beaded-with-tipt-end Newcastle pattern, the fact that it is numbered indicates it was a specialty piece independent of the flatware line per se.

The central sec...

Stamped "Sterling" and with the "H&S" emblem of Hotchkiss & Schreuder, Syracuse NY, and retailed by "Austin & Prescott," Batavia NY, this piece measures 8 3/4" long and weighs 1.7 T. oz.

The pattern is Longfellow, which clearly follows after the Moorish and Egyptian Revival trends popular in its 1870s period.

It features a repeating series of palm fronds, palmettes, rosettes and ivy leaves along a shaped handle with a pyramid end.

There is a central reserve area on the handle fro...

One of the last American companies to produce fully hand worked silver, "Old Newbury Crafters" items show the skill of the individual maker in every piece.

That is the case with this 8 1/2" long, 2.6 T. oz., solid silver, serving serving spoon in the company's 1939 Oak Leaf pattern.

Modernist/Deco in style, the handle has straight, tapered edges, with a tip that is surmounted by a representational oak leaf flanked by what are presumably two acorns.

The front of the ...

Made by Reed & Barton, whose "eagle R lion" mark is imprinted on the underside, along with "Sterling," and model number "N 583," this box measures 3 1/2" in diameter and stands 2" high.

It is fitted with an original, removable, cardboard liner that has a cloth base and purple "velvet" interior. The silver apart from this weighs 4.0 T. oz.

The bottom is flat and the walls are entirely smooth and straight sided, while the top is faintly domed and is acid etched in an intricate floral and ...

Often attributed to prominent 19th century silversmith James Watts, the particular "animal head over shield with star" mark found on this lengthy, 9 1/2", 2.4 T. oz., coin silver pie server belongs to James Butler. Both men worked in Philadelphia in the mid 19th century.

Catherine Hollan in her encyclopedic Philadelphia Silversmiths notes Butler was a partner with Watts for "only one year 1867, then successfully continued independently manufacturing silverware with engraved patterns th...

An expressive, highly detailed and high relief, design with a sculptural quality, Durgin's rarely found 1888 Heraldic incorporates imagery befitting its appellation.

The iconography includes a pair of upraised (presumably eagle) wings that appear to rise out of a crown, which itself sits over a lion rampant on a shield. Lastly, there is a rearing steed projecting out of a castle turret set below the above images.

This example is a 6 7/8" lon...

Generously scaled at 9 1/2" long, and weighing 2.44 T. oz., this serving spoon has a particularly large, 4" long by 2 5/8" at the widest, bowl.

It could have been intended for berries, but the size suggests another use such as vegetables, or in Southern usage, rice.

The handle is a Pointed Antique shape and is convex.

It is extensively bright cut engraved on the obverse in a pronounced Aesthetic design that incorporates naturalistic elements such as leaves, florals and ...

This lengthy at 11 1/2", 3.4 T. oz., piece is variously identified as a basting, stuffing or platter spoon.

English in origin, it is hallmarked for London, 1805-06, sterling silver, and "TW" for maker Thomas Wallis.

The slender handle is "Old English" style, with a rounded end and tipt backside. There is thumb drop on the bowl reverse.

Never originally monogrammed or inscribed, this was apparently re-presented as a 25th commemorative gift, given the script "1928/L/1953" engraved on the ...

This lengthy, 9 1/8", and weighty, 3.2 T. oz., berry scoop or shovel has origins in Boston, marked for "Bailey. Kettell & Chapman," 1854-58. It is also stamped "Pure-Coin," which is a characteristic New England term.

The handle is a die struck "Bead" pattern that appears on both the front and back sides. There is a cursive "EWL" monogram inscribed on the reverse.

The generously proportioned, 3 1/2" by 2 3/8", scoop is engraved with a highly detailed and finely rendered motif that portrays ...

Tracing to the mid 19th century, this pair of coin silver tongs are early production items made by Cincinnati's premier firm "Duhme & Co.," as indicated by the stamp on the inside of each arm.

Possibly for use with a (pickle) caster, they are large at 6 5/8" long, and heavy at 1.7 T. oz., and combine a variety of period design elements.

The arms have a twisted central section joined to a solid squared block where they meet the substantially-scaled talon grips.

The upper portions are br...

Replete with imagery, Florentine is one of the most fulsome designs Gorham produced in the early 20th century.

It features a bearded figure at the handle end, a pedestal urn laden with fruit midway up the handle, and an array of other fruit and acanthus leaf detail overall.

This example is a 9" long, very heavy at 4.3 T. oz., serving spoon (berry, vegetable, or salad).

The bowl is large, 3 5/8" long by 2 7/8" at the widest, has decorated flange shoulders, and retains traces of...

This 7" long, weighty at 2.0 T. oz., piece is original example of Gorham's lavish Versailles pattern flatware, marked on the backside with the company's "lion, anchor, G" emblem, "Sterling," and "Copyrighted."

The multi-motif, rococo, design on the handle is figural and inspired by imagery found at the French palace for which the line is named.

The primary portraiture in this instance is a seated female, perhaps Ceres given that her lapped is draped in a sheaf of wheat.

The reser...

Gipsy was one of George Shiebler's first, original, full line patterns (vs. many of his other of early patterns which he brought over from other sources).

It is a Moorish design consistent with many other patterns of the period, Tiffany and Whiting's Persian, Gorham's Raphael and Hindostanee and Wendt's Moresque being instances of the more prominent corresponding designs.

Gipsy incorporates a leafy, repetitive, motif on the front of a rounded end h...

Lengthy at 10 1/4" and weighing 2.6 T. oz., this all silver server is likely a fish slice although some sources identify it as an ice cream server.

Ice cream servers tend to be more bulbous or stubby than fish slices, while conversely the later is more slender and generally has a more pointed tip and flatter surface than the former, and this goes in that direction. For contemporary usage, it could be used for a multitude of purposes.

Made by Gorham, whose "lion, anchor, G" emblem and the wo...

This large, 9 1/8" long, just over 3.0 T. oz. (95 grams), berry scoop or shovel (sometimes identified as a cracker scoop) is a mid 19th century item with Philadelphia provenance. It is marked "J.E. Caldwell & Co." for the renowned manufacturer turned jeweler from that city.

Other marks include "coin" for the silver standard, and very small cartouche with the letters "ET," for which there is not an immediate explanation.

The form is very much of its period and place. The handle has a twi...