Catalog

Note: while the above image shows six of these forks, this listing is actually for eight identical, all original, pieces.

Made by Frank Whiting, this set of forks is marked with the company's "W in a circle" emblem, "Sterling," and the number "2" on the backsides.

Measuring 5 3/4" long each and weighing 4.0 T. oz. the group, they are oyster, shrimp, or seafood cocktail forks.

Each piece has three tines, one of which is hooked, all joined to cupped heels with subtly notched should...

Along with several other artisans, Horace Potter was a founder of the "Cleveland School of Arts and Crafts" in 1898.

There is ample biographical material about him available online, including the site "chicagosilver," which notes that he graduated from the "Cleveland School of Art" in 1898 and maintained strong ties with Boston where he studied further and worked briefly.

The "New York Metropolitan Museum of Arts" holds a silver casket made by him circa 1907 which reflects the influence Ch...

This original set of six 5 o'clock length, viz. 5 7/16" each, 3.9 T. oz. the group, teaspoons are early production examples of Whiting's Art Nouveau Lily pattern.

They are all marked with the company's "standing lion" emblem, "Sterling," "Pat. 1902," "R'd 1902," and with an Old English "O."

Further corroboration of their age is that they are sequentially dated in script lettering on the handle backsides, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908 and 1909 respectively. They are not ...

These six, matched, coin silver, spoons are marked "Gorham & Webster," for a partnership that traces to 1831-37.

This period demarcated a turning point in the history of Gorham, defining the pivotal time when the company began its ascendency as a premier silver manufacturing firm.

It bears citing Charles Carpenter's passage in Gorham Silver 1831-1981 about this partnership:

Whether or not Jabez Gorham learned spoon making during his apprenticeship is unknown, but when he deci...

Slightly smaller than full sized teaspoons, "5 o'clocks" were used for late afternoon tea.

This group, a hard to find matching set of twelve in Whiting's Art Nouveau Violet, measure a typical 5 3/8" long each and weigh a relatively light 5.8 T. oz. the lot.

Introduced in 1905, these are early issue items marked "Pat. App. For." Other marks include Whiting's "lion and W" logo, "Sterling," and the name of the retailer, "I. Lewkowitz," located in New York City's lower East Side.

An ...

The Encyclopedia of American Silver Manufacturers by Dorothy Rainwater indicates that "The Kalo Shop" was founded in 1900 by Clara Barck Welles and "went on to become the largest and most influential producer of handwrought silverware and jewelry in the midwest."

Rainwater further notes that "Mrs. Welles retired in 1940." Given that this 10 1/8" long, 3.6 T. oz., serving spoon is engraved on the backside, "AS HCM" over "Feb. 14, 1939," it traces to the founder's working years, which le...

Large scale, this all silver item measures 7 3/4" long and weighs 3.0 T. oz.

Ice tongs (which could readily be used for salad), they have a 1 1/2" diameter embossed bowl with scalloped edges at the end of one arm, and a cut leaf shaped grip on the other.

The arch is wide, 1" across, and reinforced for strength, and without a monogram or inscription.

The pattern is "Dresden," dating from the late 19th century. It incorporates an array of raised, finely rendered, perhaps forget-me-not or ...

While marked "Pat. Appld. For," along with maker's name "J[ohn]. Cook," New York City, later examples of this unnamed pattern indicate the patent was actually issued in 1869, dating this some time before that.

The piece is a large, 9 7/8" long, 2.4 T. oz., die struck, coin silver server, likely for ice cream.

The "rosette and bellflower" pattern is similar to A. & W. Wood's Clematis and less closely so to an unnamed one by Michael Gibney, both contemporaneous in time and place with ...

Well-regarded in its late 19th/early 20th century period, the Newark, New Jersey firm of William B. Kerr was particularly well-known for its Art Nouveau jewelry as well as children's items, of which this 6 1/4" diameter, 4.2 T. oz., solid sterling silver plate is an example.

It has a rolled edge with a 1 1/4" wide rim that is acid etched with the words Old Mother Hubbard interspersed with a variety of figures evoked by this nursery rhyme.

These include an endearing portraiture of Mo...

A spectacular example of pattern and form preserved in impeccable condition, this solid silver cake saw measures 10 3/4" long and weighs 2.8 T. oz.

Made by Wood & Hughes, the pattern is Viola, issued in 1875. The design incorporates an arch, palmettos, anthemia, and scrolling, drawing together Greek, Egyptian, and Gothic Revival elements in a successful amalgamation of period motifs.

The handle front incorporates an elegant, engraved, Victorian style, "OR" or "RO" monogram.

The f...

This 7" long, very heavy at 2.28 T. oz., fork is notable for several reasons.

Evolving from the immediately preceding 17th century English Trefid style with a three-lobed handle tip, this is a turn of the 18th century Dognose piece with a single, extended, slightly upturned, knobbed end.

Scarce items, Dognose forks are all the more so relative to spoons.

This has an interesting, and telling to anyone versed in such things, crest on the handle backside that portrays ...

This substantially sized, 10" long, weighty at 2.8 T. oz., piece has a double Philadelphia provenance in that it is marked "lion, K, crown" for maker Peter L. Krider, along with the name of retailer "Robbins, Clark, & Biddle." It is also stamped "Sterling."

These four, Krider, Robbins, Clark and Biddle, were all well-known and well-regarded names associated with the manufacturing and marketing of silver, and they had intertwining histories. This particular configuration suggests an 1875-78 da...

A commanding piece in a dramatic pattern, this ice cream server, aka ice cream knife, measures 9 3/4" long and weighs a substantial 4.1 T. oz.

Made by Whiting, the pattern is Heraldic, issued in 1880.

Appropriate to the name, the imagery features a medieval helmet prominently set at the top of the handle. The remainder of the design incorporates a dense array of high relief, scrolling acanthus leaves.

There is a flowing script "EAW" monogram engraved in the shield reserve on the ...

Standing 2" tall, with a top span of 4 3/8" and a base diameter of 3", this solid silver child's (porridge) bowl weighs 3.83 T. oz.

It has a slightly splayed body with a relatively thick rolled top rim, and a set back foot.

It is marked with the "sword & M" symbol of the Matthews Co., later Hickok-Mathews, "Sterling," and the model number "132."

Dating from early in the 20th century, it has acid etched walls that portray five different Kewpie babies along with shrubs and a...

Harry Osaki, Pasadena, California, emerged after World War II quickly to become a highly regarded metalsmith and designer who produced both jewelry and flat and hollow ware.

A modernist, his work was hand fashioned, following after the Arts & Crafts movement that arose earlier in the 20th century.

This example of his work is an 8 1/2" long, 2.73 T. oz., solid silver, salad of other serving fork.

It has a plain, tapered, handle with sharply angled corners and a straight across end...

A pattern entered into the 1892 costing books of the Gorham Company, Fifteenth Century was offered in a limited number of pieces, including this 8 1/2" long, weighty at 3.0 T. oz., (berry) serving spoon.

Singular in design, it appears to take its inspiration from early Scandinavian motifs.

The handle has a broad, rounded end with an engraved (leaf) surface. The mid and lower portions of the shank are block form and include a sharp-edged central ridge.

The bowl is large and round,...

This pair of grape shears (identified as scissors in period catalogues) is a far more consequential item than most of its kindred examples.

Model number "1772" made by Whiting, and so identified on the collar of one handle, along with a "925/1000" sterling designation, they measure 6 5/8" long and weigh a substantial 4.63 T. oz.

The handles are cast and solid silver and constitute the bulk of the weight, with the plated steel cutting end the remaining portion of the total.

One of the bl...

While this matched pair of large pieces, namely a 9" long, 2.73 T. oz. fork, and a 9 1/8" long, 2.67 T. oz., spoon, form a salad serving set, they could easily be adapted individually for any number of purposes.

The spoon for example would work as a casserole, rice, or fruit server, and the fork would work as a vegetable or entree server.

Made by Reed & Barton, whose "eagle, R, bird" emblem, "Sterling," and "Pat. Jan 6 1893" are stamped on the handle backs in fine lettering (see enlargemen...