Catalog: Silver

A 5 7/8" long, .8 T. oz., item, this teaspoon is engraved "March 18, 1898" on the handle reverse and with a delicate, fancy, feathered script "WMC" monogram on the front.

The pattern is Watson's "Cherub," which takes its name from the winged (upward tilting) figure that appears at the tip of the extensively embellished handle. Employing acanthus leaf detailing, and with an irregularly shaped margin, the design embodies a rococo sensibility.

The piece is in excellent condition...

This 7 1/2" long, weighty at 2.1 T. oz., ladle is unusual in that the 2 1/4" round bowl has a flat bottom with nearly straight sidewalls, rather than the typical curved or inverted dome interior.

It is marked "J.E. Caldwell" for Philadelphia's carriage trade firm, along with the word "Sterling."

The pattern is a "Kings," "English Kings," in a form that was standard to Caldwell. It conforms to all the conventions of this British inspired design...

One of two floral patterns produced by Reed & Barton that became standard bearers for the company as well as early 20th century, Art Nouveau silver design in general, "Les Cinq Fleurs" is exuberantly expressive. The companion pattern is "Les Six Fleurs."

This piece is very large scale at 12" long overall, and for that reason showcases the intricacies of the design to their fullest...

The Howard Sterling Company of Providence, Rhode Island is to be distinguished from Howard & Company of New York, both operating in the late 19th to early 20th centuries.

Many of Howard's lines are identified with successor firms Roger Williams Silver and ultimately Mount Vernon, and that is the case with "Josephine," the pattern on this 10 3/8" long, 3.2 T. oz., platter, stuffing, or basting spoon...

Produced by the "Columbian Souvenir Manufacturing Company," as indicated by the "CS" emblem imprinted on backside, this spoon measures 5 11/16" long and weighs just under .7 T. oz. Other marks include "Sterling" and "Pat. 1893."

A literally monumental event, this exposition generated a seemingly endless array of souvenir items such as this piece. It features the two significant figures associated with this event, namely the Spanish queen "Isabella," and "Columbus" himself...

A numbered design, specifically "610," rather than a standard line pattern, this 7 1/4" long, 1.5 T. oz., confection (see image three for 1892 catalogue image and identification) spoon, was executed to a standard far above typical production items.

It has regal iconography.

The tip of the handle has a rampant, i.e. standing, lion, set atop a columnar handle...

A lengthy piece at 9 3/16", and weighing nearly 2.6 T. oz., this spoon has an exceptionally large bowl. Shell form and with a satin gold wash, it is 3 3/4" long by 2 3/4" at the widest, and probably was made as a vegetable or salad server.

The pattern is Wallace's version of "Kings," issued in 1903, and encompasses all the traditional elements of a design derived from English antecedents...

Multiple sources list silversmith and merchant Pardon L. Taylor, as born in Providence, Rhode Island, 1824, and working in Brooklyn, New York, where he died in 1860.

No reference, however, documents the "P.L. Taylor & Jones" mark on this large, 8 7/8" long, significant weight, 1.6 T. oz., "Tipt End" table or serving spoon, suggesting it was, like the man himself, a short-lived enterprise, and thus rare.

The piece is a superb example of what it is...

"Revere" is a pattern that dates from the same year, 1898, that a number of companies aggregated to form International Silver. This 8 3/4" long, weighty, 2.2 T. oz., cold meat or beef fork is stamped with the Indian head emblem of one of the component companies, "Wilcox & Evertsen."

The pattern is decidedly late Victorian, with abundant scroll detailing with floral embellishments. The design carries onto the cupped heel and shoulders of the four, slender tine, serving end...

Issued in 1901 at the beginning of the Edwardian Period in English history, Frank Smith's "Federal Cotillion" is also known as "Edward VII." It is a relatively high style "Kings" pattern that with only minor differences is identical to Whiting's "King Edward," also introduced in 1901, suggesting that American silver manufacturers were pivoting off the end of the Victorian era in their design offerings...

Octagonal in shape, this mug is slightly diminutive. It stands 3" to the rim, 3 1/2" to the highest point of the handle, has a top opening 2 3/4" across, a rimmed bottom that is 1 7/8" in diameter, and weighs 2.9 T. oz.

It was made by New York City's William Gale, who operated in various partnerships over a long history. This has double marks for one of the associations, "William Gale & Son." One of the stamps includes a diamond imprinted with the date "185x," with the final number obscur...

Dating from the 1860s and made by New York's John Polhamus, whose "J*P" mark appears on the backside, this 6 7/8" long, 1.3 T. oz., fork is also stamped "Tiffany & Co.," which retailed a good deal of Polhamus' silver before it instituted its own production in 1868. As Tiffany required, this is sterling (and so marked) when the predominant standard was still coin silver.

A place piece, it is a length that is commonly identified as for tea or dessert. The pattern is "French Thread," aka "Fid...

Arguably the line by which all other Art Nouveau floral designs are measured, Durgin's 1900 "New Art" embodies the exuberance, lushness, and freedom of expression that characterizes this style mode.

The scale of pieces in this pattern is large, as evidenced by the fact that this 8 3/4" long, very heavy at 4.7 T. oz., piece is identified as a preserve spoon, when it is actually the size of a typical berry spoon.

Multi-motif, the portraiture on this is lily. The blossoms and leaves fold ov...

Variously identified as a platter, stuffing, or basting spoon, the defining characteristic is the scale of the item.

Apropos of the form, this example measures a lengthy 11 3/4" and weighs 3.4 T. oz.

It is English in origin, specifically London circa 1800. The marks are rubbed but the lion for sterling and leopard for the city are legible enough to validate. The date letter is simply blurred while the maker's mark, which appears to be a script "LM" in a scalloped punch, is insufficient...

These two, 5 3/4" long, approximately .7 T. oz. each, spoons were made by Toronto's P.W. Ellis & Co., with each stamped "Sterling" on the handle and back of the bowl, and with the firm's "E inside a maple leaf" emblem in adjoining places.

They bear several similarities including the date "1891" set in the center of the handle, with each number surrounded by twig or branch framing. The bowls are identical as well, with acid etched to a pale gold, matte surfaces, leaving bright, irregular, si...

This piece is marked "B.G" for Baldwin Gardiner, who was a retailer with working dates c. 1814-25 in Philadelphia, then was listed in New York City directories 1827-47, according to Catherine Hollan in "Philadelphia Silversmiths."

It is a lengthy 8 3/4" table or serving spoon, and is immensely heavy at nearly 3.2 T. oz.

Baldwin's "B.G" is frequently accompanied by a pseudo hallmark, which is the case with this, which is stamped with a "bust, lion, D," which McGrew in his work on manufactu...

A large item measuring 10 1/4" long and weighing a robust 4.3 T. oz., this ice cream knife or slice has a hollow handle and a 6 1/8" by 2 1/4", roughly rectangular, solid silver, flat blade.

The pattern is Durgin's 1891 "Watteau," referencing a French painter whose name became identified with a style deriving from the rococo.

Asymmetrically shaped, the handle is decorated with delicate acanthus leaf and floral detailing. The pattern appears on both the front and backsides, with minor var...

No doubt responding to the late 19th century emergence of European enamel work as high fashion art, American silver manufacturers began to adorn examples their products with enamel detailing.

New York's Dominick & Haff seemed to favor its "Renaissance" pattern for this purpose, as this 6" long, just over .8 T. oz., teaspoon illustrates.

The design is intricate enough to accommodate enamel highlights as well as provide the necessary grid for the material to adhere to. (Enamel and silver ...