Catalog: Silver: Coin Silver: Flatware

This 5 7/8" long, .48 T. oz., teaspoon is marked "H. Hastings" with an "eagle."

While most sources place H. Hastings in Cleveland, Ohio, circa 1820, William McGrew in Manufacturers' Marks on American Coin Silver introduces the possibility of a Connecticut location...

This intact youth set is comprised of a 7 3/8" long, 1.1 T. oz., solid silver flat handle knife, a 6 3/8" long, .9 T. oz., fork, and a 5 7/8" long, .64 T. oz., spoon.

In an Olive pattern, these are all original to one another with each engraved in script lettering, "C.J.A." to "C.A.P."

The commonality of the "C.A." letters prompts speculation about whether two generations shared names.

All pieces are stamped "C.A.W...

A matched pair, each of these forks measures 7" long, while the two combined weigh 2.35 T. oz.

They are marked "I. Speer" and "Chicago" on the handle reverses.

Isaac Speer began work as a jeweler and watchmaker in Chicago in 1840, engaged in a partnership with Edward Cosper, 1852-53 (see Old Friends item 5463f for a Speer & Cosper ladle), and continued alone thereafter until 1870...

Each of these six matching spoons measures 5 7/8" long and is engraved with the same fancy, feathered line script, "AI" monogram. They weigh 2.35 T. oz. the group.

They are stamped "E.E. & S.C. Bailey," for brothers Ebenezer and Samuel, who established a partnership in Claremont, New Hampshire, circa 1825.

Particularly well-crafted and elegantly formed, they have slender, elongated, Fiddle Tipt handles with markedly upturned ends...

The Baltimore Museum of Art volume Baltimore Silver notes that Andrew Ellicott Warner "is the best known of a family of silversmiths which included his father Cuthbert, brother Thomas, and son Andrew Ellicott Warner, Jr."

This example of his work is a 7" long, weighty at 1.3 T. oz., place or dessert spoon.

The marks on this, "A.E...

Born in 1802, Albert Comstock Benedict was a prominent New York City silversmith during the first half of the 19th century and beyond. He worked in partnership with Egbert Scudder from 1828-36.

His mark, which appears on all four of these lengthy, 6 1/4", 2.3 T. oz. the group, matching teaspoons is distinct. It reads, "A.C. Benedict" over "28 Bowery, N.Y."

The handles are Fiddle shaped with Tipt backsides...

Bearing two telling marks, "S. Kirk & Son" used by the renowned Baltimore firm 1846-51, and "10.15" for the distinctive regional silver standard designation which is slightly less than coin, this place spoon measures 7" long and weighs 1.06 T. oz. (33 grams).

A handsome and well crafted piece, it has a Fiddle shaped handle with a subtle Tipt backside. The bowl has an exposed drop, and high, pointed and beveled, fins at the join with the handle...

Dating from the mid 19th century, these two matching master salt spoons each measure 3 3/4" long and weigh .6 T...

This 5 1/2" long, approximately .4 T. oz., teaspoon is one of three matching, exquisitely made, New England origin, pieces dating from the 1850s.

It has a Fiddle Tipt handle that is engraved "S M R" in fine script lettering set sideways on the front.

The bowl is well-formed, proportionate, has a pointed end, and rounded, tapered fins at the join with the handle.

Coin silver, it is marked "R.R. Conn" for the Fitchburg, Massachusetts jeweler. While not an uncommon piece per se, thi...

Measuring 5 5/8" long and weighing .8 T. oz., this sugar spoon was produced by Unger Brothers, Newark, New Jersey, whose entwined "UB" surrounded by "Sterling" and "925 Fine" mark appears on the backside.

The pattern is Douvaine, issued in 1904. Douvaine may be the most recognizable of the numerous early 20th century Art Nouveau flatware patterns Unger generated and for which the firm is renowned.

An expressive design, it features a dolphin or fish image at the tip of the han...

This coin silver teaspoon measures 5 7/8" long and weighs just under .5 T. oz. (14 grams).

It is marked "Benedict & Scudder" over "New York," a partnership dating 1828-36, with Andrew Comstock Benedict, who also worked independently, the more prominent and lasting name in silversmithing of the two.

The end of the handle features a raised Basket of Flowers. This, along with the Sheaf of Wheat motif, were two popular embellishments on the otherwise largely plain designs on silv...

A large table or serving spoon, this piece measures 9" long and weighs 1.8 T. oz.

Coin silver, it is stamped "J. Guthre" for James Guthre, who worked in Wilmington, Delaware in the second quarter of the 19th century. References record him in partnership with Emmor Jefferis c. 1840.

Well-crafted, this has an exceptionally wide, flat with a slight downward arc, front with a subtle Tipt back, Fiddle handle.

This is engraved with a feathered, line script, "CP" monogram on the ...

Measuring 5 5/8" long and weighing .5 T. oz., this circa 1840 teaspoon has a double provenance.

It is marked "S. Ayers Elmira" for Socrates Ayers born in 1814. He worked in Elmira as a silversmith, watchmaker and jeweler until about 1877.

It is also stamped with a "star D star," which mark John McGrew in his Manufacturer's Marks on American Coin Silver attributes to an "Unidentified - Up-State New York" maker.

The handle is engraved "Ruth Burnham" in script lettering set sideways...

Josephine was one of the earliest line patterns produced by Gorham, as indicated by the "Patent 1855" and "Coin" that appear on the backside of this example, which is a full-size, 7 1/2" long, just over 1.5 T. oz., dinner fork.

The design is characterized by a die struck leaf, scroll, and anthemion that appear on the handle obverse, minus the leaf on the backside, and an expanded leaf on the reverse heel.

This has a fancy, feathered script, "AP Borden" en...

There were numerous members of the Pitkin family attached to the silver industry in Hartford and East Hartford, Connecticut over a span of many decades in the 19th century.

This 7 1/4" long, 1.1 T. oz., place, aka dessert or oval soup, spoon, is marked "W.L. & H.E. Pitkin," for the partnership between William Leonard and Horace Edward, 1863-94. Given this is also stamped "Coin," it traces to the earliest years of the pairing.

The pattern is undocumented, but is in the manner of a Cottag...

A matching group in a Tipt aka Fiddle Tipt pattern, three of these four (two shown) teaspoons measure 5 1/2" long and one measures 5 3/4". The three collectively weigh 1.6 T. oz., and the single one .6 T. oz.

They are of archival interest for both the maker and the retailer.

Stamped with Whiting's "winged lion and W" emblem and "Coin," they are very early examples of a major 19th century silver manufacturer's modest origins.

Well-crafted and precisely-formed items with bri...

This 8" long, 2.3 T. oz., solid silver sugar sifter is high Victorian in style. It is also a study in the silversmithing art.

Hallmarked for London, 1875-76, sterling, with a Queen's duty head, and "HH" for maker Henry Holland (later Holland, Aldwinckle & Slater), it carries considerable provenance. Holland and the subsequent firm were recognized as one of the most significant English silver manufacturers of their time.

This is artful in multiple ways.

First to be noted is the overall p...

Designed and introduced by silversmith Albert Coles, New York City, in the mid 19th century, the flatware pattern Jenny Lind met with success in the marketplace and was in time produced by other manufacturers in addition to Coles.

This 8" long, approximately 1.6 T. oz., coin silver place spoon (tablespoon in today's usage) is an early example, stamped with Coles' three part emblem and the name of Rochester, New York retailer "[Elias S. and Jacob] Ettenheimer."

It is also engraved in...