Catalog: Silver

An early example of "Fairfax" made by Durgin, and not the successor Gorham Company, this tomato server measures 8 1/4" long and weighs 2.2 T. oz.

All silver, it has a reticulated, round blade with cupped shoulders and a scalloped edge.

The handle is engraved "R" in Old English lettering.

In choice estate condition, the only signs of use are faint surface scratches consistent with gentle use. The blade is free of bends, burrs, or mars in the piercing...

Drawing upon Moorish, i.e. Islamic, design sensibilities, Whiting's 1880 "Alhambra" is a non-figural, repetitive pattern akin to the company's "Arabesque" of the same period.

This example is a 9 1/2" long, 2.1 T. oz., ice cream server.

The blade has a curved and upswept lower edge that leads to a pointed tip. The upper edge is raised and has a scalloped flange edge, which repeats on the lower shoulder.

The surface is engraved with a rosette motif with acanthus leaves leading from this...

New York City manufacturer Wood & Hughes responded to the pronounced interest in and popularity of "Medallion" pattern silver by producing several different series.

The example on this 7 1/8" long, relatively weighty at 1.6 T. oz., place fork is commonly referred to as "Diana" for the classical, female goddess portrayed without variation on all the pieces.

It dates from 1863 and was made to a coin silver standard, as indicated by the "WwH" stamped on the reverse with no additional marks...

Measuring 7 1/2" long and weighing a substantial 2.4 T. oz., this serving spoon has a deep (1/2"), shell shaped bowl with a second shell on the backside heel.

It is marked "C. Bard & Son" and dates c. 1850.

Katherine Hollan in Philadelphia Silver indicates that Bard may have trained under Thomas Fletcher and that C. Bard & Co...

Each measuring 4 9/16" long, with the set weighing 2.4, these six, matching, coffee spoons trace to the mid 19th century.

They are stamped "T[heodore] Evans & Co.," for the New York City and Newark, New Jersey firm with dates 1855-65.

The pattern on these is a "French Thread" aka "Fiddle Thread" aka "Plain Thread" and they are monogrammed "Hofman." in script lettering set sideways on the handles...

Slightly larger than a teaspoon at 6 1/8" long, with a generously proportioned bowl, and heavy at nearly 1.7 T. oz., this piece is a youth spoon.

The pattern is Tiffany's elaborate "Olympian" which portrays a variety of mythological scenes...

A complete youth grouping, consisting of a 6 3/4" long knife, 5 7/8" long fork, and 6 1/16" long spoon, 2.7 T. oz. combined weight, this set was made by New York City's John Wendt, and retailed by "Ball, Black & Co.," with whom Wendt was closely affiliated.

The pattern is "Medallion" dating from the 1860s, and features Wendt's young male figure on the fork and spoon, and his less commonly found female image on the knife...

A non-line pattern, these twelve, matching, 4" long, 3.5 T. oz. the lot, coffee spoons are as singular as they are appealing.

Made by Whiting, the company's "lion" emblem and "Sterling" are stamped on the backside of each piece.

Likely dating from the late 19th century, and toward Art Nouveau in manner, the pattern features a stylized, raised grape cluster and leaf motif on the terminal end...

An original item marked "Georg Jensen" surrounded by an oval of dots, "Sterling," and "Denmark," this piece measures 3 3/4" long and weighs just under 1.0 T. oz.

It is a looped handle baby spoon in the "Acorn" pattern, which is one of the defining designs of the Danish Modern style.

Never monogrammed or inscribed, it is in excellent condition, free of bends, dents, or burrs, and having a bright, even, finish.

An early item in the history of Gorham patterned ware, dating circa 1860, these tongs measure a full 10 1/2" long and weigh 1.5 T. oz...

Issued in 1880, Wood & Hughes' "Humboldt" pattern incorporates Moorish design elements, as popular in the period, laid out on an angular handle.

Produced at a time when the company was enjoying great prosperity and was especially productive, it exhibits sophisticated design and high quality execution. This is especially evident in the plum-shaped, notched edge, bowl that is intricately engraved and finished with a matte gold surface on the interior and bright gold on the exterior.

The name...

Featuring a pharaoh or sphinx-like figure flanked by ibis birds at the handle tip, and papyrus leaves midway down, Whiting's "Egyptian" was issued in 1875 during a time when this theme was experiencing a revival.

It is a fuller expression of the motif than the company's "Lotus" pattern of about the same period--and nearly a mirror image of Gorham's line by the same name and time--in that it incorporates more detailed and literal imagery.

The bowl on this 6 7/8" long, approximately 1.1 T. o...

A particularly fine rendering of "Hizen," one of Gorham's most exotic patterns, these 4 1/2" long, .9 T. oz., tongs are in immaculate estate condition, evidencing neither wear nor damage.

A multi-motif line issued in 1880, the style draws upon Aesthetic sensibilities. The primary element of the design is a fish, possibly koi, set against a raised background suggestive of marine elements, including waves and seaweed.

The three tine, cupped, grips have textured surfaces and rich, intact, g...

An effective implement "holding a registered dram resting level on the table," (The Pharmaceutical Era volume 27 - google) this spoon was marketed to druggists and apparently was a well-received, utilitarian, item.

Solid silver, it measures 4 1/2" overall, weighs .9 T. oz., and has an elongated bowl with a narrowed and splayed mouth, which is finished in a soft satin gold wash.

It is fully identified for the manufacturer, J.B. & S.M. Knowles of Providence, Rhode Island, and identifi...

This lengthy, 7 3/4", and heavy, 1.8 T. oz., master butter knife was made by Philadelphia's George Sharp, who was the manufacturer most associated with a style of ball, dome, sphere, and various other similar shapes popularized in the 1860s.

This "Ball End" form is an especially appealing piece, with a shaped blade with notched shoulders and an engraved surface with roulette bordering.

The ball itself is inscribed with a rubbed Old English monogram that appears to read "MEBH."

In very g...

Patented in 1878, and so stamped on the reverse of this 8 3/4" long, just over 2.1 T. oz., berry spoon, this "Cupid" design was developed by Morgan Morgans Jr., New York City, who with Samuel Montgomery, bought Albert Coles' business in 1877 and continued to use the later's three part pseudo hallmark, which also appears on this along with the word "Sterling," until he sold the firm to George Shiebler in 1883.

As later examples produced by Shiebler carried his "winged S" mark, this is a docume...

Identified as "Owosso" in engraving set sideways on the lower portion of the handle, this teaspoon features an intricate, high relief portraiture of the Shiawassee American Indian leader who is remembered as a signatory of the Treaty of Saginaw (Michigan) in 1819 and the Treaty of Detroit in 1807.

He is also known as "Wosso" or "Wasso," although the name "Owosso" carries on in the Michigan city which takes its name from him.

Measuring 6" long and heavy at 1.0 T. oz., it was made by Rogers,...

Now thirty years past publication, D. Albert Soeffing's Silver Medallion Flatware remains the only single definitive volume addressing this line of classically inspired flatware designs that so called to American silver manufacturers in the 1860s.

Soeffing offered some groundbreaking insights into the history of many previously undocumented pieces, and actually offers a whole essay about his research into the attribution of the "Medallion" pattern on this 8 9/16" long, 1.7 T. oz., tabl...