Catalog

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.

Coin silver, these date from the 1860s and are in a period pattern similar to Gibney's Tuscan and Po...

This 4 3/4" tall, 3" diameter, tea caddy marked for the outstanding 19th century Connecticut manufacturing firm of Meriden Britannia is disabusing of this idea.

Cylindrical in form, the entire body is contoured in a dense, raised respousse acanthus leaf design.

Three figures are incorporated within this matrix.

One ...

Indeed, this 5 1/4" long, .32 (10 grams), sterling silver example traces to London, 1811, George III, according to the hallmarks on the reverse. No maker's stamp is present.

It is characteristic of the form, with a slender, tapered handle that ends in a triangular, pointed, pediment, for cleaning clogs.

The bowl is attractively cut in a cross, scallop and bellflower motif and has a thumb drop on...

The Square Handled Engraved pattern on these two matching 5 5/8" long, 1.13 T. oz. combined, forks is one that does not have clear design parallels, either with Seymour or other firms.

The handle is flat, and as the name implies, has straight ...

Coin silver, it is stamped C[harles]. C[arter] Coleman, for the Worcester, Massachusetts silversmith and jeweler with dates 1844-60. It has a "P (or T) W H" feathered script monogram engraved on the front of the curved handle.

This is finely crafted, with excellent proportion, good balance ...

The handle is hollow filled and comprises 5" of the total length of the piece, and is sterling silver, while the six-sided, pointed tip, sharpener is plated steel.

This is an early production item made by Gorham in its 1895 Chantilly pattern, marked "Sterling" and with the company's "lion, anchor, G" emblem imprinted on both sides of the edge of the handle at the place where it meets the guard.

The handle has a delicat...

It is stamped on the underside "Currier & Trott," along with "Coin," for the Boston partnership of jewelers and watchmakers with dates from the mid 1820s to the mid 1850s.

The style of this suggests it traces to the 1840s.

It has applied gadroon rims on the top a...

The maker's mark is on the flanking edge of the bowl and reads "N V in a caret," with a "star" below the V and a "star and crescent" above it.

A tea caddy spoon, this measures 4 7/16" long and w...

The upper portion of the handle is shield-shaped and features an intricately rendered portraiture of raised ivy leaves and berries set against a stippled ground, with a leafy margin along the lower edges.

This example is a 7" long, 2.1 T. oz., sugar sifter with a large, 2 1/2" diameter, 3/4" deep, shell-shaped bowl.

Ther...

A highly decorative item dating from the 1860s, it has a twisted stem joined to a scalloped edge, slightly upturned handle. This has a central shield shaped reserve surrounded by a textured background with wriggle work and bright cut engraved detailing.

The handle backside is plain save for wriggle work around the margins and ...

This master butter knife is a lengthy at 7 7/8", and weighty at 1.61 T. oz., early example of Gorham's Old Medici marked with the company's "lion, anchor, G" emblem, "Sterling," and "Copyrighted" on the handle backside.

Old Medici is one of the many expressive patterns created by renowned Gorham designer Antoine Heller. It features a variety of figures and imagery drawn from the Italian Renaissance period.

Most references date this to 1880, although Charles Carpenter in hi...

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...

It is marked on the solid silver blade front with an "eagle, V, bust" hallmark for James Vancourt. William McGrew in Manufactureres' Marks on American Coin Silver notes this mirrors a mark first used by Albert Coles and he suggests it was in turn reduced from a similar "C&V" mark used by (William L.) Coles & Vancourt in a partnership that las...

This expression of the form, made by Gorham in the early decades of the 20th century, evolved from the much earlier Gibson one, although it is different in construction, and in actuality as much a novelty or collector's item as it is a utilitarian piece.

Solid silver, it is comprised of two different sized bowls, one the size of a tablespoon, the other the size of a teaspoon, with each hinged to...

This 7" long, relatively weighty 1.32 T. oz., preserve or jelly spoon is a particularly fine example in pristine condition.

It has a generously proportioned, 2 1/2" long, 1 5/8" at the widest, 1/2" deep, shell form bowl with scalloped edges and a ribbed interior, all finished in a pale, satin matte, gold wash front and back sides.

The sh...

The pattern is Union, made by John Wendt, and in this case retailed by "Starr & Marcus," New York, as stamped on the handle backside, along with "Sterling" and "Patent."

Introduced in 1862, Union is a period design that is similar enough to Gibney by F.H. Gibney, later Whiting, and also dating 1862, that the two ...

Georgian in style as befits its 1769 date, it has a round body with an applied beaded top rim with an encircling, line detail inscribed 1/8" below this.

Otherwise the bowl is plain, noting that the underside is engraved with a block letter "E * B" monogram, along with full hallmarks including a "leopard h...

Other marks include the company's "lion, anchor, G" emblem, "Sterling," and the word "Gorham," which may indicate the piece was sold in the company's New York City store, or it may simply be a redundant mark.

Gorham used a number of bowls for this line, and that on this, a small berry or preserve spoon, i...