Lows, Ball (Boston) 6 Massive Fiddle Tipt Dinner Forks

These six, matching coin silver forks are very large, reminiscent actually of a European scale, and therefore an unusual find in early American, c. 1840, coin silver. Each of them measures 8 1/8" long, while the set weighs a hefty 12.4 T. oz. The pattern is a fiddle tipt, with especially broad ends. The reverses are all monogrammed in a triple letter script that is difficult to decipher. The retailer (and likely maker) was Lows, Ball & Company, one of the predecessor partnerships that evolved into Boston's carriage trade Shreve, Crump & Low. The company stamp appears on these, along with the standard designation "Fine." The condition is excellent. There is modest tip wear on the tines, along with shallow knife scratches. These are scarcely delicate items, though, and such usual signs of use are not very impressionable on items as substantial as these.