Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20230831-01   Sold

click for details

Offered is a good American coin silver teaspoon by Philadelphia watchmaker and jeweler Henry Ormsby, working circa 1839-61. This is one of three known marks by Ormsby, and the mark on this spoon was used for the book "Philadelphia Silversmiths" by Catherine Hollan. This spoon is engraved "MW" in period script and has good legible marks, including an address mark. This piece measures about 5 5/8 inches in length and weighs about 12 grams. Condition is fairly good, with some shallow bumping of... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20230830-01   Sold

click for details

Offered is an interesting American coin silver teaspoon with a very rare mark variant for well-known Philadelphia silversmith James Peters; this is the only example of this mark I've observed. It's uncommon enough that no example was found for Catherine Hollan's book, despite many other Peters marks having been found. Perhaps this was a die that broke shortly after being introduced, or one not normally used on flatware. This teaspoon is engraved "MAW" in period script and has a legible... Click for details

Old Friends  
5403f   On Hold

click for details

The name Gorham immediately evokes Jabez Gorham of Providence, Rhode Island, and the legendary firm he founded.

The same surname, however, appears in the history of 18th and 19th century silversmithing in New Haven, Connecticut.

This minor dynasty included Miles Gorham, his son by the same name, and his nephew John, whose "J. Gorham" mark is imprinted on this lengthy, 8 7/8", 1.5 T. oz. coin silver spoon.

Born in 1789, Flynt & Fales Heritage Foundation Collection of Silver notes... Click for details

Old Friends  
5402f   $46.00

click for details

One of Gorham's earliest full line patterns, patented in 1868 as stamped in the reverse of this 6 1/4" long, .6 T. oz., sugar spoon, Ivy has a tubular stem and broad, convex handle end that features an intricately rendered portraiture of ivy leaves and berries set against a stippled ground.

The handle reverse is engraved with a delicately inscribed, feathered "HC" monogram.

Additional marks include the company's "lion, anchor, G" emblem, the word "Sterling," and the name of the... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20230827-02   Sold

click for details

Offered is a fine pair of Georgian sterling silver sauce or gravy ladles by noted London silversmith Thomas Barker (registered 1805, as a spoon maker; he added a mark with a pellet in 1811). It is difficult to find serving pieces like this in pairs. These sauce ladles each have clear maker's marks and London hallmarks for 1813, and each is engraved with a good period fluted script monogram of "JMH". These ladles measure about 6 3/4 inches in length, and the pair weighs about 120 grams... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20230827-01   $48.00

click for details

Offered is an interesting circa 1780 American coin silver spoon, perhaps by John Burger, or perhaps by John Benjamin (though it seems a few years too late for him), or another maker. The long drop on this spoon most resembles those on John Benjamin spoons (Burger's drops tend to be shorter and more pointed or cone shaped), adding to the mystery. This piece is struck twice with a maker's mark of I*B, and is engraved with a good period script monogram. This spoon measures about 4 5/8 inch... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20230826-04   Sold

click for details

Offered is a very nice table knife from France and probably the mid-19th Century - the knot-type pattern mixes well with a lot of coin silver patterns. This piece is marked with the 950 standard mark (Minerva head in a punch with clipped corners) adopted after 1838. There appears to be no maker's mark. This knife measures about 8 1/8 inches. It is not monogrammed or crested. Condition is very good overall, with minor wear from normal use but no notable dents and no splits or repairs. All... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20230826-03   $14.00

click for details

Offered is a nice early sterling teaspoon from the 1870s or early 1880s, bearing the mark of jeweler William H. M. Freeman, who worked in West Chester, PA and Downington, PA prior to his death in 1898 at the age of 51. This spoon is engraved "DEA" in period script and has a good maker's or retailer's mark for Freeman as well as a sterling mark. This piece measures about 5 1/2 inches in length and weighs about 13 grams. Condition is very good overall, with mild wear but no dents, splits or... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20230826-02   Sold

click for details

Offered is a nice New York City pair of American coin silver dessert spoons, measuring about 7 1/4 inches in length and weighing about 64 grams, by Seth P. Squire and Bela S. Squire, working in partnership as Squire & Brother circa 1845-53. These spoons each have a great maker's mark of SQUIRE&BROTHEROFCOIN all in a single punch, and each has a period engraved script monogram. Condition is fair overall, with one spoon significantly dinged and dented and the other in decent shape; neither... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20230826-01   $65.00

click for details

Offered is a very rare example of antique Mississippi coin silver (actually, very early sterling silver) bearing the retailer's mark of Clarence T. Gifford of Aberdeen, MS. Located on the banks of the Tombigbee River, Aberdeen was one of the busiest Mississippi ports of the 19th century.

Mr. Gifford (bio below) was born in 1833 practiced his trade as a jeweler in Aberdeen for the majority of his career, from the late 1850s through about 1893 (aside from the period of his service from... Click for details

Old Friends  
5399f   $55.00

click for details

A New York City company which operated in the 1940s and 1950s until its trademark was taken over by Towle, Mueck-Carey produced silver wares such as this baby cup.

In like new condition, without any dents, bends, or splits, and showing a brilliant finish, it stands 2" high to the rim, is 2 3/8" across, with a maximum reach of 3 1/2" to the end of the handle, and weighs 1.3 T. oz.

A perfect cylinder, it has a rolled rim, rounded lower edge with a brushed finish on the underside, and a... Click for details

Old Friends  
5398f   $65.00

click for details

Born in Providence, Rhode Island, where he worked as a silversmith in the 1820s, and apparently with a short-lived presence on Nantucket Island, Masschusetts, William P. Stanton established himself in business in 1829 with his brother, Henry, in Rochester, New York.

This pair of 5 3/4" long, .9 T. oz., coin silver tongs are marked "W.P. & H. Perry" for that partnership.

Their plain, angular, fiddle shaped arms date them from early in the partnership, c. 1830. Perhaps they were an old style... Click for details

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2512   $1,250.00

click for details

Boston circa 1900, richly decorated with Rococo revival ornamentation, crested but otherwise not monogrammed, height 12 1/4 inches, weight 14.58 Troy ounces, some polishing wear to high points but fine overall condition, marked as shown in fifth enlargement.

While quite common in the world of Continental silver, these are exceptionally scarce in Victorian era Americana.

Old Friends  
5395f   $48.00

click for details

One of William B. Durgin's earliest patterns, dating circa 1870, and commonly identified as Spray, this design features a bouquet of woodland flowers and grasses tied by a bow.

This motif appears in the top center of the handle, and is repeated on the lower front and backside heel of the join with the blade of this 6 3/4" long, 1.0 T. oz., master butter knife.

There is a script letter "R" monogram on the handle front.

The blade has a scalloped upper edge, upswept and pointed tip,... Click for details

Old Friends  
5394f   $90.00

click for details

An early line pattern, Gorham's Louis XIV, is Greek Revival in style in spite of carrying a French name.

The main feature is an anthemion leaf, with additional detailing reminiscent of Gorham's also Greek Revival Corinthian design of the same period.

This example is a lengthy 5 1/4", .9 T. oz., pair of sugar tongs with gold washed claw or talon grips and columnar legs.

In superb condition, this pair have never been monogrammed on either the reserve shields on the... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20230820-01   Sold

click for details

Offered is a very nice English silver teaspoon dating to 1838, the first year of Queen Victoria's reign and the end of the Regency. This teaspoon is unusual in that there is a full, clear set of hallmarks but no maker's mark, and in that the spoon is in the Old English pattern with a block letter monogram - it may have been made specifically to replace a missing spoon from a late 18th Century flatware canteen. This spoon is initialed MC in period engraving. It measures about 5 1/2 inches in... Click for details