posted 10-24-2001 11:45 PM            

The trademark of the lion and the W is certainly that of the Whiting Manufacturing Co. They were in business roughly 1866-1924, when they were acquired by Gorham. I'm not exactly sure when they started using the trademark, or if it was abandoned after 1924. Regardless, Whiting was one of the premier American silver manufacturers in the late 19th century, making goods of the highest quality.

Whiting did use a date code on their holloware in the early 20th century. Your "3-pointed star" may well be a date code. We would need a picture to determine it exactly, though, as a lot of the codes were rather similar.

The numbers are almost impossible to identify, as they refer to the shape and/or decoration and were not meant for "public consumption". They are just internal manufacturing codes. 5 pints would be the capacity of the pitcher.

I hope this helps!

posted 10-31-2001 08:19 AM            

The best source for information on American manufactured silver is "The Encyclopedia of American Silver Manufacturers" by Dorothy Rainwater & Judy Redfield. The 4th edition is currently available for under $20, and it is easily the best bargain in the silver world. The section on Whiting illustrates the date codes I mentioned to you, so if you get the book you can try to match up your star mark.

Currently there is no book on Whiting silver specifically, although one is being written. It will probably show up in the next 5 years or so, given the glacial speed of most authors.

Regardless, there probably isn't all that much more you can learn about your pitcher. It MIGHT match a flatware pattern, or it might not; if you can post a picture we can try to match it up. Otherwise, just enjoy it as a fine piece of silver and a real bargain!