posted 01-21-2001 09:55 PM            

Here is a small ladle by, and the mark of, William Maurice Carmichael, a noted Canadian silversmith from Victoria, British Columbia. This mark also illustrates a variation of the Canadian state silver mark, which was used from 1934 to 1978. (Compare it to the Canadian state mark in the thread on Carl Poul Petersen.)

Carmichael was a native of British Columbia, born in 1892. His father was the official Assayer of silver for the province at the time. Carmichael trained in engineering in Ireland and England before returning to Canada just prior to WW I. He enlisted in the Canadian Army, but, wishing to see some action, he soon left for England and worked his way to a commission with the Royal Engineers. He went to the front in 1915, and served until the end of the war.

After the war, Carmichael retuned to British Columbia. Finding no postions for engineers, he set up a small silver workshop in 1920. In 1924 he employed an English-trained smith, George Bennett Sr., and was able to open a downtown showroom in Victoria. From there the business expanded, and was able to weather the Depression. He opened a second shop in Vancouver in 1935, but closed it at the beginning of WW II and moved the inventory back to Victoria. This stock of silver, including some imported wares, lasted the firm through the war years, during which time the shop supplied metal fittings and accessories for ships fitting out in the local harbors.

After the war, Carmichael's shop received a number of special commissions, including silver for the cruiser Ontario, local country clubs, and churches. The shop flourished, closing only in the 1950s after Carmichael's death in 1954.