posted 09-03-2004 10:09 PM            

Two things might help you to get more participation from other members.

1) It would help if people understood why you wanted to know about these items. Mostly they would want to understand that it is not your intent to use the info gleamed for business purposes. If this is unclear, Please refer to the SSF Guidelines.

posted 09-03-2004 10:59 PM            

This is because there are all sorts of things the mark can represent. It can be the mark of the maker. Or of the retailer. Or of a specific design line. Or of the wholesaler. Or of a selling plan like parties. Or it can indicate how the item was sold.

What we can do is look at the piece and figure out a style. From the style we can work out a time period. Frequently these periods are very long: Colonial Revival type designs have been around since the 1890's.

Generally, cocktail shakers date from 1920 into the late 1960's. There are styles and sizes that let us pin down a time. But there is always the caveat: the time we are most certain of is when it began being made. We really don't know when, or even if, production ceased.

The simple classically tailored punch bowl with ladle has been produced from the 1850's down into the present. Many of these are commercial items made for caterers, restaurants and clubs. Again, a view of the piece can help. And the dimensions, which give a real clue to the original intended user, are a real help.