posted 12-24-2003 09:41 PM            

The recent posting of the Egyptian cat mark in the British forum, An Egyptian Colonial Mark, brought to mind the variety of animals used in hallmarks, pseudo-hallmarks, and makers marks. Apart from the ubiquitous eagles and lions used on silver from Europe, Britain, and America, a wide variety of animals of all sorts -- from bugs to birds -- have been utilized.

Herewith are a few examples to test your zoological recognition. Although some details of three of these are obscured by wear, that is how they are most often encountered -- as sillhouettes. I have added the outline of a missing critical detail in the first one. Hint: one of these marks has appeared in a previous post, and another of the animals has appeared in a different mark in yet another post. One is a rebus for the name of the city of its origin; the animals with which it and at least two of the others represent are geographically associated in life with the origin of the spoons on which they appear. The last of these is my favorite mark in all of silverdom. Guess away -- I will post the answers, if necessary, in a while. Feel free to add your own favorites to this thread.

posted 12-28-2003 10:43 PM            

My guesses:

1. Thomas Stephenson, Buffalo, N.Y. ca 1840
   
2. James Allan, Madras, India ca 1815
   
3. I agree with June...John Segsworth & Co. of Toronto, Canada ca 1880
   
4. I have a 8" fiddle spoon with the same mark, have always believed it to be from the Midwest and have attributed it to Arundel Hill, Steubenville, Jefferson County, Ohio ca 1830. I have never found the mark in any reference and am curious if I have it right.

Bill

posted 12-28-2003 10:49 PM            

It certainly looks like a beaver (but it could also pass for a wolverine), which is a uniquely North American animal. Beaver pelts were also a mainstay of the Hudson's Bay Company fur trade, and as such have a unique place in Canadian history. As you say, it has been used on Canadian silver, so it would be natural to associate this mark with that country. But who then is the maker? The mark of the spoon actually reads "J S & S." The "& S" usually means "and Son," so, unless there was a name change to "& Co." in the firm you suggest, we have to look elsewhere.

There was a discussion of this mark a while ago in this forum, in which Brent cited a reference attributing the mark to a known Birmingham maker. I have not seen that reference, but I am not comfortable with the attribution (unless the manufacture of beaver hats was a lynchpin of the Birmingham economy, I fail to see a connection) -- it would not be the first time a mark has been mis-attributed in an otherwise authoritative source:
I am unable to identify this particular hallmark on a decanter stand

As an example of such an error, the second mark in the series above had remained mis-attributed in print for many years, only to be corrected relatively recently.

Any other guesses?

posted 12-28-2003 11:34 PM            

1. The animal in this mark is a Bison (American Buffalo), albeit a skinny one, and appears on quite a bit of silver originating in Buffalo, N.Y. It is a rebus for the name of the city. It is probably a trade mark of one manufacturer who sold to a number of retailers who marked their wares. I believe that maker has been identified, but I have forgotten the reference.

2. This animal is an elephant, usually associated with India on silver. For years, this particular mark was carried in Jackson as belonging to a maker in Dundee, Scotland, as one or more residents had probably brought examples back from India. These were removed in the third edition, along with a number (but not all ???) of marks with a camel (dromedary). One wonders if these last did not originate somewhere in North Africa or the Middle East.

3. Now has 2 votes for Toronto.

4. Is indeed, Arundel Hill, who was a silversmith, clockmaker, and engraver whose well-regarded skills are evident in the execution of this unique representation of the American Bald Eagle. The American Eagle is, of course, symbolic of the Federal Period in the Early Republic. The way in which his eagle is incorporated from head to tail into his mark is, I believe, unique in American silver.

   Hill migrated westward through Pennsylvania, beginning in Harrisburg about 1809. By 1818 he was in Pittsburgh. He reached Steubenville by 1829, where he remained until his death in 1848. He was, I believe, an artisan of uncommon skill, who is little known, apart from one engraving and a few spoons. He is one who has not received his due, and is I think worthy of further study. Perhaps students of Ohio silver know more of him, but he does not seem to have left much behind in Pennsylvania, which is my area of study.

posted 01-03-2004 08:15 PM            

Ever since this attribution appeared here, I've been scratching my head. Mostly because I found next to nothing on Segsworth in the Unitts' book which, although not scholarly, does seem to include all significant firms of the later 19th century. The only mention is of a paper found in an old watch "J Segsworth, Watchmaker". They give as dates 1856-1879 - too early for the mark under discussion here.

Unrelated, they do have a picture of this mark (item C in the earlier thread (Hallmark Identification)) but locate it in Quebec without being able to identify the maker. In these threads we have seen several flatware items but also a piece of hollowware; that points to a significant presence in the market.

Yesterday, I had a chance to take a quick look at one directory of the period (1885) but didn't have time to make careful notes. Nevertheless, I noted that in the 'by manufacturing type' section, under '..Platers..' there was no Segsworth listed.
In the alphabetical section "Segsworth, J & Co" was described as Jeweller.

I will dig further into this over the next week or two. In the meantime, I am very curious to know in what source June and Bill H found the name Segsworth.

posted 01-04-2004 07:50 PM            

This actually hurt. I saw one of Langdon's books a fairly long time ago and only had kept a vague notion that one of these days I'd have to look at the rest of them and maybe try to get one. Looking at this particular one today at the library was an eye opener. What a nice volume! Lucky you to own one!

But the fact that he shows no mark with Segsworth at all points to it having been a firm of limited importance and weakens the case for it being 'JS&S'. But I'll be digging further; I'll try to find out if there could have been a stage where "&S' might have been plausible.