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posted 07-07-2003 06:38 PM            

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I have acquired a new silver spoon which appears to be made to go with a silver bowl and hang on the side. I'm assuming it's a relish spoon.

All three of the hallmarks are in a shield shape, and the first one (which doesn't show up well in the picture, is a crown. This seems to be a Sheffield England mark, except I haven't found one yet which has the shield outer shape. Any help?

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posted 07-07-2003 06:56 PM            

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Yes, the town/date shield shapes appear to be off, but my best guess is Thomas Bradbury & Son, Sheffield, 1906-7. The spoon appears to be a re-make of a Roman era spoon, perhaps one that was dug up near there. There seem to have been quite a few re-makes of older spoons during this time.

NC

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posted 07-08-2003 10:43 AM            

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Didn't the shield form come in later? Shields were used with lower case date letters from 1918 to 1943, and with capital letters from 1943 to 1968.
Depending if your "O" is small or capital, I think Sheffield 1931 or 1956.

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posted 07-08-2003 10:47 AM            

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quote:

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Originally posted by Patrick Vyvyan:
Didn't the shield form come in later? Shields were used with lower case date letters from 1918 to 1943, and with capital letters from 1943 to 1968.
Depending if your "O" is small or capital, I think Sheffield 1931 or 1956.

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How would you tell the capital O from the lower case o in this mark? O happens to be one of the few letters that don't change when it turns capital, unless the hex form of the o is what designates it. That's why I am asking questions here!

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posted 07-08-2003 11:16 AM            

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Sorry, my Wylie doesn't go any later than 1917-18 for Sheffield (normally not a problem for me, since I lose most interest by the early 1800s). The makers' mark, of which I think there is little doubt, appears to have been registered around the first decade of the 1900s, so 1931 may be okay, but the 1950s seem to be a stretch. The important points as I see them are that it is an early-mid twentieth century Sheffield piece by Bradbury and Son, and is a re-make of an old Roman era piece. As far as the exact date, I'll have to punt.

NC

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posted 07-08-2003 11:25 AM            

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Patrick is correct in regard to the shield shape. In addition, the letter form for 1906-7 is Gothic, not Roman. Drawn marks are not helpful in this case - if there is a difference in letter form between O and o, a photograph would show it, but I am not aware of a source with photographs of the assay office plates. Thomas Bradbury & Sons first registered this mark in 1889. You need to determine how long the firm existed - it may not have have lasted until 1956. If it did, and if they did not change to another mark, you would then have to locate catalogs to see when that item was offered.

[This message has been edited by swarter (edited 07-08-2003).]

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posted 07-08-2003 11:54 AM            

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According to this page: SHEFFIELD SILVERSMITHS Part 1.
Thomas Bradbury & Sons were taken over by Messrs Atkin Bros in 1947. So I guess this makes 1931 probable.
As for small and big "O"s, I get totally confused.

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posted 07-08-2003 12:03 PM            

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An excellent reference, Patrick. Thanks.

Here is the home page for this source:
SHEFFIELD SILVER

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posted 07-08-2003 12:23 PM            

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quote:

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Originally posted by Patrick Vyvyan:
According to this page: http://homepage.tinet.ie/~lawed/SILVERSMITHSPART1.htm
Thomas Bradbury & Sons were taken over by Messrs Atkin Bros in 1947. So I guess this makes 1931 probable.
As for small and big "O"s, I get totally confused.

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That was a most interesting link and thanks for posting it! I noticed they had a contact page, so I emailed the librarian and asked about the date mark. I attached a picture of the mark and gave him the URL's for both the mark and the picture, in case they didn't come through in the email. I'm hoping he will answer the query.

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posted 07-08-2003 12:27 PM            

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Do please tell us what the Sheffield Assay Office has to say.

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posted 07-08-2003 12:30 PM            

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quote:

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Originally posted by Patrick Vyvyan:
Do please tell us what the Sheffield Assay Office has to say.

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If they answer me, I most surely will. I'm hoping that they haven't been inundated with queries that require them not to answer email, as it could be a very valuable source for information.

Once I get the date, etc. finally settled, where do you suggest I go to get a rough valuation of the spoon? I got it for a song as no one at our little local auction where I bought it had the least idea what it was!

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posted 07-09-2003 11:37 AM            

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I received a response from the Sheffield Assay Office Librarian this morning. The response follows:

Sheffield Assay Office used this shield shape for silver items from the start of the new alphabet in 1918. We stopped using it when the new Hallmarking act came into force & we started using the Rose, in 1975.
The Assay Master at the time, Bernard W. Watson, was having difficulty in finding new distinctive type-faces for the alphabet for the new cycle of silver date-letters, & decided that the best way of showing the difference would be to alter the shape of the shields.
Your spoon was therefore hallmarked in 1931.
You could always buy yourself a copy of Bradbury's Book of Hallmarks - which we publish, & which shows the difference in the shape of the shields. It's available directly from us for £6.50 - payment by cheque , payable to 'Sheffield Assay Office' - we don't take credit cards - or from any good bookshop - ISBN 1 872212 02 6
The firm closed down in 1943, so this fits in with a date of 1931. One of Bradbury's specialities was making reproduction spoons - they sometimes reproduced the actual original marks as well & got themselves into trouble with the Assay Offices!

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posted 07-09-2003 12:42 PM            

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This confirms the consensus reached here, and provides an interesting bit of history as well. Be sure to thank them for being so forthcoming!

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posted 07-09-2003 12:53 PM            

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quote:

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Originally posted by swarter:
This confirms the consensus reached here, and provides an interesting bit of history as well. Be sure to thank them for being so forthcoming!

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I already did, and also informed them that I was sharing that information with this group, since you had all expressed an interest in it.

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Anuh

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posted 07-16-2003 06:50 PM            

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Here's another reproduction Roman spoon that came with the original documentation. The marks are for C.J. Vander, London, 1960.

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posted 07-18-2003 02:41 AM            

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You gotta just love the Sheffield Assay office. I've contacted them dozens of times for us and they often have the answer within the hour!.... and always supply much more that I had asked for.

We've been waiting a month for an answer from Edinburgh...

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Suzanne D

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