A pleasing, heavy caddy spoon by the well known caddy spoon maker Thomas James, whose spoons often have interesting handle shapes, and a "fish-tail" projection at the base of the handle. The spoon has a beautiful crest of a hand holding a cross, with the motto "VIRTUTI FORTUNA COMIS", translated "excellence, fortune and kindness". The hallmarks are very clear. This spoon appears to be an identical twin of a spoon sold by Woolley and Wallis from the John Norie collection, Part 1, April 2004, lot 132. We have now identified the family crest as belonging to the Mayne Family of Scotland, from Tullibody & Powis in Stirling. The crest is described as "Cubit arm, erect, proper habited sable cuff argent holding a cross crosslet gules", the motto above the crest denotes a Scottish family. One possible original owner of this spoon is Colonel William Mayne, who served as Captain of the 1st Life Guards at Waterloo. Thomas James was freed in 1789, but only entered his own mark in 1804.

An interesting pair of Cape silver spoons, one tablespoon and one dessertspoon, both by Lawrence Twentyman and both engraved with an original family crest of winged castle turret below circular cross. These spoons are of hallmarking interest, as even though they have the same pseudo hallmarks, the larger spoon has the normal sized LT makers mark punch, and the smaller spoon has the smaller LT punch. The spoons are Fiddle pattern, and are a pleasing quality and weight. The hallmarks are also very clear on both spoons, pseudo duty mark, pseudo castle town mark with flag flying, pseudo date letter C and makers mark LT (mark 140 in Cape Silver and Silversmiths by Welz). Twentyman was the most prolific of all Cape silversmiths, he had the first shop on Heerengracht (now Adderley Street) with a shop window. He worked between 1818 and 1832. Note - These spoons match the pair of tablespoons S11352 and dessertspoons S 11353. Note 2 - With the assistance of a customer, we have now identified the engraved crest as the ...

A set of 6 Prussian silver teaspoons, made in Danzig, now Gdansk, Poland. The spoons are a lovely shape, with long elegant pointed terminals and elongated bowls, more similar to grapefruit or fruit spoons, or lemoen lepels in Dutch. The spoons have bright cut engraving, designed to reflect in candle light, and cartouche for initials. The original owners prick engraved initials G.V. J are very faintly visible. The spoons have 3 hallmarks, most marks are clear, some partially obscured. They include Danzig town mark (2 maltese crosses below crown) in irregular shield, used between 1790 and 1799, makers mark JGS in script, and a large cursive E, we believe this is the assay master mark rather than a date letter, all suggestions welcome. We have identified a Danzig silversmith Johannes Gottlieb Stegmann whose makers mark was JGS, he worked between 1772 and 1804, but his published mark (www.agraart.pl/silver), is different, not the script style as here, so it is possible we have mis-identified the silversmith, all...

Two early Georgian silver Hanoverian tablespoons, engraved with the Davy family crest. The spoons both have a strong front rib and double drop, both features of early Hanoverians. Both are clearly engraved with original armorials for the Davy family of Beckley, Sussex, on the back of the spoons (spoons were displayed bowl down during this period). The crest is described as "sable a fess or between three cinquefoils argent, the lozenge is tied at the top with a lovers knot that denotes the arms of a spinster", see heraldic report which accompanies these spoons. The spoons probably belonged to an unmarried daughter of the Davy family of Beckley, Sussex. The first spoon has clear hallmarks, including WH makers mark for William Hunter, and date letter i for 1744. The second spoon has squashed marks, but the makers mark JL for Jeremiah Lee is clear.

A pair of Georgian Silver Hanoverian Tableforks, dated 1806, with the Douglas family crest, and motto "Jamais Arriere", translated "Never Behind". The crest is beautifully engraved, on the back of the forks in 18th century style, and is described as "on a chapeau, a green salamander surrounded by fire", with the motto above the crest (which is only done in Scotland). The crest is under an Earl's coronet, so these forks probably belonged to the 9th or 10th Earl Hamilton. The hallmarks on both forks are clear, the makers mark is worn but visible.

A rare Irish Provincial teaspoon in the Fiddle pattern, made in Cork by Samuel Green circa 1800, with a very rare Irish retailers mark. The teaspoon is quite long with a narrow bowl, and is hallmarked with incuse makers mark SG for Samuel Green, incuse STERLING guarantee mark, and retailers mark L.O.H in a rectangular punch, which is believed to be for Laurence O'Hagan, a watchmaker and presumably retailer in Limerick. Laurence O'Hagan, Watchmaker appears in the Hibernian Journal in 1791 on his marriage to Miss Quinn and again in 1804 on his marriage to Miss Bryan (source Silver Forums at 925-1000.com, on the Limerick and Irish Retailers marks pages). All the hallmarks are clear, especially the retailer mark, the G from STERLING is only partially struck. Irish provincial silver is quite rare, and often the hallmarks are worn or poorly punched, so this spoon is a nice example. Cork did not have an assay office, so the silversmiths adopted an unofficial STERLING mark to denote the 925 quality standard. This i...

A pair of Fiddle pattern toddy ladles, along with an Old English example, but all made by the same maker in the same year. Given Edinburgh hallmarks, the maker WC could be confused with William Cunningham of Edinburgh, but his makers mark is always in a shaped cartouche. The hallmarks on on all 3 are very clear. Note the switching of the order of the duty mark on the pair.

Rare set of 3 Old English tablespoons made in Carlisle, with Newcastle hallmarks, which are very clear. These spoons all have the same engraved initial B as the 4 tablespoons with the incuse duty mark (item S 1184). John Brown worked between 1822 and 1826, he was an ironmonger and jeweller of English Street, Carlisle, who made a variety of small silverware.

An interesting and pretty Georgian silver caddy spoon, with an unusual pierced bowl. The bowl is circular, and has 16 nail shaped piercings surrounding a central circular piercing, the design complemented with bright cut engraving, which continues on the handle, with a blank cartouche which has not been engraved. The spoon is clearly hallmarked, with a very clear lion passant, date letter A for 1796, and Georgian duty mark, the latter partially covers the makers mark GB in rectangular punch which was struck earlier. A small crescent moon journeyman's mark is also present, their is no town mark, although we are confident this is a London spoon. A very similar pierced caddy spoon with a different design, also by George Burrows but dated 1793, can be seen on the Steppes Hill Farm website, www.steppeshillfarmantiques.com, note this spoon also has the crescent moon mark and no town mark. Pierced caddy spoons are known but quite rare, most seem to date between 1790 and 1800, by a few London and Birmingham makers. ...

A pair of Gorham sterling Medallion serving implements, the first a pastry fork and the second a pickle knife. Both have the medallion motif of a classical femaile looking left, with hair braids, the face is strong. Both are pierced with the "tulip cut", the knife also has bright cut engraving. Both have the original owners initials MMC in Gothic script engraved on the back. Gorham medallion pattern was designed by George Wilkinson in 1864, it is a multi-motif pattern, with 4 different medallion options. Medallion pattern proved popular, it was copied by numerous other firms, but the original Gorham items are most collectable today. The hallmarks are clear on both pieces, and include Gorham makers mark, PAT 1864 and STERLING. Gorham Corporation, which still exists today, was founded in 1831, they dominated the solid silver flatware market in the USA for 125 years (Gorham Silver, page 50). The medallion pattern was even retailed by Tiffany.

A rare pair of Georgian silver Coburg pattern sugar tongs, made in 1825 by Randall Chatterton. The tongs have the Coburg pattern on both arms, the bow has never been engraved. The tongs have the usual oyster heel (oyster shell on the bowls). The quality and weight is very pleasing, at 68 grammes they are heavier than most sugar tongs, and the condition is excellent. The hallmarks are clear, including makers mark RC (Grimwade 2290), this mark is often confused with Richard Crossley, who worked until 1812. The Coburg pattern was "designed for Rundell, Bridge & Rundell in 1810, this rare pattern was made by Paul Storr and is perhaps the pattern for which he is best known" - Ian Pickford, Silver Flatware, page 134. The Coburg pattern was also depicted in the Chawner & Co. pattern book of 1875 (Silver Flatware page 220). Randall Chatterton was a spoon maker, he was freed in 1809 and worked until 1845. He is not recorded as a known maker of Georgian silver sugar tongs by Graham Hodges in his book "Georgian Silver S...

An interesting Old English pattern soup ladle, made in Newcastle in 1804 by Ann Robertson, widow of John Robertson I. The ladle is larger than usual, with a long bevelled handle, and original owners engraved script initials IAJ. The hallmarks, which are well struck and clear, are interesting as both the lion passant and the duty mark have been overstruck by a smaller different punch in each case. The hallmarks include makers mark AR, Newcastle townmarks (3 castles and leopard's head crowned), and date letter O for 1804. Both the lion passant and duty mark have been carefully overstruck in the top left hand corner, using smaller lion passant and duty mark punches, the duty punch outline is also a different shape. The care of the overstrike leads us to believe this was done deliberately by the assay office, perhaps to indicate a change of duty or the arrival of new punches in the Newcastle assay office. (we welcome assistance as to the cause of this interesting hallmarking anomaly). Note: Miles Harrison, in his...

Set of 12 Fiddle pattern dessert spoons and forks, made by Hamilton & Co, the "Garrards of India". All 12 have a crest and set of initials (AD), the crest (which are worn but visible) is a dove with an olive branch in its beak, under the motto "Nil Nisi Fidum" (translated "Nothing but Trust"). All are clearly hallmarked with maker mark, elephant, the capital letter A and a variety of tallymarks.

Extremely rare marrow spoon (as opposed to the commomer marrow scoops), with a lovely shellback. Hallmarks are very distinct. Bennett was a well regarded silversmith who worked on London Bridge.

A rare Cape silver table fork in the Fiddle and Shell pattern, examples are known to exist but these are regarded as rare. The fork is single struck (pattern only on the front), the shell is a lovely feature. A similar example is depicted the book "Further Researches in Cape Silver" by David Heller, page 68, plate 13, also made by Lawrence Twentyman. English versions of this pattern are also scarce, mostly made in Scotland and Newcastle, London versions are rare (Pickford, Silver Flatware, page 114). The hallmarks are clear, makers mark LT and 4 pseudo hallmarks (crowned leopard's head town mark, date letter a, duty mark and lion passant), this is mark 135 in Cape Silver by Welz. Note: We have 2 other examples of this fork, S 11435 and S 11436.

An extremely rare Cape silver table fork in the Fiddle Thread without Shoulders pattern, this is only the 2nd time we have seen this pattern, see 2 dessert spoons S 11120 and S 11121 which we have already sold. David Heller, in his book History of Cape Silver Vol. 1, depicts a spoon in the same pattern (plate 50, page 124) and a similar 3 tined fork (Plate 61, page 146), these are the only examples we can find in the literature. The fork is double struck (pattern on both sides), and has a single thread, but notably without the usual shoulder where the bowl joins the handle. The fork also has a long drop, with an unusual curve, showing this fork was hand made. The fork is lovely quality, a pleasing weight, and is in excellent condition. The hallmarks are excellent, a variant of mark 138 in Cape Silver by Welz, Castle, date letter C, and Georgian duty mark, with makers mark LT, all well struck. We have 2 matching forks, S 11432 and S 11433. A close examination of all 3 forks shows slight differences to the dro...

An extremely rare Cape silver table fork in the Fiddle Thread without Shoulders pattern, this is only the 2nd time we have seen this pattern, see 2 dessert spoons S 11120 and S 11121 which we have already sold. David Heller, in his book History of Cape Silver Vol. 1, depicts a spoon in the same pattern (plate 50, page 124) and a similar 3 tined fork (Plate 61, page 146), these are the only examples we can find in the literature. The fork is double struck (pattern on both sides), and has a single thread, but notably without the usual shoulder where the bowl joins the handle. The fork also has a long drop, with an unusual curve, showing this fork was hand made. The fork is lovely quality, a pleasing weight, and is in excellent condition. The hallmarks are excellent, a variant of mark 138 in Cape Silver by Welz, Castle, date letter C, and Georgian duty mark, with makers mark LT, all well struck. We have 2 matching forks, S 11432 and S 11434. A close examination of all 3 forks shows slight differences to the dro...

A wonderful pair of Scottish Provincial silver toddy ladles, made in Aberdeen by William Jamieson. The ladles are Fiddle pattern, and both have a beautifully engraved family crest of a dog, the bright cut engraving is amongst the best we have seen on Scottish Provincial silver. The ladles are great quality. and are in excellent condition. Both ladles are clearly hallmarked WJ, A, B, D, WJ, makers mark WJ struck twice with ABD for Aberdeen in between. The 2 makers marks are struck with different punches, the second punch has an indent next to the J. Given the careful alignment and identical spacing between punches, we assume the hallmarks were part of a stub struck on a fly press. This same set of hallmarks, with the same indent, is depicted in the book Aberdeen Silver by Michael Wilson, page 66, bottom left under William Jamieson. Jamieson worked between 1809 and 1841, his company were prolific producers of silverware, based at 87 Broad street, Aberdeen. Jamieson took on at least 17 apprentices, his son Georg...

A rare Cape silver tablespoon by unknown maker M.I.V., with an exceptionally clear makers mark. The spoon is Fiddle pattern, in good condition but with wear to the tip from use, and no engraving. The makers mark M.I.V. is very well struck and clear, note the specific placing of the dots (first 2 higher than last). This is makers mark 178 in Cape Silver by Welz (page 158), where the specific placing of the dots is clearly illustrated. This mark is also recorded by Heller in Further Researches in Cape Silver Vol. 11, mark N.M.M 56, page 126, also with the unusually placed dots clearly illustrated. We have only seen one other example of Cape silver with this makers mark, a Cape silver sauce ladle that sold at Strauss in March 2011, Lot 146. Note - We have a second example of this spoon, with a slightly less clear makers mark, see S 11465.

A rare Cape silver table fork in the Fiddle and Shell pattern, examples are known to exist but these are regarded as rare. The fork is single struck (pattern only on the front), the shell is a lovely feature. A similar example is depicted the book "Further Researches in Cape Silver" by David Heller, page 68, plate 13, also made by Lawrence Twentyman. English versions of this pattern are also scarce, mostly made in Scotland and Newcastle, London versions are rare (Pickford, Silver Flatware, page 114). The hallmarks are clear, makers mark LT and 4 pseudo hallmarks (crowned leopard's head town mark, date letter a, duty mark and lion passant), this is mark 135 in Cape Silver by Welz. Note: We have 2 other examples of this fork, S 11435 and S 11437.