Birmingham silver makers marks

[Richard M.]

Greetings from Canada,

Birmingham Silver Maker's Mark of J & H, 1802

I have been searching for the silversmith who created a lovely caddy spoon, with the symbol for the Town Mark of Birmingham, England, the anchor,
Lion Passant, Duty Mark of George III facing right in an oval escutcheon, with the date letter of 'e'. The Maker's Mark is 'J & H'. I cannot seem to find
any name with those initials. Is there an authority on Birmingham makers marks who could assist me? I would be ever so grateful for your help.
Thank you so much! I just verified another beautiful little sterling spoon, 1898, initials of 'GJPF' which are for "Josiah Williams & Co.", in Bristol, and
also London, England. These spoons were given to me by a dear friend of Mr. and Mrs. J. Douglas MacFarlane (my parents), Ernest Bartlett whose mother,
Florence E. Bartlett, came from England. Yours most sincerely, Richard MacFarlane, Toronto, Canada

 

[Astoness]

hi richard and welcome...i hope someone can help you to solve the hallmark

 

[pjmburns]

I use this site

How to read UK sterling silver marks

The step by step guide to trace British sterling silver hallmarks. How to identify and read the marks on English sterling silver. Suggestions for deciphering the hallmarks in The What is? Silver Dictionary of www.silvercollection.it

www.silvercollection.it

However, I don't think it says J &H. The left edge of the box for the makers mark is very worn.
Could it be U & H? Unite and Hilliard.
George Unite and James Hilliard

 

[jukebox]

Unfortunately this doesn't add up! George Unite was born in 1798 and worked with James Hilliard from 1825 to 1845. I don't think the date letter is 'e' (1802) (George would have been 4 years old then) and looks more like Q which is 1865.

However by 1865 the partnership had been dissolved. On the plus side U & H were listed as producing caddy spoons (but so did many others).

Sorry - not much help!!!

EDIT

On second thoughts the date letter may have been a Q from 1839 with the fine detail in the centre of the Q having disappeared due to overenthusiastic polishing!


This would tie in with the dates of the U and H partnership.

Or maybe not!!!

 

[Nicola C]

Birmingham 1836 spoon

Good evening everyone.

I have been going through my grandparents posessions and come upon an antique spoon and I am strangley drawn to it. I have attached photos, the tag says William II, Bham 1836. I am interested to know if anyone has any insight to share xx

 

[Astoness]

lovely nicola...i wonder if anyone can make out the hall mark on the spoon to find out the maker..looks like it could be silver underneath all that aging..

lyn

 

[Dave89]

Hi,

Not easy to see the maker's mark - the monarch's head and the lion are furthest from the top of the spoon.
The Birmingham mark is plain enough, but perhaps the date letter is clearer looking at the spoon itself. It
should be a fancy capital A. The king would be William IV.
Maybe shining a light at an angle on the centre characters would show something - cleaning often destroys the
remaining 'shadow' of the marks.

Kind regards
Dave

 

[John L]

lovely nicola...i wonder if anyone can make out the hall mark on the spoon to find out the maker..looks like it could be silver underneath all that aging..

lyn

I would think it is likely to be silver, although it could possibly be EPNS (as were several I found at home, that had been subject to similar tarnishing). Difficult to be sure from the hallmarks visible, pity Nicola didn't have the luck to find the sale catalogue entry, along with the spoon.

 

[pjmburns]

If you can read a manufacturer's mark try looking here.

Silver Makers Marks

British & Irish silvermiths' makers marks indexed by Assay Office

www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk