Finding a flatware pattern.

When searching for flatware patterns, before I built up my library, I used a hodge-podge of silver websites to find information. None of them are "complete" and they vary greatly in usability and organization.

One such site is Silver Tableware. Like many sites it is a commercial venture, but it is also nice enough to make its information open to everyone. I think this helps to drive commerce in the silver trade. Basically, people find grandma's silver at a garage sale or in the attic and think that it is worth a fortune. Then they seek out pattern -usually through the makers mark- to try and find out what it is and what it is worth. In some cases I suspect that there are folks looking to expand their set but I think that the vast majority are people that will search for about ten minuted on the web to find what a piece is. Be that as it may, there are folks like myself that through this process have become slightly obsessed with pattern identification. This in turn helps to create a market for silver.


What I need to do is interview some silver dealers and hear their theories on this. Here are some questions that may have interesting answers.

1. What is the most common questions you receive about silver?
2. How do you think people "think" about silver today?
3. What drives the silver market?
4. What "theories" do people have about silver?
5. What is your most common type of customer?
6. What makes your "best" customer?
7. How do you think most people value (guess the worth of) the silver they posses?
8. What do you sell the most of?
9. What is the most common type of silver that people bring in?
10. What is the weirdest question you have received?

Nickel Silver, German Silver, Alpacca, Panama Silver, Brazil Silver, Raydium Silver, Aztec Silvor

Sometimes you find a piece of flatware and it is marked as nickel silver, German Silver, Brazil Silver, Alaska Silver, Panama Silver, or Alpacca. I have one piece marked Raydium Silver, it seems really rare. I am going to be blunt with you here, these are not silver. They may be silver in colour but they are not silver. They do not contain silver. They are not the chemical Ag.  They can only be alone or plated with silver.

These pieces are white metal. They can be plated with silver but they are not silver from Brazil, Panama, or Germany.  I cant stress this enough because I see pieces all the time sold as silver from Brazil etc.  They usually contain a proprietary compound of Nickel, Tin, Copper and Zinc. They may contain all or parts of the above list. Each company developed their own formula that fit their needs and cost. This may have changed over time and as the cost of the materials rose and fell.

Now if you have a piece that reads Electro Plate Nickel Silver or EPNS then you have silver plate. This is a thin layer of silver deposited in a chemical reaction on top of the nickel silver, white metal or britannia.

So its not silver is it worth anything?
Yes, Many companies such as Rogers Brothers made flatware in both silverplate and nickel silver. The nickel silver flatware cost less and looked like silver so it was a popular seller. For the maker it was just stopping the production of the silverplate manufacturing process early so they could produce flatware more cheaply. That is they just skipped all the plating and polishing steps. It therefore has a historical value.

It does not have a major market. While many patterns are found in nickel silver and silverplate, it is collected less. This means if you wish to sell it it is going to be harder to find a buyer. However, a spoon in nickel silver and a spoon in sterling scoop ice cream to your lips just as well.  So it has value as a useful object.

Besides in a world filled with cheap stamped stainless or worse steel, having a fork made in the 1900's even if it not "real" silver is still something most people could never dream of.

Top Knife is marked American Nickel Silver.
Second Knife if marked Solid Brazil Silver.
Top spoon is marked Raydium Silver.
Second Spoon is marked Brown & Bros. German Silver.
Fork is Marked W Nickel Silver 18.
Bottom Knife is marked Panama Silver.

Top Spoon is marked DS in a diamond Alpaca Silver.
Second spoon (damaged) is marked PatApldfor Panama, it appears to be nickel silver.
Third spoon is marked Aztec Silvor with an arrow.
Last spoon has no mark and is chrome plated steel.

Spoon is marked Wm. A. Rogers Nickel Silver.
Fork is marked Rogers Nickel Silver.

Clearing up the Rogers Confusion: Marks and Manufacturers

There are a number of makers of silver (both sterling and silverplate) that use the Rogers name. This post is an attempt to create a list, history, and database that will make this situation a little less confusing. I do not imagine that I will be able to get everything down in one go. This means that this post will probably be edited several times. If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment. If you are able to use any of this information please link to the page.

One of the first things to think about are the companies. Lots of companies used Rogers in their name.  These companies formed, merged, separated, folded and absorbed by each other.

The second thing to think about are the backstamps or marks. Many companies used marks with the name Rogers in it. Many of these marks ended up being owned by two major companies International Silver Company and Oneida. Before that many of these marks were owned by a variety of companies and were bought and sold through a variety of business cycles.  

List of Companies with Rogers in the name.


Joseph Rodgers and Sons

Place:  
     Sheffield England
Years:
     1682 - Present

Asa Rogers Jr. & Co.
     1832 - 1838
     Renamed from Rogers & Cole


Rogers & Britten
Place:
     West Stratford Connecticut
Years:    
     1880 - 1882
Mergers:
     Taken over by Holmes and Edwards

Rogers & Brothers
Rogers Brothers

Place:  
      Waterbury Connecticut
Year:  
     1847 - 1855
Founders:
     Asa Rogers
     Simeon Rogers
     Leroy S. White
     David B. Hamilton
Mergers and Notes:
     1855 Changed name to Rogers & Bros. Mfg. Co.
     Joined International Silver Company in 1898
     Marks used until 1976
 Marks:
     (Star) Rogers & Bro. A1
     R. & B.
     (Star) Rogers & Brothers, 12
     (Star) R & B
     Manor Plate

                                                       This marks is found on hollowware


Church and Rogers
Years:
      1825 - 1841
Founders:
     William Rogers and Joseph Church

Rogers Brothers Manufacturing Company
Rogers Bros. Mfg. Co.


Years:
     1853 - 1861
Founders:
     William Rogers
     Asa Rogers Jr.
     Simeon Rogers
Mergers:
     Merged with Rogers, Smith & Co. in 1861
     Part of International Silver company


C. Rogers & Brothers
Place:  
     Meriden Connecticut
Year:  
     1866 - 1903
Founders:
     Cephas B. Rogers
     Gilbert Rogers
     Wilbur F. Rogers
Mergers:
     Bought out by International Silver Co, in 1903
     Trademarks retired by International Silver Company

Rogers & Cole
Place:  
     New Britain Connecticut
Year:  
     1830 - 1832
Founders:
     Asa Rogers Jr.
     John A. Cole
     Coin Flatware

Rogers Cutlery Co.
Place:
     Hartford Connecticut
Years:
     1871 - 1879
Mergers:
     Merged with Wm. Rogers Mfg. Co. in 1879
     Merged with International Silver Company in 1898

F. B. Rogers Silver Company
Place:  
     Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts
Years:
     1883 - 1886 to present
Mergers:  
     Absorbed West Silver Company.

Moved to:  
     Taunton,  Massachusetts
     1886 - Present
     1955 Bought by National Silver Company
     Bought by J.C. Boardman in 1985

 Mark:

Frank W. Rogers
     Hartford, Connecticut
     1875 - ?
     Frank W. Rogers

Rogers & Hamilton Company
Place:  
     Waterbury, Connecticut
Years:  
     1886 - 1898
Mergers:
     Merged with International Silver Company 1898
Founders:  
     Charles Alfred Hamilton
     William H. Rogers - Cigar dealer hired and made secretary so the Rogers name could be used.

Henry Rogers, Sons & Co.
     Montreal Canada
     1909 - 1915

H.O. Rogers Silver Co.
Place:
      Taunton, Massachusetts
Years:
      Dates unknown

J. Rogers Silver Co., Inc.
     Little known

Rogers, Lunt & Bowlen Co.
     Greenfield, Massachusetts
Mark:

Rogers & Mead
Place:  
     Hartford Connecticut
Years:
     1845 - 1846
Founders:
     William Rogers
     Asa Rogers
     J.O. Meade

Rogers Park Silverware Co.
Place:  
     Chicago Illinois
Place:
     ? - 1895

Rogers Silverplate Co.
Place:  
     Danbury, Connecticut
Years:
     1869 - 1922 - Early 1950s
Founders:
     Nathaniel Burton Rogers
     Cephas B. Rogers
     Gilbert H. Rogers
Mergers:
     Relations to the C. Rogers & Brothers in Meriden Connecticut
     Purchased by Cephas B. Rogers II manufactured under Rogers name until 1950s.

Mark:

Simeon L. & George H. Rogers Co.
S.L. & G. H. Rogers Co.
S.L. & G. H. R. Co.
Place:  
     Hartford, Connecticut
Years:
     1900 - 1929
Mergers:
     Absorbed by Wm. A. Rogers Ltd. in 1918
     Absorbed by Oneida in 1929
     Marks used by Oneida

Marks:

Rogers, Smith & Co. -There are Two of these! (but they are related and end up in the same place)

Rogers,Smith & Co. 
Meriden Connecticut

Founded:
January 1, 1857

Manufactured:
Holloware
Flatware

Founders
William Rogers Sr.
George W. Smith

Mergers:
August 12 1862 with Rogers Bros. Mfg. Co.

August 12, 1862 their flatware division was sold to the Meriden Britannia Co.
The Rogers left to work with them.

Edward Mitchell of the Rogers, Smith and Co. bought the hollowware division.


Rogers, Smith & Co.
New Haven Connecticut

Founded:
November 6, 1862

Manufactured:
Holloware

Founder:
Edward Mitchell

Mergers:
January 13, 1863 bought by Meriden Britannia Co.
Continued in New haven using Rogers, Smith & Co. marks
June 1865 plating shop moved to Meriden Connecticut - Marks will read Meriden
Move completed by January 1, 1866
All facilities incorporated into Meriden Britannia Company by 1877

By 1898 when the International Silver Company was formed it was a trademark owned by the Meriden Britannia Company but had ceases to produce as a division.

Rogers & Spurr Mfg. Co.
Place:  
     Greenfield Massachusetts
Year:
     1879 - ?    
Founders:
     David C. Rogers
     George F. Rogers
     George W. Spurr
     L.C. Pratt

Product:
     Made flatware
Mergers:
     Took over George W. Spurr & Co. 1873 - 1879
Marks:
     Mark reads: Rogers & Sons Greenfield, Mass

Wm. A. Rogers, Ltd.
      This is a big one that will take some time as well.

Mark:

William Rogers & Co.
 Years:  
     1841 - 1855
Made:
     Coin silver
Mergers:
     Became Rogers Bro. Mfg Co.
Mark:     
   (eagle) Wm. Rogers & Co. (Star)
   Mark taken over by Simpson, Hall, Miller & Co.
   This is then taken over by the International Silver Company








William Rogers Jr.
     Also a big name that will take some time.

William Rogers Mfg. Co.
     Hartford Connecticut
     1865 - 1898
     William Rogers
     William Rogers Jr.
     Thomas Birch
     1898 merged into International Silver Company
     Marks continued use in International Silver Company
     Became a division of International Silver Company

Marks:
     Anchor Rogers
     (Anchor) Rogers (Anchor)
     1846 (Anchor) Rogers (Anchor) AA
     1865 Wm Rogers Mfg. Co.
     Wm Rogers & Son
     R.C. Co.
     Rogers Nickel Silver
     (Anchor) W. R. & S.
     Rogers Cutlery Co.
     Wm. Rogers Mfg. Co. Hartford Conn.
     Rogers Brand Silver Plated Ware
     Cunningham Silver Plate (for Ocean Spray cranberry sauce premium)
     (anchor) Rogers (anchor) XII

Wm. Rogers Mfg. Co. Ltd.
     Niagara Falls, Ontario
     ? - 1905
     Bought by Wm. Rogers Mfg. Co. in 1905 a division of International Silver Company 

Wm. G. Rogers
     1901 - 1915
     Flatware
    
William H. Rogers


Place:
     Hartford, Connecticut
Year:
     1888 - 1915
Mark:
     (Sword) Rogers A1

William H. Rogers Corporation
Place:
     Plainfield New Jersey
Years:
     1901 - 1904
    
Rogers, Wendt & Wilkinson

Place:  
     New York New York
Year:
     January 1860 -  August 1860 
Founder:
     John R. Wendt

Rogers & Brothers Columbia Pattern Advertisment. 1893

This is page 494 of the guide to the World's Columbian Exposition. It contains an advertisement for Rogers & Brothers of Waterbury Connecticut and New York for the Columbia pattern. The advertisement claims it was made and named for the exhibition. They invite the reader to visit their booth in the building for manufacturers and liberal arts. The backstamp they list is (star) Rogers & Bros., A.1. 

If the frame below does not work please use this link.

Sears Roebuck & Co. 1897 Catalouge Featuring the Yale Pattern from Wm. Rogers Mfg. Co. and other patterns from the C. Rogers & Bro.

The frame below is from the Sears Roebuck Catalouge from 1897. If you scroll up there are some lovely sterling pieces and some children's sets. Interestingly, they call them kindergarten sets.  The page displayed has flatware made by the Wm. Rogers Mfg. Co. and C. Rogers and Brothers. Being from 1897 this page shows classic high Victorian patterns and their marketing.

There is a sugar shell, orange spoons, berry spoon and knife in the Regent pattern made by C. Rogers & Bros.

There is also a Yale pattern berry spoon "in a plush lined box, a real work of art" shown on this page from Wm. Rogers Mfg. Co.

 The next page (448) shows available flatware from C. Rogers & Brothers. Patterns featured are Savarin, Naples, Imperial, Regent, B. Engraved, Royal, Westminster, Lenox, Winthrop, Belmont, Shell, Mayflower, and Regent. It also shows a pie knife in the Yale pattern from Wm. Rogers & Bros. Mfg. Co..

If the frame does not work you can visit it from this link here.

Guthrie Oklahoma slim pickins

 

This weekend I went with my partner to Guthrie Oklahoma. It was the original capital and the Victorian architecture is astounding. One of Guthrie's main draws are the number of antique stores there. Quite frankly I was underwhelmed. They were more like thrift stores than anything else. This was the only really interesting piece of holloware. It was in really bad condition and overpriced. I cannot remember the makers mark but I do remember that it was a double strike. Hall and Elton I think? What do you think it is? Judging from the style I would guess a coffeepot. In its day it must have been magnificent. There would have been feet of some kind on the bottom and turning it over revealed what was left of the weld where they had been ripped off.  Still, I had a good time wandering about and it was nice to get out of town for a few hours. 

One note to silver dealers, quit putting stickers, tape and whatnot on the silver. Can we say chemical reaction and plate loss?  One of the estate companies in town loves using masking tape on silver and I have see plate pulled off when it is removed. Ugh.

Antique Egyptian Pattern, E.H.H. Smith Silver Co., Everts

Not a whole lot of luck this weekend. I found a few pieces of flatware. The only piece I am really excited about is another Egyptian revival demitasse spoon.  The first Egyptian revival in the decorative arts lasted from about 1820-1850. A good forty years but silver pieces from this period are scarce enough, so finding pieces in the Egyptian revival style is a herculean (or should we say Osirisian) task. 

There was a second form of Egyptian revival in the decorative arts in the 1920’s after the discovery of the tomb of King Tutankhamen.  From time to time since then there has been an incorporation of Egyptian motifs in silver and silver plate.This is one such case.

These are my two demitasse spoons in the Egyptian revival style.  They are the Antique Egyptian or Scarab pattern patented in 1909. One is marked Everts and the other has no mark (which as we shall see is not too unusual)  They have scarab beetles on the end of the handle.  These were produced after the height of the first Egyptian revival.  So what do we know about this pattern?

Hagan (1990) list them as Wm. A. Rogers and another company listed simply as Smith in the year 1909 and notes that they are not a full line. Meaning that only select pieces were made in this pattern.  In this book they are called Antique Egyptian.

Bones and Fisher (1998) list them under E. H. H. Smith Silver Company in Bridgeport Connecticut. They claim that it was designed for the Café de L’Opera in New York.  Further they claim that they were often given out as a premium by jewelry stores.  An interesting note is that this line is also known as Scarab. While noted as not being a full line confirming Hagan (1990). Bones and Fisher note that there exist grape shears, nut cracks, butter picks, muddlers as well as dinner spoons, forks and knives. The line appears in their book as having the scarab and without. The end of the piece having a sun disc and papyrus scroll in some cases.

Davis and Deibel (1972) list Antique Egyptian under the E.H.H. Smith Silver Co. showing their marks as a (triangle) S (triangle) and xx S xx where the s is in a box. They have a reprint of an advertisement that confirms that the pattern was designed for the Café de L’Opera in New York.  It also shows knives, butter knives, nut picks etc.  However, all of the pieces shown have the scarab on the piece. Davis and Deibel list the pattern date as 1909 and mention that it can also be found backstamped as Wm. A. Rogers and Everts. Everts used the demitasse spoons as an advertising premium.

Similar pieces:

Rogers & Bros. had a pattern named Egyptian in 1879. Other hollowware makers incorporated various Egyptian themes into their work like sphinxes as finials and the like.  I have also seen papyrus scrolls as a form of decoration. 

A collector I know and admire greatly has a pair of sphinx candlesticks that I am quite jealous of.  Next time I visit his collection I will ask for a picture.

Reed & Barton Serving Fork

 

I had my eye on this serving fork for a while. I finally picked it up for under five last Saturday. It is massive. Heavy and thick. The mark on the back is very simple it read Reed & Barton. The other fork is there for size comparison.

Peter Rabbit another Super Silver Saturday Find

 

So there I am walking around the shop. I stop here and there picking up things and flipping them over looking over the mark, setting it down. I can't help it. Chrome, pewter, really cheap plate I pick it up just to be sure. I almost walked past this little rabbit. Its a statue and I have little patience for knickknacks. But my partner was checking something out and I did not want to wander to the next booth. I picked the little rabbit up. Is this Peter Rabbit?  It was too shiny, a sign that it has been factory varnished as an anti-tarnish measure. This means that it is close to current manufacture and not anything older. The copyright from BFA Scotland on the back reading 1989 confirmed this. A second copyright FW & Co. is also on the back. FW & Co. hold the rights to license Peter Rabbit. The shovel handle has been broken and glued back. It is a sloppy repair. But, on the good side the piece is under ten dollars. 

Flipping it over the mark reads Industria Argentina. This is a mark that Argentinian goods carry. It is like the Made in USA mark for Argentina. I see a lot of material for sale on the internet that thinks this is a company.  It is not, it is a program started by Peron to raise national pride and mark Argentinian goods. Then over in the corner small, hard to read, slightly hidden is the real deal. 925, and sterling marked. It also reads in Spanish "an idea visited in silver" 

It turns out to weigh 7 3/4 ounces. Not too bad for under ten dollars. Given the circumstances just this once I decide to purchase a knickknack. My guess is that the seller did not know what they had thought it had a bad repair, and was pretty worthless. If it had been plate it would have been. As an object it is pretty damaged. As a chunk of precious metal its a very pretty way to store value. I wish I could have gotten a better picture but it just was not working out today. 

The Messenger Cup Polished

 

This is "The Messenger Cup 1933" after being polished. It took some real rubbing and there was a bit of hot glue down inside that had to be picked out. Still no secret powers but there is plenty of time for that. Click here to read about the piece and see a picture before polishing.