Last Water Pitcher. Reed and Barton

This is the last of my three water pitchers.  Oh I have many many other pitchers but those are not just water pitchers. Strangely it was the first water pitcher I bought.  I purchased it at an estate sale about four years ago. The maker is Reed and Barton and it was made in 1943. I know because unlike so many other makers Reed and Barton is kind enough on later works form 1928 on to put a date symbol (much like British sterling has). This piece has a fasces and thus was easy to look up.  Another  unique thin about his pitcher is its weight. Even though it has a ceramic insert the bottom is weighted quite heavily. This was to keep it from sliding on a table. Why? you inquire. Because this pitcher was made for the U.S. Navy. It is marked USN on the bottom. This means it was made during Word War II. 

I could go into a long discussion here about the history of Reed and Barton, their date marks and other marks but this information has been covered by so many people. Probably because they are still producing silver and silverplate.  However if you are interested you should check out this site. Giorgio B. has done a wonderful job of covering Reed and Barton as well as many many other makers and topics. I rely on it constantly. I can't imagine what his collection is like but this database of information is second to none. I truly admire his work.