E. G. Webster & Son Coffee Pot

This little fellow got purchased a couple of weeks ago. I picked it up from a dealer friend of mine at a low cost who just hours before had picked it up from another dealer friend of mine for about nine dollars less. Had I not been so lazy that morning it could have been mine at a lower price but not to despair, early bird and all that. I really like the wooden handle, and the lid is in good shape, the silver inside is intact, the shape just does not do it for me. 

The weather was unseasonably warm today so you get an outside picture. This pot is part of the famous E.G. Webster reproduction lines and has a very classical english styling about it. I covered a brief history of E.G. Webster & Son in this post so there is no need to reproduce it here. I really like this maker and have seen many of their works. It is easy to identify through the use of their trademark spider web with a W. Though this is only one of their many marks, I think it is one of their best and just the detail of it is a joy to behold. 

Without reference books at hand to identify this mark I imagine that searching it out is a pain on the internet. I think I would go with the terms W, Star, Web, Silver but that could turn up any amount of things. Pictorial marks are some of the hardest to identify. Though, like with Webster, once you know what it is it becomes immediately recognizable to the collector. 

So what will become of this little fellow? Well I am stocked up on pots like this and it is not in the garish Victorian style I like so much so he is destined to be a Christmas present. The person i have in mind will give him a very good home.  There is a little damage to his foot where he was likely set on a ht stove or burner, but i don't think that this will matter too much. Sometimes imperfect silver is some of the most interesting. 

Little Bowl from E.G. Webster and Son

I picked up this little guy two weeks ago on Saturday. I it was four dollars. Not to bad for a repousse piece. Really tarnished silver is often priced super low because it seems to be "ruined" and often it is. This piece was ignored by the "pricers" of the estate sale and I benefited.  It was black as night and I finally got polished on Friday. That's right, an exciting Friday night polishing silver. 

this piece was made by E.G. Webster & Son N.Y. and its number is 440. It is pretty small, but the details are amazing.  In between the flowers and the scrolls are textured surfaces that have been chased. The feet are cast and soldered. This according to Hagan is a sign of quality work. I had not noticed it when I picked it up, but in the polishing, the handles are little sea creatures. This does not quite fit with the floral motif that the rest of the decorations reflect but I am a big fan of weird stuff like that. Perhaps, that's why I find colonial styles of silver to be so boring. There is a tiny amount of pitting in the bowl, but it really is so minor that I think for a piece its age it is forgivable. 

So let us consult Rainwater and see if we can find a bit about E.G. Webster. They were formed in Brooklyn New York in 1859. They have had three names:

Webster Mfg. Co. 1859 - 1873

E.G. Webster & Bros. 1873 - 1886

E.G. Webster & Son 1886 - 1928

in 1928 the son ( Fred H. Webster that formed the Son in the mark) sold the business to the International Silver Company. The factories were moved from Brooklyn to Meriden.  Rainwater states that they were well known for their "highly chased holloware and English reproductions". The webster trademark was used until 1961 when it was changed to Webster-Wilcox. This continued until 1981. At this time it was sold to Oneida.