Two Dollar Plate, French Sterling

I picked this up for two dollars yesterday at a junk store on a lark. I did not see any of the usual marks, just ones I could not really see clearly. It was heavy, tarnished (it sat in the sink overnight and was much worse)  but it did not have any sorts of the usual silver plate marks. I liked the detail of the flowers on it (the picture does not do it justice) but was wary because it is a small piece and seems to be missing something.  I don't know what the center is for it is the size of a teacup. I think that is what I may do with it. 

The marks were confusing. I looked in Rainwater's book first this did not help. There are two marks I had a hard time seeing.  I knew it had a Minerva head, so I did some internet searching. It also had another head in a square cartouche. At first I thought it might be Dutch. This did not pan out. Then I thought it might be Russian. It was close (the mark was so hard to see) but this did not turn out. Then I figured out that it was French. I still have a lot I am trying to learn about international hallmarks, and I rely heavily on this wonderful site. 925-1000 is one of my go to places on the internet for information. 

As an online encyclopedia of silver they are second to none. I could not do my work without them. So not only did they help me confirm the assay mark as being french, they had information on the maker. 

Turns out it is Emile Delaire who worked from 1882 to 1920. 

I could not have asked for a better deal, a better research site, or a better dish. Thats pretty good if I do say so myself. 

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. 

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. 

Did I mention I love toast racks?

I don't like toast. Not in the least. But I do love toast racks. I
finally found one. I am pretty sure it is British but have not
confirmed the situation.

Wilcox Silver Plate Co. Water Pitcher

This is my other water pitcher. It is from the Wilcox Silver Plate Co.
This design was patented October 29, 1878. It has an ice shield and a
ceramic insert to help keep the water cold. It's catalog number is
5174. The banding is a repousse floral affair.

That its the cat Paycheck helping in the background.

From This Saturday in Shawnee Oklahoma Pairpoint Mfg. Co. Spooner

 

This little beauty was also found in Shawnee. Once again on a back shelf hidden from view. The owner of the shop Jackie, was a little upset because he had meant to purchase this piece but had forgotten about it. He collects Art Nouveau silver and been at the auction where this was originally sold. He had gotten distracted at the auction and missed the piece and then had forgotten about it in his own shop. 

To his credit he had just opened his shop three months ago and had been particularly busy getting it up and running. We talked a bit about the trade and I picked his brain for advise about running an antique shop. His shop was on the higher end of the scale. He kept referring to it as a gallery, rather than a shop.  In fact I thought to suggest better signage because we almost did not go in because we were unsure what it was. 

Still it was quite pleasant. Much better than the antique shop that has two things from the fifties and a bunch of feathered pens and crap from Two's company. These shops are the worst. They are like some sort of sick Hallmark store and because I go to a lot of shops in rural areas, they have a very strange idea about marketing to middle class white women. I mean these are hard to describe, it is as if the decorator section of Hobby Lobby has vomited into a small town. 

But I digress. The shop owner Jackie pointed out to me that this was a spooner and I agree.  Had he known that I was a writer for the leading silver blog I am sure he would have asked me what I thought but we can't be famous everywhere. In honesty this piece has spent some time as a "penner". When I gave it its inital wash, a good step before polishing, the water from the inside ran out blue. Seems there was a whole splotch of dried ink on the bottom of the inside. When I first checked it I knew there was some muck in there but did not realize what it was. So it spent last night filled with water on the counter soaking. 

The piece itself is in good condition. It was made by Pairpoint Manufacturing Company of New Bedford Massachusetts.  This company was founded in 1880 as the Pairpoint Mfg. Co. and named after Thomas J. Pairpoint a founder that left the Meriden Britannia Company. Mr. Pairpoint is noted for his ideas about silver as a form of art and for the introduction of intricate design into the manufacturing process. I think if we compare Victorian silver with earlier pieces we can see some of his influence. Renaissance silver is very figural and decorative. Colonial silver is very plain. Victorian silver begins by copying the intricacies of the Renaissance. Thomas Pairpoint was partially responsible for this. 

The Pairpoint Mfg. Co. became the Pairpoint Corporation in 1900 due to financial difficulties. Prior to this Pairpoint had acquired the Mt. Washington Glass Corporation in 1894. they continued as a dual company making glass and silver until the depression on 1929 forced them to shut down silver production. The Niagara Silver Co.  purchased the flatware lines in 1900. Some patterns for holloware were purchased by the Rockford Silver Plate Co.

I really like everything I have see from Pairpoint. While quite a few of my colleges feel that Meriden Britannia Co. is one of the top corporations for silver plate, and I agree that they created work, I think Pairpoint often exceeds them in terms of design. Now I am known in the industry for liking smaller makers and smaller pieces, but I think there are a number of collectors that would agree with me on this point. Pairpoint on the whole had beautiful designs. I would have to say that they are in my top five manufacturers.

Found in Shawnee Oklahoma Meriden Pitcher

 

Last weekend was sort of a bust for silver hunting. I can't really recall finding anything really good. This weekend was sooooo mush better. It comes and goes like that. I think the main thing is persistence.  I mean I could find things every weekend if I just went up to the shops in the city and bought something I liked. But finding pieces, quality pieces, that I like at my budget is a bit of hard work. I mean to say it is hard work I enjoy. 

This piece is a great example. It was on a shelf, in a store in Shawnee Oklahoma. Behind a bunch of other stuff, low in the dark, so easy to miss. I was looking at a Greek revival (no maker) baby cup that was priced for a dollar and low and behold at the back was this little gem. It is from the Meriden Britannia Company. I have seen this in a catalogue but my quick searches this morning did not turn up the right one. I think it will polish up nicely. The faces vary all around the base. I think if I get some time I may provide the panoramic view this is such a nice little piece.

Mustard or Jam Pot

I picked up this little mustard or jam pot a couple of weeks ago. No
makers mark but the glass and swag on the sides really called to me.
Plus it fills a gap in the serving ware. A nice piece is a nice piece
no matter who made it. I do not think that it is particularly old, but
unlike many modern pieces, this has a quality lid and good welds. Plus
I can jazz it up by using a really pretty and detailed spoon.

Showing Off a New Butter Dish

 

So I wanted to show off more from my Super Silver Saturday from last week. Besides the goblet and candlestick, I also picked up this butter dish for a steal. It is from the Meriden Britannia Company. It is also marked "1884" which is the manufacturers piece number not the year. 

Now before you get too excited there are a few things you should know. First, the plate even with tarnish is in excellent condition. The inside of the piece as well. As you can see it has a big G on the front and a flower finial. Plus the legs are stunning.  It almost looks alien in its design. It was not the prettiest butter dish I saw that day, but was tucked away on a high shelf forgotten, forlorn and on sale.  I am going to guess that it is late Victorian

(1880s - 1890s), but I have not located it (yet) in any of the Meriden Britannia Company catalogues.

Now for the bad part. Someone at sometime painted the outside silver. It just had little droplets of silver paint all over the place. But if you remember I like to think of silver collecting as a type of archeology. So someone ruined this piece, I think given time I can clean it up. If this piece of artwork can survive over one hundred years then I can finish the job someone started in paint removal. I have started reading about removing paint from silver. There is more information about this from jewelers on the internet than anyone else. It appears the main thing, (and this is not a surprise) is to avoid any paint remover with sulfur.  

This will be a lot of work but if I can salvage it, I can take a piece from a level I can afford and move it to a level I cannot. Even if I fail, I still have a butter dish that, guess what, can hold butter.   If I get the paint off the only remaining issues are a slightly bent knife holder and a tiny dent on the bottom. Which for its age should not detract from its value.

Two More Things From This Weekend

These are two more things I picked up on my amazing silver Saturday this past weekend.

The first is a sterling candle holder. No maker's mark or the like, just sterling and weighted written on the bottom.  These pieces are all over the place. They contain very little silver, and the weight comes from resin or plaster in the bottom. This keeps the very thin shell from being crushed. They are not worth that much, but they do what they claim, which is to hold candles. This one is dented, tarnished (but that won't last long) and in rough condition. The good news is that it is still sterling and with enough of them I might be able to trade them in for replating something or just the silver itself. However, lots of later matched sets in different patterns had candlesticks like this that matched. So, some you have, may have greater value to a collector looking to round out their collection of a particular pattern than just the silver price. This added value makes them worth more than just the silver alone so don't just go out and tear them apart.I also feel the need to restate this, its not the value of the silver its what you like to do with it anyway.

The second is a sterling cup by Wallace. Specifically, Wallace & Sons Manufacturing Company. This company change its name to Wallace Silversmiths Inc. in 1956 and still operates.   This cup bears an older mark with a deers head. the number 3322 and the words Wallace and sterling.  The cup is once again heavily tarnished and I had a hard time making it out but on the side it is engraved. It reads "The Messenger Cup 1933" Pretty neat, although I have no idea what that means. I hope when I get it polished that when I drink out of it it will give me "secret powers". If it does I will let you know. 

The best part of all this? Well I found these by accident. I stopped off at the Episcopal Church rummage sale and found them sitting together at a table looking for a happy home. Being tarnished, and thus worth nothing I bought them for one dollar. That's right a candlestick and a sterling goblet for $1. Pretty good eh?