A set of 6 Irish silver dessert spoons, in the Fiddle pattern with rat-tails, a feature of Irish flatware of the period. The spoons have original owners engraved initials WMH. The hallmarks on all 6 are excellent, and include makers mark IB for James Brady, who worked between 1821 and 1842. The spoons also have the retailer's mark, NEILL, which is very clear on all the spoons. Irish retailers were among the first to mark flatware, early adopters of corporate branding. NEILL was a leading Belfast retailer, first established by Robert Neill in 1803, the firm survived until 1960.
A rare Victorian silver Old English Military Thread and Shell pattern soup ladle, of exceptional weight and quality. The pattern has the regular Thread and Shell pattern, double struck (on both sides), but with scrolls instead of shoulders, as with all Military variants (Pickford, Silver Flatware, page 117). The ladle has an interesting engraved family crest, a collared lion between 2 horns. The hallmarks are very clear, including makers mark GA (George Adams, who took over the Chawner business in 1840), and also includes 2 journeyman's marks S and N (the silversmiths who made the ladle in the Chawner & Co workshop). Ian Pickford, in the book Silver Flatware, describes Old English Military Thread and Shell as "a rare pattern, illustrated in the Chawner & Co. Pattern book(appendix pg 218). Any services and pieces are rare" - page 107. Chawner & Co were the most important firm of silver spoon manufacturers in Victorian England (John Culme, Directory of Gold & Silversmiths, page 82).
A set of 4 Irish Georgian silver tablespoons in the Fiddle pattern, made by Samuel Neville of Dublin. The spoons have no initials or engraving, and no signs of removal. The hallmarks on all 4 spoons are excellent, all individually struck. They include makers mark SN, Hibernia, Crowned Harp and date letter I for 1805. Samuel Neville worked between 1795 and 1851, he was a respected member of the community, he was Warden between 1804 and 1807 and was also elected to the Dublin City Council in 1807. He was Master in 1807 and 1827.
A set of 6 Irish Georgian silver dessert spoons in the Fiddle pattern, made by Samuel Neville of Dublin in 1804. The spoons have no initials or engraving, and no signs of removal. All 6 spoons have good hallmarks, makers mark SN for Samuel Neville (struck both ways). They also have Hibernia and Harp Crowned, and date letter H for 1804 (note absence of duty mark, only introduced in Ireland in 1807). Samuel Neville worked between 1795 and 1851, he was a respected member of the community, he was Warden between 1804 and 1807 and was also elected to the Dublin City Council in 1807. He was Master in 1807 and 1827.
Rare set of 3 Old English tablespoons made in Carlisle, with Newcastle hallmarks, which are very clear. These spoons all have the same engraved initial B as the 4 tablespoons with the incuse duty mark (item S 1184). John Brown worked between 1822 and 1826, he was an ironmonger and jeweller of English Street, Carlisle, who made a variety of small silverware.