A pair of Victorian silver grape scissors, with attractive handle design of symmetrical scrolls and loops. The set is very finely engraved (on the front side only) with a foliage pattern, very intricate, in typical Victorian fashion. The blades are the traditional grape scissor design, with one blade thicker with right angle to accommodate the other blade. The hinge has a silver cover, also engraved, the pin is silver as well. The hallmarks are clear but hidden by the engraving, both arms are hallmarked, including makers mark A&S for Aston and Son of Regent place, Birmingham, Thomas and William Aston ran the business between 1856 and 1861. Henry Aston (we assume another son) took over the business in 1862, it was still operating in 1930 as wedding ring manufacturers (Culme, Gold and Silversmiths, page 18).

A pair of rare Old English Feather Edge and Cartouche silver tablespoons, made by William Pinder in 1771. The spoons are lovely quality and in excellent condition, we really like these spoons. The cartouche has been chased and engraved by hand, you can see small differences between the 2, notably the size and orientation of the scroll underneath. The cartouches are engraved with a family crest, a Griffin's head erased, this is the family crest of the Nalder Family (Fairbairns crests). Whilst Old English Feather Edge is a common pattern, the addition of the Cartouche, first produced around 1770 by Thomas Northcote, is rare (Silver Flatware, Ian Pickford, page 105). The pattern was revived late 19th century by Carrington, who called it Carrington Shield. The hallmarks are bottom marked, and include clear makers mark WP, with the W and P co-joined for William Pinder, who worked from Bunhill road between 1770 and 1784 (Grimwade page 624). The crowned leopards head and lion passant are partially worn but still cle...

A lovely 9 carat gold HMS Conway rowing medallion, awarded to L.H. Barradell, rowing at position 5 (we assume of 8). The medallion is beautifully cast, with a very realistically modelled ship. The medallion is perfectly preserved in its original box, marked "Old Fields Limited, Post Office Place, Church St, Liverpool". The hallmarks are very clear and include "9" and "375" indicating 9 carat gold. HMS Conway was a 19th century wooden battleship, used as a Naval Training School for cadets. It was stationed on the Mersey in Liverpool, which accounts for the origin of the medallion. It operated between 1859 and 1953. The motto was "Quit Ye Like Men Be Strong". L.H. Barradell rose to the rank of Commander, he completed his career in Kenya. He was awarded the Legion of Honour (Crois de Chevalier) by the President of the French Republic in recognition of his services during the war, during the battle of Jutland, when he was a Lt RNR (Lieutenant Royal Naval Reserve) (www.hmsconway.org web site). We have now...

Pair of Old English serving spoons of good gauge, with a nice feel.They are perfect for use as heavy duty serving spoons. They have an interesting crest of a tulip in front of 2 crossed crosses, each cross arm bearing another cross. Hallmarks very clear.

A beautiful pair of miniature antique silver pastry servers, perfectly preserved in their original box. The servers are in the Kings Husk pattern, single struck, this is a variant of the Kings pattern without the central honeysuckle decoration, and a husk shell. Both servers are a similar size and shape, one had a flat spade shape blade and the other has a serrated prong front, so quite versatile. The hallmarks on both are very clear. The box reads "By Appointment to his Excellency The Governor of Cape Colony, Morris Bros, Jewellers & Silversmiths, Kimberley & Johannesburg". We have not been able to trace any information about Morris Brothers, all assistance welcome. Note - We have now traced a 1905 advert for John Round & Son, they claim to be "The largest spoon and fork makers in the world".

A rare Regency rose pattern punch ladle, this is a beautiful ladle. The ladle is gilded, and has an engraved rams head family crest on the back. The ladle is the shape of a soup ladle, but is noticeably smaller, hence our description as a punch ladle (bowl is 7.0 cm by 5.5 cm). The pattern is double struck, and has good detail, with trailing roses, and Anthemion heel (Pickford, Silver Flatware, pg 131). The hallmarks are clear, the makers mark is slightly obscured, but the Script H used by Hayne is identifiable. Jonathan Hayne was freed in 1804, he had a flourishing business, and was Prime Warden in 1843, he died in 1848. Pickford describes the Rose pattern as rare, and he notes 2 different types (different heels). Close examination shows that these spoons have a slightly different design from the one depicted in Pickfords Flatware book (pg 131), with more leaves, so different dies must have been made.

A rare set of Old English Military Thread and Shell pattern (also called Military Shell) tableforks and dessertspoons (3 of each). These are good quality, the forks around 90 grammes each and the spoons over 60. All 6 have an engraved family crest, a raised lion facing right between 2 horns. 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). Pickford describes this pattern as "a rare pattern illustrated in the Chawner & Co Pattern book, Appendix page 218", where the Chawner book shows this pattern, termed as "Military Shell". Pickford did not illustrate a photographic example of this pattern , a further indication of its rarity. The hallmarks on all 6 items are very clear, makers mark GA for George Adams of Chawner & Co, and London date letter P for 1870. In addition, all pieces carry additional journeyman's marks (Y, K, 3 petal flower, O), so the particular silversmit...

A Regency silver sauce boat, by the highly respected firm of Emes and Barnard. The sauce boat is the traditional shape, with leaf capped flying scroll handle, 3 shell and hoof feet, and heavy cast gadroon border. The boat is a generous size and weight, over 330 grammes, this is a good quality sauce boat, as you would expect from these makers. The boat has a lovely engraved family crest, a church with spire, with crosses on the roof and spire. The hallmarks are very clear, including makers mark RE over EB and date letter e for 1820. Rebecca Emes was married to John Emes, who was in partnership with the Chawners, he died in 1808 and Rebecca became a partner. Edward Barnard rose from workshop manager to full partner, also in 1808. Emes and Barnard was one of the most successful London silver businesses in its day, they supplied many leading retailers, including Rundell, Bridge and Rundell. Barnard was joined by his 3 sons, Culme describes Edward Barnard & Sons as an important firm, the oldest manufacturing silve...

A Liberty Cymric nail vanity set, complete with buff, tweezers, file, scissors, knife and shaper, all steel manicure tools with silver handles set with turquoise cabochons on each side (10 in total). Each piece is fully hallmarked with "L & Co" makers mark, townmark, date letter and sterling mark, but none have the "cymric" stamp, as they were probably too small. Handbeaten silver set with turquoise cabochons is classic Arts and Crafts, probably designed by Archibald Knox, who designed for Liberty until 1912. The scissors do not have cabochons, but are a lovely shape (unfortunately one steel tip is broken off). The nail buff has its original leather base, which is worn but still intact. This set matches item S 1361.

Lovely Nathaniel Mills cigar case with a beautifully engraved hunting scene, a dog chasing two grouse. The entire case is engraved with scrolls, and the cartouche is engraved "Carole". Hallmarks on the lid and base are very clear.

An interesting and rare early vinaigrette, the grille of the vinaigrette does not have a hinge, but fits as a snug cap which can be completely removed. The vinaigrette is oval in shape, the grille is plain with irregular punch holes with no pattern, the grille and interior of the vinaigrette are gilded. The grille has a small thumbpiece on one side, this fits into concave opening in the side of the vinaigrette base. Close examination of the vinaigrette shows no sign of hinge removal, we are confident it was originally made to be a removable grille without hinge. The gilding is a lemon colour, with some scratches and imperfections. The original sponge is present. The hallmarks on the lid are very clear, and include date letter X for 1795, lion passant and makers mark T.W in oval punch. The hallmarks on the base include a very clear maker mark, good anchor town mark and partial duty mark. Thomas Willmore was the patriarch of the Willmore Genealogy, one of the leading families of Birmingham toy makers, known fo...

A "New Nautilus" novelty silver sugar sifter, complete with patent and registration number. The bowl of the sifter is a nautilus shell, the top edge of the shell has 28 pierced leaf shaped sifter holes, the shell is realistically modeled. The handle is joined to the shell at right angles, to allow ease of use during sifting. The handle has an interesting unknown pattern, not found in the book " Silver Flatware" by Pickford, it appears to be a variant of Albert pattern, and is single struck. The hallmarks are clear, the handle also has a registration number indicating the design was registered. The shell has a patent number, PAT 17124, so this design was patented as well, quite unusual for silver flatware. The nautilus is a living fossil, dating back 500 million years, it is a cephalopod named after Sailor in Greek. Nautilus shell cups decorated in silver and gold became popular in the 16th century, the nautilus became popular again in Victorian times, first as spoon warmers, this sifter design is late Victori...

An interesting and rare silver wine label, in Art Nouveau style. The label is rectangular with canted corners, and has been pierced WHISKEY in Art Nouveau style, in a font that closely resembles the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Glasgow school. Whiskey spelt with an E indicates Irish whiskey, Scottish whisky is spelt without the E. The hallmarks are struck on the front of the label, and are very clear, including the W&H in flag punch, they worked between 1884 and 1960, when they were incorporated into Mappin & Webb. British Art Nouveau silver wine labels are rare, the book "Wine Labels 1730-2003" by John Salter, states that "perhaps surprisingly, there seems to have been no record of British Art Nouveau labels", further noting the "only Art Nouveau labels known are American and Continental". Note: we have a matching label for BRANDY S1849.

An interesting and rare silver wine label, in Art Nouveau style. The label is rectangular with canted corners, and has been pierced BRANDY in Art Nouveau style, in a font that closely resembles the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Glasgow school. The hallmarks are struck on the front of the label, and are very clear, including the W&H in flag punch, they worked between 1884 and 1960, when they were incorporated into Mappin & Webb. British Art Nouveau silver wine labels are rare, the book "Wine Labels 1730-2003" by John Salter, states that "perhaps surprisingly, there seems to have been no record of British Art Nouveau labels", further noting the "only Art Nouveau labels known are American and Continental". Note: we have a matching label for WHISKEY S1850.

Rectangular, plain but elegant teapot on 4 ball feet, characteristic of the style between 1805 and 1810. Wooden handle and ivory finial. Beautiful tree stump crest, excellent hallmarks, including lid.

An Arts & Crafts Britannia silver tumbler cup, with hand hammered (planished) sides, and rounded heavy base, made by the little known silversmith Denis Lacy-Hulbert for his brother. The cup is beautifully proportioned, ideal for use, and is a lovely quality item. The cup is engraved "Cyril Lacy-Hulbert, M.A. (HONS) CANTAB, C.ENG, M.I.E.E., M.I. Mech E.", well positioned beneath the hallmarks, which also add to the decorative effect. The reverse of the tumbler has the Lacy-Hulbert family crest, with motto "Pro Aris Et Focis", translated "For Hearth and Home". The hallmarks are excellent, all clearly struck, including Britannia which indicates this silver is higher grade 950 standard (sterling is lower grade 925). Tumbler cups were originally made in the 17th and 18th century, designed with a heavy rounded base that rights itself to prevent spillage when traveling (think stagecoach or boat). Denis (Ben) Lacy-Hulbert (1911-2005) was Managing Director of a family steel tube/ cylinder manufacturing business, silve...

Beautiful ladle by the famed maker Alwyn Carr, one of the leading silversmiths of the Arts and Crafts period. It dates from the period after the dissolution of his partnership with Omar Ramsden, which occurred in 1918 when Carr returned from the Great War as a wounded Captain. The ladle is double lipped, spot hammered, has a rattail and a heart shaped terminal. The hallmarks are very clear. Carr died in 1940.

A collection of 10 sterling silver and enamel souvenir shooting trophy spoons, all with 2 rifles as the handles. Six spoons have crossed rifles, 4 spoons have enamel finials, and 7 are from Africa (Nyasaland, Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia - now Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe), with one from South Africa. The spoons include: 1. Nyasaland Volunteer Reserve, RMSB 1952, bare chested labourer crest, London 1911, Wakely & Wheeler, gilded bowl, fabulous quality 2. Nyasaland Volunteer Reserve, bare chested labourer crest, London 1912, Wakely & Wheeler, gilded bowl, fabulous quality 3. Birmingham Forward, enamel city crest of mural crown and arm with hammer (industry), Birmingham 1902, Arthur Fenwick 4. NVR Blantyre Limbe, RMSB 1954, enamel crest of leopard, Birmingham 1952, James Fenton 5. NVR Blantyre Limbe, RMSB 1953, crest of leopard, Birmingham 1953, James Fenton 6. Northern Rhodesia Rifle Association, fish eagle holding fish, no hallmarks 7. Southern Rhodesia Defence Forces, Lion holding tusk, Sheffi...

An interesting gold miner or prospectors gold brooch, consisting of a gold spade, pick and rope, with 3 real 24 carat gold nuggets - the largest central on the handles, with smaller nuggets on the spade and pick end. The spade blade has stamped "rivets", the gold safety chain and safety pin is attached to the spade blaed. The brooch pin is also gold, but a redder colour compared to the bright gold nuggets, spade and pick. The brooch has no hallmarks, we believe the spade, pick and rope to be 18 carat, the nuggets pure 24 carat and possibly the pin is 9 carat. These brooches became popular at the turn of the 20th century, worn to advertise success in the goldfields.

An interesting pair of circular trencher salts, made to commemorate the coronation of Edward VII in 1902 by Elkington. The quality is superb, and they are a good weight. The salts are an exact replica of Carolean salts made in 1684, engraved "Ex Dono Edw Norman 1684" (donation of Edward Norman 1684). They have star crests, presumably that of the donor, and the crest of the "Worshipful Company of Innkeepers" (St Juliens cross sable and chevron between 3 oatsheaves) on the other side. The company, whcih still exists today, was created in 1514. The company has the original salts (a set of 12) and presumably commissioned the replicas to commemorate the coronation. The original salts are described in the article "The Old English Silver of the Innholders Company, London" by Arthur Butler (The Connoisseur Illustrated Vol 1 pg 236, Sept - Dec 1901). Butler believes they deserve "special distinction", due to their "graceful shape". The top of both salts are engraved "Edward VII, 1902", and the base is engraved 101 and...