William Eley & William Fearn

William Eley and William Fearn produced high quality silver in the late 18th and early 19th century. Their work is sought after by collectors and holds its value. The following images show case the quality of the silvermaker's work.

Georgian sterling silver table spoon
This Georgian sterling silver table spoon is fully hallmarked with a charming engraved monogram on the handle. It has the mark of William Eley & William Fearn and was assayed in 1799. It has a George III hallmark and is about 9" long.

Five George III tea spoons by William Eley, William Fearn & William Chawner

These George III tea spoons were assayed in 1810 withe mark of William Eley, William Fearn & William Chawner. They are in good condition for their age: all five spoons have the patina one would expect from high quality Georgian flatware.

George III Sterling Silver Ladle with Engraved Crest by Thomas Barker - 1810

George III Sterling Silver Ladle with Engraved Crest - 1810

This Georgian fiddle pattern .925 silver ladle is fully hallmarked and is in good condition. 

It was made by the London silversmith Thomas Barker in 1810. It has a George III duty mark and weighs 54 grams. One would expect to pay between £80 - £120 for a ladle of this age.

It is about 18 cm or 7" long.

The hallmarks are clear and un-rubbed. They include the lion standard mark, the crowned leopard London city mark, the date letter, the duty mark and the maker's mark. It has an attractive engraved crest on the handle.

Acknowledgements

Fox-Cottage-Silver (images & text)
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Fox-Cottage-Silver

George III Scottish Sterling Silver Sauce Ladle by an Unknown Maker

George III Scottish Sterling Silver Sauce Ladle 

This elegant Georgian .925 silver ladle is hallmarked and is in good condition. 

It was made by an Edinburgh silversmith during the reign of George III. It has a George III duty mark and weighs 22 grams and is about 16 cm long.

The hallmarks are clear and include the maker's mark, the thistle and the George III duty mark. It has an attractive engraved monogram on the handle. However, its owners cannot identify the maker.....and neither can I.

Any comments or suggestions would be very welcome!

Acknowledgements

Fox-Cottage-Silver (images & text)
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Fox-Cottage-Silver

New Silver Fork Blog Launched!

If you collect antique silver forks check out:

http://antiquesilverforks.blogspot.co.uk/

For facts, photos and price guides about Georgian, Victorian and 20th Century silver forks.

Jonathan Hayne Silver Ladles

Jonathan Hayne and Thomas Wallis II began a silver-smithing partnership in 1810. This ended in 1817, with Jonathan Hayne entering his own distinctive silver mark in 1821. A copy of Hayne's maker's mark is shown below.

The following photos show an impressive pair of Jonathan Hayne silver ladles from the early 1820's (est. £135 - £150). In addition to Hayne's distinctive maker's mark, they both have duty marks for George IV.

EXETER Silver tea spoons: WILLIAM RAWLINGS SOBEY

Exeter is known for a good standard of domestic silver. From 1701, its mark of origin was a three towered castle as shown above. Very little silver was assayed in Exeter by the end of the 18th century, hence the Exeter mark is much sought after by collectors. Exeter's assay office closed in 1883.

The following set of five silver tea spoons are by the highly regarded silversmith William Rawlings Sobey (est. £80 - £100 for a set of five). They were assayed during the mid Victorian period and have a clear set of silver marks.

GEORGIAN SILVER TEA SPOONS & HALLMARKS by Thomas Batlings

When I research hallmarks on Georgian silver spoons, I begin by checking the "mark of origin" to discover where the item was assayed. Then I check the "city's section" in a good hallmarks table - these can be found on-line or in a good guide (I use Jackson's Hallmarks published by the Antique Collectors' Club). After this step, I check:

• the date letter - to see whether it's a capital or lower case letter;
• the script; &
• the shape of the shield around the letter.

I then compare these with the letters in the hallmarks tables. Once I am sure about the place and date of origin, it's is fairly easy to then look up the maker's mark. I try to pay about £20 for Georgian tea spoons, although this varies if a spoon is rare or unusual (for example, I pay about £60 - £80 for 18th century picture back tea spoons). The following spoons are by Duncan Urquhart & Napthali Hart and were assayed in 1801 (est. £100 - £120). The set of six includes one 18th Century spoon by Samuel Godbehere & Edward Wigan. This example shows, that although hallmarks on Georgian spoons are quite often rubbed, it is still possible to identify where and when a piece was made.

Work by Jonathan Hayne is highly regarded by silver collectors, particularly his silver forks and spoons. Assayed in 1829, the following example shows a silver tea spoon by Jonathan Hayne (est. £20 - £25). The spoon dates from the late Georgian period and has a George IV duty mark.