posted 04-11-2000 10:31 AM            

Special Features
After Hanovarian, Old English is probably the second oldest five piece place setting that one can acquire. Old English is rather a development of Hanovarian with two key differences:

1. The "rib" becomes less prominent and what remains is just a vestigial "tip". This pattern is often called "Tipt" in the US.
2. On the spoons, the handle turns down, away from the opening of the bowl, which allows the spoons to be placed "point up" or "bowl side down" on the table, setting a new trend in table etiquette. The Forks remain as they were.

Dating
Old English began to be produced circa 1770 and had essentially replaced Hanoverian by 1800.

As with all English silver, the pieces may be dated to within the nearest year by the Hallmarks. The seasons are sort of like the NBA, just one year long but running between two years- like 1798-99. There are any number of good books on the subject for example: The Book of Old Silver, English American, Foreign, by Seymour Wilder, Crown Publishers Inc. NY. This makes them highly collectible, as compared to American flatware which often cannot be dated to the nearest century. The pieces shown here date individually from 1798 (luncheon fork) to 1823 (teaspoon).

The fork below shows a good example of a complete set of marks.
It is best if one does not try to take them in vertical order because one can help attribute another, so it helps to know what you are looking for.

The first thing to look for is the Lion Passant (on his nose in the picture) which is actually the second mark from the top. This tells us we have .925 Sterling.

Next it would be important to determine the city symbol, which is the crowned Leopard's head indicating London. Without knowing the city, we could neither interpret the date nor the maker for there is a different series of these for each city.

At the top is the makers marks which actually shows a WE over WF . Wilder attributes these marks to London Goldsmiths William Eley and William Fearn circa 1797.
The ruler's head helps narrow down the era. This symbol was first used by George III in 1784-85. While it is not easy to distinguish George III from George IV, the mark switched clearly to the Queen's head for Victoria in 1837. This mark being a king's head
Narrows the field to 1784-1836.

The letters A thru U were used to define the date within a twenty year span. The C shown here with the Kings head could be either 1798-99 (Geo III) or 1818-19 Geo IV.
There is usually a clear definition with the style, sometimes simple, sometimes almost Gothic, but in this case the two are very similar. The final key is the shape of the incuse mark which in this case is multi-sided with the earlier date being the best match. Also the head looks a little more like the Geo III head but that is a stretch. The earlier date also fits well with the maker. With the above evidence I would go for 1798-99.

Old English essentially replaced Hanoverian at the beginning of the 19th Century. It is still being made today, as are all the old classic English patterns.

Pieces Available
Item................length..................our cost
Dessert Fork.......6 3/4"....................$30.00
Dinner Fork........8"........................$60.00
Tablespoon.........8 3/4".....................$65.00
Dessert Spoon......7".......................$75.00
Teaspoon............5 3/8"..................$22.00
It should be noted that the later teaspoons are larger than the early ones, possibly reflecting the reducing cost of tea.

You will note there is no knife of the pattern. These would be supplied by separate cutlers until the late 19th century, usually of the pistol grip variety.

Photo:

Key Pieces
The good news is that plenty of quality Old English is readily available from the early 19th century. There are no "keys".

Comments
I am constantly impressed by the lasting quality of 19th century British hand wrought silver. Check out the large picture and see the perfect condition of the tines which stand up to wear much better than their lesser colonial cousins. With prices of these genuine fully attributed antiques at current levels, Georgian British remains a tremendous value for the collector.