posted 12-05-2003 01:18 AM              

I need help identifying these marks. There are several different sets of marks. Anybody that want to take a crack at identifying any of these?

Thanking you in advance LayDGator

posted 12-05-2003 12:48 PM            

To add to the confusion, the tray market has a large component of commercial users. This includes hotels, restaurants, caterers, railroads and private clubs. It seems that if a major order was placed, the name of the user would go on the item, rather than that of the maker.

Grapes and leaves is a recurring motif on silver. Virtually very maker produced something to take advantage of this style. These were produced for very long periods of time. Sometimes they were sold as Sheffield style, sometimes as Colonial Revival, sometimes as 'traditional'. This becomes clear when examining the Oneida Community grade hollow ware. The same shape and contour was offered as: Art Deco (Bird of Paradise), Colonial Revival (Paul Revere).

So to answer your question, the marks are really not the final answer. They can indicate all sorts of things. My own personal inclination is to look at the piece and ask how it has been polished. Under magnification if it shows a pebbled surface, it was probably used in a commercial establishment. If something truly bizarre has been done to it, like silver nail polish, it comes from the catering trade. If it shows signs of hand polishing over a long period, it was made for home use. The last category is sometimes tracable.

My years in the silver trade have taught me many things about how food is prepared and served. Trays seem to be the particular province of the caterer. The country is filled with small scale, in home catering companies. They constitute the market for trays, for practical intents and purposes. I always wondered why two nice ladies who did bridge clubs needed trays. The answer is they charge by the tray: it is a unit of measure. So, the trick in selling trays is to lump them by size as that is how caterers view them. The nice thing is the caterer only cares about the rim, the interior is covered with food and platic wrap.