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Mr. Fradley's Pattern

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Author	Topic: Mr. Fradley's Pattern
rian Posts: 169 Registered: Jan 2006	posted 09-28-2007 06:36 PM There is no information other than the patent date (Oct 3 1871) to be found on this spoon, but a search of the records lists the patent holder as Joseph Fradley of Brooklyn, NY. Is anyone familiar with this pattern? My best guess is that this is silverplate since it has no markings that would indicate solid silver and I don't think this spoon has as much flex in it as solid silver should. But the shaft is visibly thicker than my other coin or sterling flatware and I don't have enough experience to be sure. There is no sign of any plate wear. Perhaps it was re-silvered at some point? My 1975 ed of Rainwater credits Fradley for his chasing and his work in 14 kt gold and sterling cane heads and handles, frames, vases, dresser wares, desk accessories.... A forum search brings up a the photo and discussion of a Fradley piece but no mention of flatware or plate. Was this his sole venture into this area? IP: Logged
Brent Posts: 1507 Registered: May 99	posted 09-28-2007 08:39 PM I'm sure your piece is plate; I know I have seen it a few times before. It resembles a couple of sterling patterns, but is not one. Fradley is a manufacturer that you don't encounter very often. His mark appears mainly on perfume bottles, jars, mirrors, etc., as noted in Rainwater. I have seen one piece of Fradley flatware, and that a tour-de-force of floral chasing, with the entire piece chased in high relief. Brent IP: Logged
wev Moderator Posts: 4121 Registered: Apr 99	posted 09-28-2007 09:32 PM Fradley was listed in the 1880 Brooklyn census as a cane maker. Here is the patent : and IP: Logged
rian Posts: 169 Registered: Jan 2006	posted 09-28-2007 10:49 PM Thank you, wev. I was able to access the text, but not the drawings. Brent, I'll bet one of the sterling patterns you are thinking of is Gorham's 1871 New Tipt. They could have been even more similar. Oddly Fradley's patent application describes a beaded transverse like the one you see in New Tipped. But the one in this spoon is solid. IP: Logged
bascall Posts: 1629 Registered: Nov 99	posted 09-28-2007 10:50 PM In 1870 Joseph is an engraver. He immigrated at about age 2 from England in 1845, and in 1900 he is a manufacturer of silverware. IP: Logged
Dale Posts: 2132 Registered: Nov 2002	posted 09-29-2007 01:18 AM Both Hagan and Davis & Diebel regard this as a generic pattern on the order of Kings or Fiddle Thread. It is one that was used by all the 19th century plate makers. In particular, Derby was a company that made very little plated flatware. But when a piece needed a serving piece with it to work, Lily was one of the choices used most frequently. IMHE, Lily is a serving piece pattern. There are lots of serving pieces in it but very few place pieces. I have never seen a knife, just a few forks and spoons. But loads of servers. Which tells me that a sugar spoon, like the one shown, came with a tea set. A cake knive came with a cake basket. A soup ladle for the tureen. Does this patent extend to all pieces using the design or is it for the particular sugar spoon alone? My impression is that use of the motif goes back into the 1840's. IP: Logged
rian Posts: 169 Registered: Jan 2006	posted 09-29-2007 08:39 AM Regarding Joseph Fradley's career, Rainwater says he went from completing an apprenticeship in chasing with Wood and Hughes to owning a workshop that employed 25 to 30 people doing work for the trade, within a couple of years in the late 1860s. In 1870 he built a factory for the production of gold headed canes. The business grew and expanded and by 1873 he moved into a larger factory. Dale, I think you have said earlier that the set up for making plated ware was complicated and very different from making solid metal ware. Is it a good assumption that he would have contracted out the production of his silver design to an existing factory? That might explain the lack of a makers mark. Testing the waters before deciding to go in another direction. IP: Logged
Dale Posts: 2132 Registered: Nov 2002	posted 09-29-2007 07:02 PM Rian, silverplating is a very capital intensive business. It requires a factory type of production. If replating a few items, a small set up works. But for production of new items, there must be a steady stream of customers for plating to be worthwhile. And this is subject to the 'most efficient run' rule. Which means there are always things left over. We do not have a very clear understanding of 19th century outsourcing. All we know is that this was done. The antlered deer head foot appears on all sorts of companies production. It could have been that one company came up with the design and wholesaled it to the entire trade. Or that there were small firms that simply made teapot feet and sold wholesale. No one knows. One fact that is clear is that in 1919 International Silver threw out the records of the Meriden Brittania Company and all the other firms that made up International Silver. Edmund Hogan was an employee at the time and saved some of them from the dumpster. In the 1970's, Ed began offering photocopies of the records to collectors. Since he began working with IS in 1918, I suspect he is no longer with us. These records have disapeared again. AFAICT, neither the public library nor the historical society in Meriden have them. Ed Hogan's library of Meriden Brittania documents is one of the treasure troves of the silver world. And no one knows where they are. Hopefully, one of his greatgranddaughters has them in her attic. IP: Logged

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