posted 10-16-2008 12:02 AM            

The city mark – the head of John the Baptist, taken from the city arms – has the last two digits of the year under it, though only the final “6” is legible. These numbers were added to the city mark in 1843 to distinguish items of 12 lot (.750) silver from those of 13 lot (.813) silver, which were marked with the head in a circular outline and no numbers. (A yet lower standard – .700 – was introduced in 1850; these items were marked with the 12 lot mark and an additional incuse “70”.)

The maker “JW” is Carl Julius Gottlieb Weiss (1805 – 1873; Master 1841). He used two different marks in his career, this script mark being the earlier (and this ladle therefore either 1846 or 56, probably the latter).

The source of all this information is Erin Hintze's pioneering reference Die Breslauer Goldschmiede. It was one of the very first in-depth studies of the silver marks of a single European city, and it is still the standard reference for Breslau silver.

I say all of this to let members know that as it is now over 100 years old and in the public domain, Hintze’s Die Breslauer Goldschmiede is available as a totally free downloadable PDF from Google Books.

Google Books is a great online research tool. The first volume of Rosenberg’s Der Goldschmiede Merkzeichen is also available there, with information on Augsburg, Berlin and (coincidentally) Breslau. Several other early silver references are there, too, along with some excellent resources for tracing coats-of-arms.