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 "face down" or "bowl side down" on the
table, setting a new trend in table etiquette. The
Forks remain as they were.
|
|
Dating
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.
- The first thing to look for is the Lion Passant
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,
which happens to be 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 for 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.
Old English essentially replaced Hanovarian at the
beginning of the 19th Century. It is still being made
today, as are all the old classic English patterns.
Pieces Available
| |
Size |
My 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.
|
|
click on image to enlarge
|
Key Pieces
The good news is that plenty of
quality Old English is readily available from the early
19th century
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.
|
