ladylikeme

Hi, At the present, I am on vacation. Hopefully I will get caught up on questions and requests on or before August 15, 2006. Please be patient, I will get a response to all of you when I return. Thank you for your emails and posts. ladylikeme

Thanks for the great info Robert" I am going to check out that website as soon as I post this. Have a Great Day! ladylikeme

Hi Hanseat, I found bilder-hosting-de, but that is as far as I got. I don't know how to search for your pictures on that site. Please send me step by step instructions for locating your pics. Hopefully I'll be able to find them, then get back to you. Warm Regards, ladylikeme

Hi Hanseat, I'm sorry I'm slow in responding to your email. I'm getting ready to go on vacation and have most of my reference books packed. I have done a little research on your silver pieces, but what is throwing me is the two lions with the head on the right side. In your email you say Sheffield is under James Dixon & Sons. You don't mention any other initials like E.P.N.S OR E.P.B.M., etc. I'm assuming without any initials marking the pieces as silver plate then they are sterling silver. Sterling silver is marked with the lion passant, the lion has one paw raised and he is facing left. Now, I'm thinking by saying the "right side", you may have meant the right side of the teapot. Also there is no mention of a cartouche (the area the marks are stamped), which also helps date the pieces. Before I really try to narrow it down to the date, I would like to see a picture of the markings and of the teapot. I think the pictures would help me quite a bit in dating this for you and hopefully tell you a little more about your tea service. I appreciate your questions and am looking forward to seeing the pictures. Warm Regards, ladylikeme

Hi Wilson, You asked me previously if the handle on your teapot was something other than wood. You said it looked very black and very hard. I imagine that the handle was ebonized. A stain or a dye was applied to the handle to make it look black or like ebony. Warm Regards, ladylikeme

Hi Wilson, The first thing I'll need is to see some pictures of the teapot. I would like to see 3-4 if possible. Regarding wooden and metal handles; the metal handle was patented in 1840, however, some Silversmiths still used the wooden handle. After 1840, they had a choice of which handle to go with. I'm looking forward to the pictures. Warm Regards, ladylikeme

Hi glaham, Thank you for the information. I'm not from England so I'll have to look on my map to see where these places are. Warm Regards, ladylikeme

Hi Wilson, In your post you said the teapot has a wooden handle and finial. If the handle and the finial are both wooden and soldered on it would date your teapot prior to 1830. You should be able to tell if the knob is screwed on or soldered. If it is screwed on, you'll see a little nut under the lid, holding the finial to the lid; which would date the teapot no earlier than 1870. Next we have the problem with the name and date. The name James Dixon & Sons was not used until 1835. For your teapot to be dated prior to 1830 the name on the bottom would be Dixon and Son. Going by what I've read, I would think your pot is dated somewhere between 1835 and 1870, I'm not too sure about the markings on the bottom of the pot. The number "1" may have been placed upside down for a reason. I have a teapot with the number "3" on it's side and facing down. If anybody knows how they placed numbers I would love to have the information. Also, without seeing the teapot I'm not sure how clear and visible the numbers and letters are. With your teapot being roughly made and it being so old, some of the letters or numbers may have rubbed off or been marred in some way to make them hard to read. The "c" could be a date mark or it also could be a crescent shape and not a date mark. Also on the "1" if it is not a number but a letter such as "I" or "l" then I would think it could possibly be the date mark. I know I haven't really told you a whole lot. I may be able to help more if I could see a clear picture of the teapot, base of the teapot and the marks. This is something I just read today, if your teapot is pewter, polish it with the outer leaves of a cabbage then buff with a soft cloth! I wonder who thought of shining their teapots with cabbage leaves? If you would like more help, please submit two - three pictures and keep going to the Goodwill shops, there's no telling what you might find! Warm Regards, ladylikeme

Hi arizonajoe, I'm not sure how much I can help you without seeing a picture of the teapot. The picture needs to show the whole teapot then another one showing the markings on the bottom. From what I've read in your post, your teapot is all metal. I'm assuming the handle is metal, if so, the metal handle was patented in 1840. Before 1840 the handles were wooden. In 1835 they started using the name James Dixon and Sons. Before 1835 they were know as Dixon and Son. I've never seen James Dixon & Sons name stamped the way you explained it. Is it "James Dixon" "& Sons" or is it "James" then below it "Dixon & Sons"? The trademark of the trumpet and banner was granted in 1879. Since you didn't mention the trumpet and banner the teapot was probably made before 1879. James Dixon & Sons' name was not used until after 1835 and if the handle on the teapot is metal, then it would be made after 1840. So, without seeing the teapot, I'm guessing it was made between 1840-1879. A picture would help me date the teapot by the shape of the pot, bottom of the pot, base of the pot, the handle and the finial (knob) on the lid. Is the finial soldered on or is it secured by a screw-thread? It would also help me if I saw the markings you were talking about in your post. Please remember, I am just guessing at this, if someone else has more knowledge, please jump in. Have a great day! ladylikeme

OK, I'M BACK TO CONTINUE ON... I GAVE YOU ALL A CHANCE - NOBODY SAID QUIT, SO HERE WE GO! Elkington, Mason & Co. between 1842 - 1861 Elkington, Mason @ Co introduced electrotyping as a new method of production for silver plated items. Elkington & Co. exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851 with enormous success. (I am guessing that Electrotyping dates after Mason supplied financial backing in 1842 and before 1851). Dates for James Dixon 1806 - founded Sheffield 1811 - became Dixon & Smith 1822 - changed to Dixon & Son 1835 - James Dixon & Sons (JD&S) 1879 - Trumpet and Banner Trademark granted Looking at the marks: Before 1879 - James Dixon & Sons - No Trademark After 1879 - James Dixon & Sons -= Trumpet and Banner Trademark JD & S James Dixon & Sons is easily mistaken for James Deakin & Sons if shown without the trademark. To differentiate between the two; James Dixon & Sons "JD&S" is always on a single line. James Deakin & Sons "JD&S" is always "JD" over "&S". The makers mark is usually surrounded by a Small shield or border. City Mark - Assay office mark for Sheffiield is a crown then later on a rose. If you look at the shape of the shield cartouche around the City Mark, it generally changes to match the shield around the Date Letter Mark. Date Letter - Each of the Assay Offices uses a different letter each year. The yearly letter, until recently varied from one office to another, so it is necessary to consult a list for each particular office when dating the item. The typeface or font, the case of the letter (I) (i) upper or lower and the style of the surrounding shield are all relevant and should be carefully compared to a list when dating the item. If it is silver and not electroplate the Standard Mark indicates the purity of the silver. The standard mark is the Lion Passant. Several of James Dixon's teapots have a single number on the base, 1,2,3,4, or 5. This number denotes the size of servings. Other ways to date pots: The highly ornate metal knobs or finials seen on teapots, date the pot from 1830 to about 1870. No metal knobs were seen prior to 1830. The bone and wooden knobs used from 1780-1830 re-appeared in similar form in 1870 but this time they were secured by a screw thread instead of being soldered into the lid. The earlier tea and coffee pots had wooden handles. Unlike silver pots, the handles remained wooden until Broadhead and Atkin brought out their patented anti-caloric metal handle in 1840. Up until 1800 the coffee and teapots had flat bottoms. Then ball and lion-paw and bracket feet reigned, soon to be followed by rounded rim bases. The Adam revival around 1870 saw the return of the flat base. The shape of the pot can also help with dating. Bullet shape, lid with concealed hinges, or bight cutting are usually from the late 18th Century. Some of the 19th century teapots were covered with cuttings. I hoped I've helped answer some of the questions out there and made it a little easier to decipher some of the marks on your item. Please, do not hold anything I have written as fact, it is merely an overview of my research. Also, please contact me if you have any questions I might be able to answer. Goodnight, Ladylikeme PS. minimonkeych - Did this help answer your question? JD&S

Hi, I've never submitted a reply on this forum before so I hope this makes sense. I can't tell if you all have received a reply to your posts so I wanted to give you some of the information I have gained. I've been doing research on James Dixon & Sons, James Deakin & Sons and John Dixon and Sons. I am going to share what I have learned and hopefully I'm not sending you the same old stuff that someone else has already sent to your posts. Also, I've never used tags and plan to leave those alone, so please bear with me. I'll start with coffee and tea ware. Creamers, pitchers or jugs along with the sugar bowl, tea and coffee pot, were made as separate items until the coming of the 19th century. The five piece set which then appeared was comprised of a teapot, coffee pot, hot water jug, sugar bowl and creamer. Both the teapot and coffee pot were proned to losing their lids and being partly melted by being put too close to the fire or on the hob to keep warm. Nearly all of these 19th century pieces would be Britannia Metal, an alloy of tin, copper and antimony. Similar to the look and feel to pewter, but much harder. Used primarily as a base metal to be silverplated. E.P.B.M. - Electroplated Britannia Metal. Electropolated Nickel Silver has the initials E.P.N.S., Electroplated Copper, E.P.C. and E.P.W.M., Eelectroplated White Metal. By 1838 Elkington & Co. had discovered and patented electroplating, E.P. In 1842 the company received financial backing from Josiah Mason, renaming the firm to Elkington, Mason & Co. a very successful company. The firm introduced Electrotyping as a new method of production for silver plated items, E.T. Are you still with me? I'm going to have to finish this tomorrow. If I had realized I was going to go on and on and on, I would have started this much earlier! Please, if somebody has already submitted this information, let me know and I'll stop boring you with my gleanings. So, goodnight and you all have a great day. Clydie

Okay, gotta go now. It's about 12:30 a.m. here. Way too late for me to be up. Ciao!

I swear I must have the black plague or else you are all at work now. I'm sure somebody in England must be home!

SIZE="4"][/size]Hi, I'm living in California and today the price of gas was $3.50 and rising. Can anyone tell me what that would be in pounds?