RobertDSmith

Some of us have lived through it and seen it all ! I was first introduced in WW2 when we gave a secret knock on the cutlers door and a glance through the peephole before we were let in. Just in case we were from the 'Ministry'. Officially of course, no cutlery was allowed to be made for home consumption. I spent the next 50 years buying and selling Sheffield cutlery. Carrying blanks from one outworker to another. Filers, (Wilds, remember them ?) anonymous buffer girls (stuffed with newspapers), mirror polishers (a breed apart) then the etchers ( who had often lost your plate !). Boxes from Pickerings or Bells (bless them !), Then Willy Stringer for scissors. No finer scissor craftsman ever lived !! I had a front seat in the stalls to watch the industry's painful death throws. As for the incomers who had the nerve to put Sheffield on their boxes ! I could write a book ! Come to think of it there should be a book in there somewhere ! but then again, who would buy it ? Bob.

I think Sheffield should be congratulated; it has re-invented itself and superficially at least it looks prosperous to me. I may say more prosperous than it did in its so-called heyday when all the cutlers were struggling. I agree, it was never a 'fine city'; it used to be called the biggest village in England ! Looking back on my 45 years a cutlery dealer it always had a village mentality. Everyone knew everyone else and what they were up to, I think that's why we loved it. Then when we got a glimpse of what the rest of the world was up to, we knew that the writing was on the wall. My grandson is at Hallam Uni now and rests his head at the back of Sydney St. where the knife grinders were. He thinks the city has an energy and vibrancy but then we do hail now, from the backwoods of Sherwood Forest ! Goodonyer Sheff. I'm still proud to be a son. Bob.

I'm afraid, Jakki, that your B.M. coffee pot is virtually worthless, at least in this country. It is not surprising that the silver plating has now worn off as they never put much on in the first place. No matter how much you clean it you won't get anything better than dark grey as Brittania Metal is very similar to pewter in composition. It was the poor-man's EPNS at the time, at the turn of the 19th.C. The fact that Dixons spell out the base metal in full on the base is quite interesting. It is more often abbreviated and may indicate an early date for its manufacture. The faint scratches that you mention could indicate that it was re-plated or repaired at some time, a common practise. Cheers Bob.

This sounds like a very typical britannia metal hot water jug and if it were replated would be a nice decorative piece. In the late 18th. and early 19th Cs B.M. was widely used as a basemetal for holloware because it was much softer than nickel silver and leant itself to elaborate engraving and fluting (corrugations) as you describe. The crown is always an indication of Sheffield whether used on cutlery, plated holloware or of course on the sterling hallmark. The numbers will simply be catalogue or pattern numbers, it is a difficult piece to date more closely than about the turn of the last century (I should say last century but one now !!) Regards, Bob.

Krush, I never knew Monogram to actually make anything in Sheffield. Their cutlery was all imported in collaboration with a Duch firm Amefa, under whose name I believe they still trade. The bulk of their buisness was with the catering trade and the general quality was very good. If my memory serves me, the company was started by a certain Mr Dearden who bought up a failing old Sheffield cutlery firm of F.A.Kirk. I believe I was their first customer. I dimly remember offering £100 for a room full of old samples. We traded with them for over 40 years and had a very good relationship. Too much water under the bridge now ! Bob.

The hallmark on the ferrule would be obvious, though small, if it had one. The handles also sound like xylonite, it was deliberately laminated to look like the grain of natural ivory, never very convincing. Just polish them up then dream up some occasion when you can poach a whole salmon in a kettle then show off with a flourish and a bit of old Sheffield. Bob.

What an absolute nightmare the school dentistry was at Lowfields !!! What on earth were they doing pulling out perfectly good teeth !!! It was 20 years before I dare to seek a dentist again and try to put it right. I was psycologically damaged ! people have sued for less ! Bob.

Pat, it is most likely that the fish carvers you have are by James Dixon, they were quite commonly made in Sheffield in the first half of the 20th. C. and before. It was one way the hand engraver could show off his skills on the broad blade and they always looked so spectacular in the frequently velvet lined cases. A favourite wedding present in those days. They most surely will have a ferrule at the top of the handle which was often sterling silver even though the blade and fork would be plated. It is worth having a closer look at yours for the very small hall-mark which would then give you a date of manufacture, you will need a magnifying glass ! The handles could be ivory or, more likely, xylonite. The regularity, or absence, of the grain in the handle is the clue, and when slightly warm the xylo gives off a faint smell of camphor but be careful, xylo is extremely flamable ! Good luck with that, Bob.

If you scroll to the top of this page entry 182 you can ask her yourself by e-mail, I'm sure she wouln't mind. Bob

This is where Lola Bish's old catalogue would come in handy, 237 maybe a pattern number and you could get a date. I wonder if she has sold it yet ? The mark of .22 of a troy ounce (if that is what it is) could refer to the weight of silver of the plating. I have only seen plated cutlery marked with pennyweights (dwt) per dozen never on holloware. We used to regard 1 troy oz. to be a decent plating for a standard teapot, so .22 of that would be about right for a candle holder but maybe not if it is a tall candle stick. Bob.

That's an interesting find Hilsbro, it just shows what a value these old catalogues have ! Lola will be tempted to put it up for sale but the noble thing to do would be to offer it to the Central Library Archive Dept on Surrey Street. But Lola, it would be a shame to split it just for decoration although I can see the temptation. If it were mine I would just keep it for old times sake but would my son or grandson be interested in it ? I doubt it !! Now if it were scanned and put on line !! What a resource that would be !! I second Hilsbro.. welcome Lola. Bob.

Dear ???? (elone) In the U.K. your teapot would have no value at all as it has no precious metal intrinsic value. As for down-under I dare say there are people wanting a bit of old England. I can't help you with the series of numbers, they are probably catalogue numbers or even a batch number. As for dating, we can usually only go on the body shape or style of decorative engraving and relate it to what was in vogue at the time. Many shapes went unaltered for decades particularly the straight sided 'Hotel Ware' which were produced in silver and EPNS right up to the start of WWII and in some cases beyond. I hope I don't sound too dismissive ! I'm sure if I was in Oz and saw a James Dixon teapot I would say "Look what I've Found !!" Bob.

I think it's fair to say that in the late 19th. and early20th.C. Britannia Metal based holloware was regarded as the poor man's plate. It was cheaper and easier to produce than a nickel-silver body but at the same time could be engraved and shaped more elaborately which suited the taste of the times. It could be that Dixons put a bit more silver on than others and maybe used ivory finials and handle stops. Where the plate will have worn off it will show dark grey or black showing through. At antique fairs etc. they can be usually quite dented because it is such a soft metal. Bob.

This sounds like a cloche or domed plate cover, as still used in top hotels and some gourmet restauants. Now made in stainless steel of course. I doubt that it will be able to be dated unless someone has an archival Dixon's catalogue and can trace the reference number that you have. I guess they were made more or less unchanged from about 1885 until 1935. Interesting to me would be its condition, how much plate there is left on it and what the mounts are like (ribbon or bead etc.) This kind of thing was made by many manufacturers in Sheffield and Birmingham but strangely James Dixons are regarded with affection by many of us probably because they persevered in business long after others had gone to the wall. Anyway are you really in Vancouver, or just a relative of the Captain from Kings Lynn ? Bob.

Cheawa, yours is an interesting family story and we thank you for that. It would make an interesting study about the impact of external influeces that have had a bearing on the cutlery trade. At the time we all thought that in general they were to the detiment of our old quality values and we looked down our noses at the likes of Rickartz, Viner and Krause but there was a messsage in there somewhere and if we had heeded it maybe Sheffield's decline would not have been so abrupt and painful. As for contacting people Cheawa, just click on to the poster's name, it will turn red with an option to e-mail them, good luck, Bob.