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RobertDSmith

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Everything posted by RobertDSmith

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. Dear Janner of Plymouth, "has anyone noticed this sad state of affairs?". I'm affraid I have spent a lifetime observing it ! Four generations at least of my mother's family were spring knife cutlers and my working life was spent buying and selling them. I was in and out of the Sheffield works every week for 45 years and maybe I should write a book ! In the 1980s when it began to dawn on the Sheffield, stuck -in their-old-ways makers, that the Swiss knew a thing or two about knives, Denis Slater (god rest his soul) went to visit the Victorinox factory at Swytz to see if he could learn anything. They were pleased to show him round their wood yard but no way was he alowed to enter the workshops in case he picked up their secrets ! For the past 20 years I have carried a slim engine turned Victorinox knife in my pocket and I use it several times each day. I have dozens of Sheffield knives as you might expect but none of them comes close !! Sheffield cutlery is a fascinating story but I suspect no different to textiles, shoes, ships or motorbikes. Bob.
  16. Yes Crooksey, we were posh, we'd moved up to Meersbrook ! Not quite Beechif but we didn't want anyone to think we'd been born in Eely even if we had. Bob.
  17. The Wesleyan Chapel on Plantation something in Heeley. Does it still exist ? The BB taught us to be 'good lads' with no nonsense ! Perhaps something we could do with today ! A favour it did me was to cure me for life of camping and wshing in cold water !! Bob.
  18. The Invisible Man with Claude Rains it was round the back at the Heeley Coliseum. We used to say "will yer teck us in mister" Heaven only knows what year that was !! I think it must have been in someone else's lifetime ! not mine you understand. Bob.
  19. I think if anyone had asked us at the time if life was great I doubt very much if they would have got a positive reply. We had nothing to compare our lives with except the horror stories our parents told us and we could'nt really understand them. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but what about the National Service which ended it all so dramatically !!! I was very aware that I was being robbed of 2 years of my life at a very crucial point in time. O.k. we learned a lot from the experience but it was a high price to pay. Bob.
  20. An interesting piece and looks very early. I would say it was pewter (etain) the 1/4 pint mark is what you normally find on measures or pewter tankards. Some expert will know. Sorry my schoolboy french is not up to it ! Bob.
  21. Houses at High Storrs. Early Britons !!?? I don't now how you managed not to pay attention to Jock Hamilton in history as he strode up and down with his half metre scale keeping us all awake. Trojans,Spartans,Goths,Normans, Picts Jutes, Saxons and Franks. Not bad after a gap of 65 years, but don't ask me what happened last week ! The best advice he imparted to me all those years ago, "don't believe everything you read in books". Bob.
  22. I like the sound of your tea and coffee pots Steph, typical of Dixons to put a good oz. of silver on each. Can you get a good rouge based polish where you are ? nothing abrasive. As for date, the shape and design would be a good clue. You say 'round' that begins to sound like the 30s. Earlier B.M. is often heavily chased as it was easier to engrave elaborate patterns on the softer metal, I didn't realise you were down under ! I would double the price you could get here, let's face you could'nt just walk doun the street and buy another !! Bob.
  23. Hello Steph, presumably your 2 pieces are not sterling silver or you be describing the hallmarks. Also you do not mention E.P.N.S. or E.P.B.M. but I suspect they are plated Also the ebony fittings would indicate plate, if sterling they would more likely be ivory. Is the base metal showing through, look where most wear would take place if yellowish then a nickel-silver base if black (not to be confused with the tarnish) then it is Britania Metal. These kind of pots have little or no value. I'm afraid we Sheffield wrinklys just like to hold them for a split second to recall the city's wonderful past. Bob.
  24. I wonder what happened to the copper flag that flew from the mast on top of the Howard St. building. It was always a symbol of what Sheffield stood for, just the best ! Bob.
  25. Hello Legal, I'm sure you are ! I love finding old spoons too, the first thing is to flip it over to make sure it's not solid silver, you know, little lion and the Sheffield crown. Otherwise I expect EPNS. The GR V1 on the front is a mystery if it were a coro' spoon it surely have the date 1937 also. I don't believe that JD were appointment to the King then, it was more likely Mapin & Webb or Walker & Hall. Also is it Old English, Rattail or Fiddle-end ? I hate to sound picky but I like to get a mental picture. I'm a bit of an archaeologist so to me I would look for its condition, like how much plate is there left on it ? has it had a lifetime stiring mixing bowls etc. Cheers, Bob.
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