James Dixon and Sons - Info wanted.

[franceslouis 10]

I am not sure if this is the correct way to contact Lola Bish ( I am a bit of a technophobe!) but here goes!

 

Lola, Bob suggested that I contacted you re my candleholder, it is one that looks as if it may have had a glass funnel over it at one time and not a wee willie winkie style! It has EP stamped on it its side and then the letters J D & S with the trumpet and banner .22 oz and the numbers 2 3 7 stamped underneath with a sort of triangle underneath that.

 

I wondered if you still had the book and could tell me what all this means please. Do hope this gets to you!

 

Many thanks

Frances

Edited August 9, 2011 by franceslouis
wrong initials, should have put J D & S

[nanapat 10]

I do not know that what I have is in deed a James Dixon & Sons piece, it has maybe a bone and or plastic handle 2 pieces, said to be for serving fish, gotten in England in a case, The case is mostly white with red fabric where the head of the knife & fork rest the knife and a fork has some etching on each, it just has on one line JD & S with EPNS next to it, I know what those 4letters mean. Is there any way "with out" a hallmark to know what and or who made this ? Thank you for any incite you may have on this. Pat

[RobertDSmith 10]

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.

[nanapat 10]

Thank you Bob for the reply, I will take them to someone with a better eye then I have, I still can not find a hallmark of any kind even using a magnifying glass, and they do have a ferrule at the top of the handle, I noticed the handles have a grain in the handle, does that indicate that they are indeed xylonite? Once again thank you very much. Pat

[RobertDSmith 10]

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.

[Karenjsmith 10]

Hi

 

I recently bought a jug from a charity shop and would really welcome any info that anyone can give me please.

 

It has a tapered corrugated design over the whole body of the jug.

It has a metal handle

It has a hinged lid with an ivory or cream ceramic piece screwed into the lid.

It looks like its silver although the spout is missing a layer of something.

It has an etched design around the top and the base.

 

The stamp on the bottom:

1st line: The figure: 5

2nd line: JD & S, a crown, and a stamp with EP

3rd line: I 363

 

I really hope that someone can help me shed some light on my new purchase.

 

Thanks !!!

[RobertDSmith 10]

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.

[Karenjsmith 10]

Thank you so much, Bob, that's a great help. It's all so interesting !

[JakkiSpain 10]

Investigating in Internet about a few antiques I inherited from my parents via an Aunt married to a Californian dealer, I came across your posts, which I find extremely interesting.

I have a Georgian style coffee pot with the following marks on the bottom: the last ones are difficult to discern, being faint scratches.

W

5 61

JAMES DIXON

& SONS

BRITANNIAMETAL

ELECTROPLATED

51048

 

No 24

Chl-

 

I’m afraid I haven’t the time to dedicate to cleaning it, so it’s gone dark – when my mother had it, it was bright silver. It is 25.5 cms high, and weighs 853 grams. Can you throw any light on this, and has anyone any idea if it’s worth anything? I would like to enclose a photo, but not sure how to!

[RobertDSmith 10]

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.

[paulineb 10]

I have written 2 books on the firm of James Dixon and Sons and would be happy to give further information if interested folk would like to contact me off line pbell7@btinternet.com

[JakkiSpain 10]

Oh, thankyou, Bob - I never expected such a swift reply ! Just my luck, although having read about the various stages of the firm, and the materials they used, etc., it's more or less what I expected. Still, it's very decorative, and I can always pretend, can't I!! At least Mother and Dad died with the happy, if mistaken, thought that they had bequeathed a silver Georgian coffee pot.....tis a hard loife.....Thanks again - Jakki.