Worn marks identification on a sugar bowl

[dinio]

Hi,
I recently bought a sugar bowl which is in a classic shape:



It has been so often cleaned that the hallmarks are almost worn:

http://dinio.free.fr/Silver/SugarBowl/hallmarks.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I was able to identify the lion passant and the leopard's head which in my mind correspond to the period 1896-1916, based on the upper part of their outlines. For the date letter it is much more difficult and there is no way to take a photo showing something interesting. But by looking at this mark in 3D, by making the light direction varying, I can guess that the letter was probably symetric and roughly circular. Therefore my choice could be 'o' for 1909. But it could also be 'c' or 'e' for 1898 or 1900.

The challenge is to try to confirm this with the maker mark. But it is also worn. Hopefully, its left part is quite intact, and presents a rather unusual outline for a maker mark. So the challenge is to identify the makers mark based on the outline and the very faint shapes it contains. For this I have taken several views of it under different lighting conditions and directions:



But I have no satisfying match in my documentation. My best guess is William Hutton & sons Ltd, but I am not sure at all. Can anyone help in this identification ?

Thanks
Dinio
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[dognose]

Hi Dinio,
William Hutton and Sons is the only maker that I can find in London with this outline, the dates also fit in perfectly.
regards Trev.
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[Granmaa]

I agree.



Miles
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[dognose]

Dinio,
This is something you could try to find the date, place the bowl in freezer for a while, remove it, and as the warmer air hits the surface, momentarily the rubbed hallmark can appear, if your lucky, worth experimenting with.
Trev.
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[dinio]

Thanks Dognose and Granmaa !

Do you know the period when this mark was used by William Hutton ? Could it be useful for identifying the year ?

During the weekend I will try the trick of the mist to check the worn marks and will let you know.

Thanks for the help.

Dinio
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[Granmaa]

I'm always wary when dating by maker's mark, but I still try!
It is made much harder by there being so little left. However, I'd say flat top means post 1902, small roundish shape means pre 1913. That's all I can do; try Trev's freezer method.
If that fails, I find it helpful to get complete darkness, and then shine an LED torch as obliquely as possible onto the mark. The small, single light source emphasises the shadows.

Miles
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[dinio]

Hi,

I have tried both tricks (mist and LED light) to check the date letter, but it is too rubbed. None have given more details on the mark and I still keep my previous hypothesis of a round and symetric shape.

Thanks to both of you.

Dinio
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