Brit Provincial Toddy Ladle???

SilverSurfer · Post by **SilverSurfer** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 11:30 pm

Here are the pics of a 17 cm (6 11/16 inch) long, 4.3 cm bowl width, fiddle pattern (toddy?) ladle I recently acquired. The maker/hall marks are too small for me to photograph (maker mark just a tad over 1 mm tall), and so I have substituted a drawing made with the help of a 30x loupe. The drawing is a reasonable facsimile of the marks, but the inter-mark spacing is NOT to scale - the marks are much more spread out than shown, particularly the maker's mark on the left. Note that these marks were only partially struck to begin with, and have been rubbed to boot. Based on the marks and the engraved crest, I'm guessing this is a Brit provincial piece, though it is somewhat lightly constructed for Brit work, weighing about 0.9 troy ounces.

Not shown is the drop, or lack thereof, as there is no protruding drop on this piece, the stem-bowl junction is smooth on the underside. As far as the maker, the only decent partial match I find is Wm. Hannay of Paisley, much based on the unique shield border of connected semi-circles, convex out, slightly pointed at the shield corners. But the town mark doesn't appear to match, though the sideways anchor might be in the ballpark, as badly as the mark was struck and has since been rubbed. I have included a photo of the engraving in case it is contemporary with the date made (it is hardly rubbed at all), in hopes it may denote the crest of a family nearby the maker.

Might anyone venture an opinion as to the maker and/or perhaps the name/location of the family indicated by the crest? TIA for any info!

SS
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georgiansilver · Post by **georgiansilver** » Sat Mar 04, 2006 3:08 pm

In my honest opinion I can't see a resemblance to a British mark in the facsaimile drawings but could you please photograph the marks as best you can and show them or E-mail them to me and will explore further. Best wishes, Mike.
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SilverSurfer · Post by **SilverSurfer** » Sat Mar 04, 2006 5:49 pm

Thanks for looking, here is a 1200 dpi resolution scan of the marks, not very good due to lighting I can't control, also can't get the marks flat on the glass, but about the best I can do.

With a 30x loupe and changes in lighting angle, it is fairly well apparent that the two end marks are the same (likely maker's) stamp, the left one just struck even more off center than the right. Hope you might be able to make some sense of these. Thanks again.

SS
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SilverSurfer · Post by **SilverSurfer** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 1:22 am

Okay, I just found the mystery mark. It appears to me that the ladle is indeed by Wm. Hannay of Paisley. If interested, here is the link to a dealer sales web page showing similar marks (posted for info only, in no way a plug for, or against, this dealer):

http://www.coritani.com/scottish_provincial.htm#PAISLEY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here is a link to a close up of the similar marks on the piece for sale:

http://www.coritani.com/PC059Ea.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I didn't recognize the funky sideways "S" town mark printed in Jackson's because it is missing the only part that shows on my ladle. Typical Murphy's Law. Whoever struck the marks on my ladle must have had a whale of a hangover to mis-strike all three, all listing heavily to the left!

I would still be interested if anyone may provide information on the crest, as I have no text for this. Might there be a good book available to identify Brit crests? TIA!

SS
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georgiansilver · Post by **georgiansilver** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 5:39 am

Suggest for the crest you find a site on heraldry. I lost all mine when my comp crashed but there are a few sites with crests of families on. Glad you found your mark. Best wishes, Mike.
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