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I have two sets of six stunning quality Georgian 1833 Fiddle, Thread & Shell forks and spoons/serving spoons. They are screaming Chawner II at me, but the dot seems to be in the wrong place. They appear more as a W•C Rather than WC/W.C. They were purchased in a lot from a house clearance with A LOT of Mary Chawner, so I am curious to see what you all think. There are also differing journeyman marks. Any suggestions on which William would be greatly appreciated. Also if anyone recognises the crest, that may assist.
Thank you in advance,
Lucy

Both Collins and Chinnery registered W·C marks, Chinnery in 1825 and Collins in 1828. However they both registered as plate workers; whilst this does not prevent them from making flatware it does cast a little doubt. Chawner's marks did not include one with a pellet but he was registered as a spoon maker so there is a very small possibility that this is an unregistered mark of his. In my opinion William Collins is the most likely candidate but there is no certainty about it.

If your Mary Chawner pieces have the same armorial that might sway my opinion farther towards William Chawner.

Phil

silvermakersmarks wrote:Both Collins and Chinnery registered W·C marks, Chinnery in 1825 and Collins in 1828. However they both registered as plate workers; whilst this does not prevent them from making flatware it does cast a little doubt. Chawner's marks did not include one with a pellet but he was registered as a spoon maker so there is a very small possibility that this is an unregistered mark of his. In my opinion William Collins is the most likely candidate but there is no certainty about it.

If your Mary Chawner pieces have the same armorial that might sway my opinion farther towards William Chawner.

Phil

Thank you for getting back to me Phil, I really appreciate it. Ask and you shall receive - Attached are a pair of Mary Chawner 1839 Fiddle, Thread & Shell dessert spoons (exactly the same pattern as my previous table spoons and dinner forks, no deviation) with the same crest, which came from the same estate. Also bearing journeyman marks. I feel that only a large organisation would employ journeymen, and the other two makers were too small an outfit. Am I wrong?

Very useful - it certainly lends weight to the idea that your W·C is William Chawner. Not quite the "smoking gun" but definitely worth noting. I don't know how big Chinnery's and Collins's workshops were but I think it very likely that, whatever their size, they employed journeymen so I don't think we can draw any conclusions from the presence of journeymen's marks.

silvermakersmarks wrote:Very useful - it certainly lends weight to the idea that your W·C is William Chawner. Not quite the "smoking gun" but definitely worth noting. I don't know how big Chinnery's and Collins's workshops were but I think it very likely that, whatever their size, they employed journeymen so I don't think we can draw any conclusions from the presence of journeymen's marks.

Thank you for letting me know that detail. I also have two Mary Chawner mustard spoons, without a crest, but with exactly the same fiddle, thread and shell detail dated 1834. Such a conundrum. I have seen a specialist spoon site which has the W·C shown as Chawner as well, so now I'm very confused lol.