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Matheson is one of the several families to use this motto, but the crest is different: a right hand holding a scimitar (not a sword), no mural coronet and without the arm in armour. The heraldic differences are too great to let us think we are simply looking at two versions of the same crest. I fear...

I don't know whether you were wanting comment on the crest. It looks like a British one, probably Scottish as the Scots were more prone to having their mottos engraved. My copy of Fairbairn attributes the motto (Fac et Spera - Do and Hope) to a number of families but doesn't show any of them as havi...

I'm afraid the Barons don't fit. A Baronet is one rank lower, a sort of hereditary knighthood and, unlike a Baron, was not a member of the House of Lords. And, if I can trust my edition of Fairbairn's Crests, the Bowyer crest (a falcon rising, belled) does not match. Although the British Order of St...

The red hand of Ulster, sinister, in a shield is the badge for a Baronet of the United Kingdom (not just an Irish baronet). I would hazard a guess that the cross indicates some office in the Order of St John. That is the easy bit. Now all you need to do is identify a 19th century baronet who belonge...

Sorry - I was too hasty. Fairbairn does show a hand holding an eagle's leg as a crest used by five families: Bundy, Hynd, Jervy, Napier and Rynell.

Interesting to see a family crest used as the handle. If you could interpret the object held in the hand as a stag's antler it would probably be for the Earl of Morley, but in the photos it looks to me more like a bird's leg which I cannot spot in my copy of Fairbairn's Crests.

I don't think it is quite so simple. Charles Fox I entered a mark in 1804 (Grimwade 301) that to me looks not dissimilar to the Crispin Fuller marks. The oval marks are for Charles Fox II from 1822 on. I wouldn't like to swear whether the OP has a Fuller or a Fox I item, but Aguest's piece seems to ...

The maker's mark is applied first before the piece is submitted for assay so it would seem the differing placement of the marks started in King's workshop.

Yes, I agree on the maker. Salt is very corrosive if left in contact with silver. I would think the scars are the marks of such corrosion and of vigorous attempts to get rid of it. Interesting to see a pair marked so differently but I'm afraid I don't have any intelligent explanation or observation ...

I really must learn to gather my thoughts and get my comments into a single reply rather than re-appearing with a series of postscripts. Sorry about that. I just want to add, in case anybody comes back about this, that I am aware of a passing resemblance between the outline of the cartouches on thes...

A further comment I forgot to add, regarding the number 4. Was there a known practice in Canada of numbering the teaspoons in a set? I have known this on Scottish spoons. Not sure whether it is to help guests identify their spoon and cup, or to discourage theft by knowing which guest had which spoon...

I assumed this was posted in the silverplated forum simply because of guidance to start here when dealing with unknown marks that could be anything; start at the bottom and work your way up if there is good news might be another way of putting it. Regarding the S Africa suggestion, Welz's Cape Silve...

PPS I see that this post appears in both the provincial and the Exeter forums. The script JS marks listed in Miles Harrison's Exeter and West Country book all seem too early for these tongs.

PS Are you sure those are not London hallmarks? They do not look provincial to me (but I do not necessarily trust my eyes when looking at the computer screen).

I agree. Script IS or JS. The silversugartongs.com site is a little tentative about attributing script IS marks because there is more than one candidate. I am not the person to try and second guess that site but it would be worth a look to see what you think of its suggestions..

I see that the images in my earlier post have disappeared. I think Photobucket wants me to start paying for the privilege of being able to post pictures, which I am unlikely to do as I now use Picturetrail, or indeed a site specific host in the case of another forum for silver lovers. My apologies f...

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1352/13610430/24396422/413518836.jpg http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1352/13610430/24396422/413518835.jpg Apologies for coming back with photos of some spoons that, though rare, are not as rare as the dognose spoon that started this thread. There is a reason. When ...

Very odd to have the maker's mark nearest the terminal and the date letter nearest the bowl. The exact opposite of standard practice at the time. I had been wondering, fruitlessly, whether I could spot a similarity to a known spoon maker of this period.

I had misremembered. I've tracked down the article I was thinking of. It was by Walter Brown in the Finial of Jan/Feb 2002 on "Oddities" but the particular spoon with a double rib was different from yours in two important ways. It was Hanoverian and the ribs formed a simple curve following...

Afraid I can't help much. I agree it could be John Smith of Taunton but am not sure the mark is an exact match. However, it is probably what I would settle for unless and until a better match emerges somewhere.