Teaspoon, probably made in Yorkshire...

[adknative]

Family heirloom, passed down from ancestor born at Hutton-Cranswick, Yorkshire, in 1776. who made eleven passages from England to United States and brought his family to USA in 1819. Teaspoon has always been known as "the Swales spoon" and has an emblem which appears to represent ancestor and his wife.

Spoon shows, on upper top of handle, the letter "S" with letters "W-S" below; we believe these represent the family name S= Swales) and the husband & wife (William & Sarah).



The teaspoon is about 5 inches from tip to top, with only four silver hallmarks on the reverse of the handle.




We would very much appreciate anything you might be able to identify... we believe the marks for sterling and George III are clear, placing the date between 1786 and 1821 (which would fit the timing between the birth of William Swales and the year he brought his family to the USA.) The other marks we cannot recognize.

Thank you for any help you may offer.

Dianne

[dognose]

Hi Dianne,

Welcome to the Forum.

Your spoon was London-made, by the partnership of Peter, Ann and William Bateman, and assayed at London in 1802 (G).

See: http://www.925-1000.com/bx_pawBateman.html

and: http://www.925-1000.com/dlLondon10.html#M

and: http://www.925-1000.com/dlc_london.html

The Bateman workshops were a large enterprise and would have supplied dealers all over the country, so it could well have been originally acquired in Yorkshire.

The triangular engraving of the initials is usually associated with wedding gifts, with the Surname initial at the top, husband's forename initial on the left, and the wife's forename initial on the right.

http://www.925-1000.com/british_marks.html

Trev.

[adknative]

Trev -

Thank you! I am amazed by your prompt response, as well as your vast knowledge of hallmarks.

I am curious, though... when you state that the spoon was London-made, by the partnership of Peter, Ann and William Bateman... is it unusual for a woman to be named as part of the silversmith partnership in the late 1700 - early 1800s?

(I am presuming, of course, that 'Ann' is female...) I've never heard of women being silver or gold smiths in early years, though that certainly is not true in contemporary times. It was definitely more delicate craftsmanship than, for example, stone masonry or blacksmith... but I always heard more of women in the roles of baker. seamstress. laundress, etc. (household tasks and occupations). Other than governesses, it seems that even the daughters of well-to-do families were not educated 'above their station.'

Please pardon my ignorance... I console myself that "at least there is a cure for it."

Thank you, again.

Dianne

[dognose]

Hi Dianne,

To try and write the history of the Bateman workshops in a nutshell is difficult, but the firm as we know it was started by John Bateman, a chain-maker, probably around 1730. Upon John's death in 1760, his wife, Hester, continued the business, and it was when she took the helm that the business really took off, she was a very forward-looking woman and one of the first to use machinery in the art of silversmithing.

Hester retired from the firm in 1790, and passed the business over to her sons, Peter and Jonathan, but Jonathan died soon after and his share of the business went to his widow, Ann, and the partnership became Peter and Ann Bateman. In 1800 they were joined by Ann's son, William, and it was this partnership that made your spoon.

As I'm sure you can imagine, there's a lot more to the story than that. I doubt that Ann ever wielded a hammer, I guess she never had to, as Bateman's employed a lot of silversmiths, but there were many female silversmiths around at this time.

Women Silversmiths 1685-1845 by Philippa Glanville and Jennifer Faulds Goldsborough is a worthwhile read.

Trev.