Maker's Mark on George III Teapot

[zafer]

The main body of this teapot is marked SH for Soloman Hougham. However, the finial knob and handle are marked THH, which I cannot find in any of my reference books. There is also an additional Lion and male or female head in profile stamped on the screw of the knob and handle. Most likely the handle and knob were originally wood and replaced at a later date with sterling from this maker, THH. Any help identifying who this maker is would be very much appreciated! Another post says THH could be for a Birmingham maker, T.H. Hazlewood & Co.

Handle:



Knob




Lid:

[SteveDWollongong]

Hi Zafer,

Phil has identified this mark as belonging to the London maker Thomas Hughes Headland.

Please see below for an example and further information:

http://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Make ... TH.html#TH

Cheers,
Steve

[zafer]

Ah okay thank you! So the handle then was replaced some 30-50 years later. Out of curiosity, was this a common thing to do?

[silvermakersmarks]

No, it was not a common thing to do. I agree that the replacement was probably to substitute wood for silver - had it been to repair damage the knop would have been unlikely to have needed to be touched. It's good to see that Headland did the right thing and had the new bits assayed...

Phil

[dognose]

Hi,

Just playing devil's advocate, but there is also the possibility that this is a more recent marriage. Scrap precious metal buyers will often allow dealers to search their stock for items of interest that may fetch a premium above the scrap value. Wooden attachments would have been removed prior to scrapping to assess the true weight, but if the dealer has a Victorian teapot with a damaged body and finds a Georgian teapot with a reasonably good body, then a competent silversmith may make a marriage of the pair.

Trev.

[silvermakersmarks]

Good point, Trev. It would be interesting to see a picture of the whole teapot to get an idea of the suitability of the fit.

Phil

[zafer]

Wow this is very interesting! Here are more photos of the entire teapot and the marks on the body itself: