Silver Thimble Maker TM

carling · Post by **carling** » Mon Dec 15, 2008 9:23 am

Can anyone positively ID the TM mark on this English silver thimble? The
style is late 18th / early 19th century. Similar rare examples exist by
Hester Bateman. It is of course a pity that the hallmarking of English
silver thimbles didn't really start until the 1880s.

Regards/carling
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MCB · Post by **MCB** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:40 pm

Hello Carling,

Without town mark or date letter this is a little difficult as you say!
Taking your estimate of the date of manufacture there are several London candidates identified by Grimwade on page 202:
Thomas Mann active 1720-50 (a bit early?)
Thomas Meriton active 1791-1808
Theophilus Merry registered 1824
Thomas McIntyre active 1832-7
Thomas Merrick registered 1834
All have marks almost identical being rectanglular and without a pellet; none seem quite like the one on the thimble but my eyes aren't what they were!
The only other candidate I can come up with is the Dublin maker Thomas Meade who was noted between 1832-4 and whose mark is shown on page 647 of Jackson's; again not quite the same as on the thimble.

Regards
Mike
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carling · Post by **carling** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 2:11 pm

Many thanks for your reply, Mike. Appreciated. On reflection I think the thimble could actually be older than I suggest above. It could have been made any time during the 18th century. Since I posted other candidates have been suggested to me namely: Matthews, Makepiece and Mercer. All of them Thomas to a man.

I think on balance it is therefore highly likely that the thimble was made by someone christened Thomas.

Regards/carling
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MCB · Post by **MCB** » Wed Dec 17, 2008 6:05 am

Hello again,

I wondered about Makepeace but Grimwade has Mercer's mark in an oval shape so discounted him.
I've not come across Thomas Matthews before. Is he a London maker?
Glad to see we've settled the issue of who made the thimble. When you look at it again it's so obviously the work of Thomas!

Regards
Mike
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