F M or W F -1765 -perhaps Grimwade Unidentified No 3572

[Juke]

Hi!

I was wondering if I have interpreted the year right. I think it would be London 1765-66, am I right. If so is the maker then known?


Regards,
Juke

[dognose]

Hi Juke,

I agree with the date of 1765. The maker, however, is perhaps unknown and likely to have been recorded in the missing Largeworkers Register of 1758-1773.

The maker's mark is perhaps the one noted by Arthur Grimwade (3572) on a two-handled cup that was assayed in 1766. He lists it as 'FM' but notes that it may be 'WF' when in reverse position.

Regards Trev.

[Juke]

Thanks Trev,

Always excellent knowledge from you. I got interested in this 'missing Largeworkers Register of 1758-1773'. So do I understand that all the largeworkers from that period are missing (if not found any other way). So it is not any register of some special largeworkers of that time.

Regards,
Juke

[dognose]

Hi Juke,

Although some of the entrants in the missing Largeworkers Register 1758-1763 and the missing Smallworkers Register 1738-1758 have been identified, there are still many unknown.

As for the fate of the missing registers, investigation by the author and silver expert John Culme concluded that the registers were likely lost in a fire when they were stored at the temporary London Assay Office on 29 July 1830, during the construction of the present Goldsmiths' Hall.

See: 'Trade of fancy: new findings from eighteenth century London' - The Silver Society Journal, Vol. 12, Autumn 2000, pp. 98-110.

Regards Trev.

[Juke]

Thanks Trev, nice to know this in detail.