Hi All, Does anyone recognise this makers mark? I've rummaged about on the internet without success, though it is slightly obscured which doesn't help. As far as I can see the cigar box is dated 1896. The second set of marks on the lid has sadly been just about polished away.
Andy
https://www.dropbox.com/s/z6sue5omlegu8 ... 9.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xv3br1hjx6ve5 ... 9.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2b1pv9mcxu06o ... 9.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8og6yddsgqwrm ... 9.jpg?dl=0
Cigar case too. Makers Mark HN...Y I think?
Re: Cigar case too. Makers Mark HN...Y I think?
Hi Andy,
Welcome to the Forum.
That's the mark of Horton & Allday. See: http://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic ... ton#p72638
Because of the way the date letters are changed, and the entry of Horton & Allday's London registration we can be sure that the date of assay was between the 18th February and the 30th May 1897.
In future posts you will be far more likely to get a response if you embed your images, as few people will click on links.
Trev.
Welcome to the Forum.
That's the mark of Horton & Allday. See: http://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic ... ton#p72638
Because of the way the date letters are changed, and the entry of Horton & Allday's London registration we can be sure that the date of assay was between the 18th February and the 30th May 1897.
In future posts you will be far more likely to get a response if you embed your images, as few people will click on links.
Trev.
Re: Cigar case too. Makers Mark HN...Y I think?
Thanks Trev, that's fabulous, and for the advice regarding images, I'll go and look at Dropbox doesn't seem to be co-operating for inline images.
Andy
Andy
Re: Cigar case too. Makers Mark HN...Y I think?
So, right then. Thinks... Horton & Allday. Please forgive me if this is a naive question. So did they have had different marks for their Birmingham and London (and Chester) items? And London wasn't just a sales office but must have been manufacturing too in order to have a London mark?
Re: Cigar case too. Makers Mark HN...Y I think?
dustyroo wrote:So, right then. Thinks... Horton & Allday. Please forgive me if this is a naive question. So did they have had different designs of maker's marks for their Birmingham and London (and Chester) items? And London wasn't just a sales office but must have been manufacturing too in order to have a London marks?
Re: Cigar case too. Makers Mark HN...Y I think?
Hi Andy,
The choice of assay office was entirely that of the manufacturer/sponsor. A firm in Plymouth may use the Edinburgh office, a firm in Aberdeen may use London, there's often several reasons for this. A particular assay office may have a faster turnaround if items were needed in a hurry, or a particular assay office may have a better relationship with a manufacturer than another office. Often goods are made by, say, a London silversmith, for an Edinburgh silversmith, simply because the London silversmith was more specialised in a certain area of the trade and thus able to produce the item cheaper than his Edinburgh counterpart. The Edinburgh customer may choose to let the London maker get the items assayed down south (the Edinburgh smith would have supplied the London smith with a punch), or get the items assayed in his home town. Other reasons could be, certainly in the case of Birmingham makers, that their home town had too many makers of poorer quality items and had developed a reputation for such items (often wrongly), and thus many of them chose to register at the Chester office. Of course, perhaps the obvious reason is that if you were a Birmingham silversmith making Scottish Highland jewellery, then, as a sales aid, you would have chosen the Edinburgh or Glasgow offices.
As for different maker's marks, again, this was the choice of the manufacturer, some registered different marks, some didn't.
Trev.
The choice of assay office was entirely that of the manufacturer/sponsor. A firm in Plymouth may use the Edinburgh office, a firm in Aberdeen may use London, there's often several reasons for this. A particular assay office may have a faster turnaround if items were needed in a hurry, or a particular assay office may have a better relationship with a manufacturer than another office. Often goods are made by, say, a London silversmith, for an Edinburgh silversmith, simply because the London silversmith was more specialised in a certain area of the trade and thus able to produce the item cheaper than his Edinburgh counterpart. The Edinburgh customer may choose to let the London maker get the items assayed down south (the Edinburgh smith would have supplied the London smith with a punch), or get the items assayed in his home town. Other reasons could be, certainly in the case of Birmingham makers, that their home town had too many makers of poorer quality items and had developed a reputation for such items (often wrongly), and thus many of them chose to register at the Chester office. Of course, perhaps the obvious reason is that if you were a Birmingham silversmith making Scottish Highland jewellery, then, as a sales aid, you would have chosen the Edinburgh or Glasgow offices.
As for different maker's marks, again, this was the choice of the manufacturer, some registered different marks, some didn't.
Trev.
Re: Cigar case too. Makers Mark HN...Y I think?
Ah, so it all makes a sort of commercial sense really - endless possibilities for some interesting detective work!