American Silver paper knife with multiple marks

[juliany]

My son purchased a silver paper knife which seems to have 2 sets of marks. Does anyone have any thoughts on this and posibly a date

The first is Howard & Co (Howard & Co. (1866-1937) New York, NY Branch stores were located in Newport, RI (1880 to 1937) and Paris, France.

The second is a winged S which seems to belong to to GEORGE W. SHIEBLER & CO - New YorkFounded in 1876 by George W. Shiebler. Incorporated in 1892 as George W. Shiebler & Co. Out of business in 1910.

The third mark is an X III which i am guessing is a pattern number from Howard

[dragonflywink]

Hi - nice piece. You seem to have all the information you need - it was made by Shiebler (the production number would be theirs), and retailed by Howard & Co., the dating could fall anywhere in Shiebler's relatively short existence...

~Cheryl

[Aguest]

I was waiting for dragonflywink opinion, and if you look at the XIII hallmark it has much more to do in style with the "Shelbler" and "STERLING" hallmarks, which were hallmarks struck by the Shelbler company, notice that the Retailer Mark of Howard is much shallower and a very different font style...

The XIII is probably an internal factory number which had significance to the Sheibler workshop, but I don't think it is a pattern number because this seems to be a custom-made piece which has nothing to do with any established Shelbler pattern....

There are three separate terms when dealing with these objects:

1) Paper Knife
2) Page Turner
3) Letter Opener

I think a paper knife tends to have a sharp edge, while a page turner has a dull edge.
A letter opener is much smaller, and almost always post-1900 in manufacture, I hope this is safe to assume...

This is a beautiful Paper Knife from a well-respected workshop in terms of quality, as a general rule Sheibler objects are of higher-than-average quality.

[juliany]

Many thanks Cheryl

Being British, i am not very familiar with American Silver. are Howard & co or Shelbler considered particularly collectable / desirable in the US, or is it just run of the mill.

Admin. edit: please see posting requirements it weigh 26 grams

Julian

[dragonflywink]

Shiebler is a very desirable maker, well made and lovely, distinctive designs...

~Cheryl