The Antique Silver Spoon Collectors' Magazine
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The Antique Silver Spoon Collectors’ Magazine …The Finial… ISSN 1742-156X Volume 27/05 Where Sold £8.50 May/June 2017 ‘The Silver Spoon Club’ OF GREAT BRITAIN ___________________________________________________________________________ 5 Cecil Court, Covent Garden, London. WC2N 4EZ V.A.T. No. 658 1470 21 Tel: 020 7240 1766 www.bexfield.co.uk/thefinial [email protected] Hon. President: Anthony Dove F.S.A. Editor: Daniel Bexfield Volume 27/05 Photography: Charles Bexfield May/June 2017 CONTENTS Introduction 3 Obituary – Alan Kelsey 3 Small work by the Harache Company of silversmiths by David McKinley 4 Russian communist Silver 1927 – 1992 by Jamie Brener 6 Review – Bonhams ‘The Scottish Sale’ by Mr M 9 A souvenir of Crow’s chophouse, Coleman Street by Luke Schrager 10 First Tuesdays 11 Advertisement: Lawrences Auctioneers 12 A fascinating resource rediscovered by Granville Gregg 13 Advertisement: Chiswick Auctions 14 Feedback 15 The 9th Swindon Silver Spoon Club meeting 2017 15 Results for the Club Postal Auction – 27th April 2017 16 Advertisement: Lyon & Turnbull 17 The Club Postal Auction 18 The next postal auction 47 Postal auction information 47 -o-o-o-o-o-o- COVER Charles I Silver Apostle Spoon London 1636 See: The Postal Auction, page 39, Lot 194 -o-o-o-o-o-o- Yearly Subscription to The Finial UK - £39.00; Europe - £43.00; N. America - £47.00; Australia - £49.00 In PDF format by email - £30.00 (with hardcopy £15.00) -o-o-o-o-o-o- The Finial is the illustrated journal of The Silver Spoon Club of Great Britain Published by Daniel Bexfield 5 Cecil Court, Covent Garden, London, WC2N 4EZ. Tel: 020 7240 1766 Email: [email protected] All views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of The Finial. .2. Introduction As you will read below we have lost a wonderful member of our unique Silver Spoon Club, Alan Kelsey was an absolute delight to chat with and would beam with enthusiasm when talking about his apprentice days as a spoon maker and how he progressed through the company and tell stories of many magnificent cutlery sets that were made – one for one hundred and forty place settings! On behalf of The Finial I send our sincerest condolences to his family. He will be missed. It has recently been announced that after the general election, the British Hallmarking Council will hold a public consultation into the use of British hallmarks being used abroad in such places as in Mumbai and Milan and should there be an added mark to indicate where the hallmarking took place. As we know the British hallmark is the oldest, and by default the first, established consumer protection worldwide, and in my opinion should not be damaged today for profit by our assay offices. (For further comments see The Finials’: Jul/Aug 2016, pages 3 & 15 and Sep/Oct 2016, pages 3 & 17). When I hear more I will of course let you know. As always, wishing you the very best, Daniel. -o-o-o-o-o-o- Obituary ALAN KELSEY 1932 – 2017 By David Whitbread We are sorry to have to report that Alan passed away on 1st May, his 85th birthday. His death means that the Spoon Club has lost a unique contributor to our understanding of spoon making. Alan had served a traditional apprenticeship, going on to specialise in flatware, and had ended his career as the foreman spoon maker at C J Vander. Many of us will have benefited from his generosity in sharing his knowledge and expertise, or had the privilege of being shown round his former workshop to see the process of hand-raising flatware. It was always a pleasure to meet him at the Swindon get-togethers though sadly his health led him to miss the last one. He was a modest man, but rightly proud of his craft and very conscious of its history and of how apprentice/master links tied him and his colleagues back through the generations to the master smiths of previous centuries. He was always a willing source of help whether about the actual process of making flatware or with information about the background and history of the various firms and silversmiths that had over the years been swallowed up into the workshop where he finished his career. He never entered his own mark at Goldsmiths Hall so used his brother’s mark (GAK) on pieces he made privately. Those of us lucky enough to own some of these have lasting mementos that demonstrate the skilled craftsmanship of someone who was a good friend to many of us and a superb Ambassador for the silversmith’s craft. .3. Small Work By The Harache Company Of Huguenot Silversmiths By David McKinley When, having established by reference to the register of makers’ marks at Goldsmiths’ Hall that Peter Harache the elder had his workshop at Great Suffolk Street, I discovered that he traded under the title ‘Pt harache &c goldsmiths’. I naturally assumed that the other members of the Company were the other members of the extended Harache family. This led to the further assumption that, since his mark appears on large work, any small work required by the Company would have been produced by the known small workers Peter Harache the younger and his brother Abraham. These are not unreasonable assumptions but may now prove to be unfounded since items of small work of both Sterling and Britannia standards are beginning to come to light struck with the mark of Peter Harache the elder and this suggests that he produced his own small work. The items of small work made by Peter Harache the elder so far discovered are as follows: Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Figure 1, Fork of Britannia silver made before 1712 but with very rubbed hallmarks. It is struck with one of the marks registered by Peter Harache the elder in 1697 and is one of a set of six. Figure 2, close up of the maker’s mark appearing on the fork. Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 .4. Fig. 6 To purchase a complete copy of this May/June 2017 (Vol. 27/05) issue for £7.50 please click here Although we still do not know for sure how the Harache family fitted into 17th and 18th century silversmithing in London, ongoing research continues to tease out new information which is giving a much more rounded picture of the activities of this very important family of Huguenot silversmiths. Acknowledgements • I am indebted to The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths for allowing me the privilege of examining their records. • Figures 1 & 2 courtesy of Woolley & Wallis. • Figures 3 & 4 courtesy Alan Kirby. -o-o-o-o-o-o- .5. Russian Communist Silver 1927 – 1992 By Jamie Brener After the Russian revolution of 1917 the Communist movement banned the production of silver and gold articles. Ten years later in 1927 under the leadership of Stalin silver production started up again. Stalin wanted the long history of silversmithing in Russia to continue. He also wanted to use silver items as rewards for people in the State, as well as making use of workmen’s skills that had become obsolete in 1917. In 1927, fifteen ateliers were set up across the USSR all producing quality pieces. Communist marks from Riga 1927-1958 Communist marks from Tbilisi 1958-1992 To purchase a complete copy of this May/June 2017 (Vol. 27/05) issue for £7.50 please click here Teaspoons, Tbilisi 1958-1992 After the fall of Communism in 1992 most of the silversmiths set up their own workshops producing silver. The long history of silversmithing in Russia had survived despite the dramatic changes. References • Goldberg, T.G. (1967). Russkoe Zolotoe I Serebri︡︠anoe Delo XV-XX Vekov. Moskva: Nauka. • Hallmarkwiki.com. (2011-2016). Russia – Silver Hallmarks hallmarkwiki.com – Hallmarks encyclopedia [online]. Place of Publication Unknown. Available from: http://hallmarkwiki.com/?country=Russia [Accessed 16 Aug 2016] • Larsons, M.J. (1929). An Expert in the Service of the Soviet. London: Ernest Benn Limited. • Odom, A. (2011). Russian Silver in America Surviving the Melting Pot. London. D Giles Limited. • Tardy.(2000). International Hallmarks on Silver Collected by Tardy. Sanderstead: Collectors Publications. .6. USSR Marks 1927-1958 For jewellery (gold/silver/plat) and minor parts of items. For .875 silver items weighing less than 10 grams. The other purity used was 916. For .875 silver items 10 grams and above. The other purity used was 916. For items not passing purity tests but allowed for sale due to: archaeological, historical or particular artistic value. USSR City Marks 29th June 1927 – 30th May 1946 Moscow Yekaterinburg Leningrad Kazan Kostroma Kiev Nakhichevan-on- Baku Don Kharkiv Yerevan Odessa Minsk Tbilisi Samarkand Novosibirsk USSR City Marks 1st June 1946 - 6th January 1954 To purchase a complete copy of this May/June 2017 (Vol. 27/05) issue for £7.50 please click here Continued overleaf… .7. USSR Marks 7th January 1954 – 6th May 1958 For Platinum, gold and silver items. Used in conjunction with the purity mark. For silver items any weight (and Jewellery). The other purity used was .916. Item failed assay test. Below minimum quality. City Marks 7th January 1954 – 6th May 1958 Baku Novosibirsk Vilnius Odessa Yerevan Riga Kiev Yekaterinburg Kostroma Tallinn Leningrad Tashkent Lviv Tbilisi Moscow Kharkiv USSR Marks 7th May 1958 – City Marks 7th May 1958 – To purchase a complete copy of this May/June 2017 (Vol. 27/05) issue for £7.50 please click here .8. Review - Bonhams ‘The Scottish Sale’ Edinburgh 27th April 2017 Report by Mr. M This was the eighteenth year of ‘The Scottish Sale’.