Home

Antique Candlesticks

Antique Candelabra

Frederick Elkington (active c. 1870 - c. 1885)
Frederick Elkington was a member of a very successful company of silversmiths. Established by George Richards Elkington (1801–1865) the firm produced sterling silver wares in leading styles.
Frederick was one of  finest silversmiths of the 19th century .

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Frederick Elkington

Pair of Victorian Antique Silver Large Four Light Candelabra made in 1885

This prestigious firm of manufacturing silversmiths was originally established by William Comyns in c. 1859 when he purchased the business of Robert Tagg, an outworker of Rundell, Bridge &amp; Co.

William Comyns, silversmith, subsequently moved to 1 Percy Mews, Rathbone Place, then to 16 Silver Street, Golden Square, Soho, and to Beak Street, Regent Street. Additional premises were taken from c. 1903 at 54 Marshall Street, Soho.

The firm became William Comyns &amp; Son in c. 1885 when sons Charles and Richard were admitted to the partnership. William Comyns died in January 1916. The business became William Comyn &amp; Sons Ltd in 1930, with R.H. Comyns as permanent governing director.

In 1953, the company was purchased by Bernard Copping and is now one of the few surviving manufacturing silversmiths in London, with premises at Comyns House, Tower Street, London, WC2.

Richard Comyns

Sterling Silver Elizabeth II Candelabrum made in 1962-66

Sterling Silver Elizabeth II Candelabrum made in 1972-73

A master silversmith.

Much of his work involved special commissions for Tane - the famous Mexican luxury goods company.

<a href="https://cms.williamwalter.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/w56x4mmw.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-11109" src="https://cms.williamwalter.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/w56x4mmw-300x185.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="185" /></a>

Jose Marmolejos for Tane

Mexican Silver Six Light Candelabra made in c.1960

Alexander Smith, Spencer Street, Birmingham. Registered March, 1954. Dissolved 1990.

Alexander Smith

Sterling Silver Elizabeth II Single Candelabra made in 1959

Pair of George III Old Sheffield Plate Candelabra made in c.1780

The origins of the company date back to Alexander Macrae who established his business in 1856 (32 Bow Street, Covent Garden, London).

In 1870, he entered in partnership with Martin Goldstein changing the firm's name to Macrae &amp; Goldstein. The partnership was dissolved in 1878 and Martin Goldstein continued to trade under his own name until 1886, when he sold the firm to Cornelius Joshua Vander (1837 - 1904).

Cornelius Joshua Vanderpump (this was the name before Anglicisation) was apprenticed to Macrae &amp; Goldstein and entered his first mark on 18 October 1886 (the firm's address was now 17 Lisle Street, Soho). C J Vander continued the activity until his death (1904), when the business was continued by his sons Henry and Alfred Vander.

In the 1920s, Henry's sons (Henry and Arthur) and Alfred's son (Norman) entered the business. In 1921, they opened a second-hand silver department in premises rented in Betterton Street (bought in 1938), but in 1941 enemy bombing destroyed greater part of their premises at Fetter Lane, where the firm had moved in 1939.

In 1948, the firm began the production of hand-forged flatware using the dies obtained by The Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Company. The dies belonged to the defunct Francis Higgins company and in the past had been used by various firms as Eley, Fearn &amp; Chawner; William Eaton; Elizabeth Eaton; Francis Higgins &amp; Sons Ltd; Holland, Aldwinckle &amp; Slater. They were inherited by The Goldsmiths &amp; Silversmiths Co through numerous takeovers and mergers.

In 1958, C J Vander acquired the dies and patterns of Atkin Brothers (Silversmiths) Ltd and in c. 1965 were bought three other companies: Roberts &amp; Belk Ltd, William Bush &amp; Son and Benton Brothers. In 1971, further dies and tools of Mappin &amp; Webb Ltd were acquired from British Silverware Ltd.

C J Vander silversmiths can be considered, for flatware, the natural successor of Chawner &amp; Co, continuing to make traditional patterns by hand and some completely modern designs. Meanwhile, numerous other members of the Vander family continued to join and run the business (Richard Vander, Henry's son, joined in 1949; John Vander, Norman's son joined in 1965 and his brother Robert Vander joined in 1968; Anthony Vander, Richard's son, joined in 1981).

In 1996, C J Vander was acquired by Syratech Corporation, owners of the leading silver brands in the USA.

C J Vander Ltd

Pair of Elizabeth II Silver-Gilt Candelabra made in 1965

Mappin &amp; Webb is a leading retailer of fine silverware and jewellery based in London and is renown as a purveyor of luxury goods holding Royal Warrants to Queen Elizabeth II and the Prince of Wales.

The firm started in 1774 when Jonathan Mappin opened his first silversmith workshop in Sheffield, entering his mark in 1775. His reputation for quality grew and as the business expanded, he was given Freedom of the Cutlers Company in 1780.

Mappin’s sons and grandsons continued the business, and it was his four great grandsons who incorporated the business as Mappin Brothers Ltd around 1845.

In 1849, they opened their first retail shop in Fore Street, London and this was quickly joined by two more in Moorgate and King William Street. However, as the business grew, each of the brothers took their own path. The eldest brother William was knighted and he left Mappin Brothers handing his shares over to the remaining three brothers. The youngest brother, John, also left Mappin Brothers and set up his own business Mappin &amp; Company opening his first store in 1860 in Oxford Street. John invited his brother-in-law to join him in 1864 but George Webb died just as Mappin, Webb &amp; Co was formed.

In 1889, Mappin &amp; Webb Ltd was registered and they focused on manufacturing in Sheffield. In the meantime, Mappin Brothers continued to open retail stores across the world as the British Empire grew. The business was sold in 1884, but the new owners lost direction and eventually failed.

In 1903, John Mappin (of Mappin Webb Ltd), bought the original London retail business of Mappin Brothers and amalgamated it into Mappin &amp; Webb Ltd.

In 1898, they produced their famous Campaign watch which was supplied to troops for the battle of Omdurman in the Sudan, proving its worth in desert conditions. It went on to be standard issue in the Boer War.

In 1904, the Maharaja Raj Bhawaur Singh commissioned a complete silver bedroom suite including a four-poster bed, chest of drawers and tables all sumptuously decorated with cherubs. It was displayed in the window of their Oxford Street store and attracted such a large crowd that the police asked for it to be removed on the grounds of public safety.

Throughout the early part of the 20th century, boutiques were opened up across the world including Buenos Aires, Paris, Rome, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bombay and Cairo. The factories in Sheffield were given over to the war effort for both the First and Second World wars.

In the 1950s the company experienced a new heyday when it was commissioned to provide tableware and cutlery to the QE2 (Queen Elizabeth’s private yacht), as well as to the entire fleets of leading cruise liners and also to most of London’s premier hotels.

In 2012, Mappin &amp; Webb’s master craftsman was appointed to the post of Crown Jeweller, the custodian of the Crown Jewels responsible for preparing them for all state occasions.

Mappin &amp; Webb received its first Royal Warrant as silversmiths to Queen Victoria in 1897. They have continued to hold Royal Warrants as silversmiths to each of the five subsequent monarchs.

The company is now part of the privately held Aurum Holdings Ltd.

Mappin &amp; Webb Ltd

Pair of George V Antique Silver Candelabra made in 1918

Daniel Holy &amp; Co registered their first mark on 19 July 1776, the partners being George Woodhead and Daniel Holy, brother of Thomas, who had entered partnership the previous month. It seems that Woodhead, who was a merchant, was not a working partner and Holy was allowed a salary of £70 pa for managing the business.

A second mark entered in September 1778 may have represented a partnership change; possibly the introduction of Samuel Wainwright with whom Holy and Woodhead were in partnership in 1780. Wainwright's place was taken shortly after by Joseph Drabble.

A new partnership under the style of Daniel Holy, Wilkinson &amp; Co., was entered into from 1st January 1783 with Robert Frederick Wilkinson and Robert Robinson joining the existing partners. That partnership ran its full course of seven years with a new 14 year agreement being entered into from 1 January 1790. The output of the concern included tea and coffee pots, cruet frames and candlesticks. Woodhead left the firm at that time and Ebenezer Parker, a witness to the partnership agreement of 1783, and probably an employee, became a junior partner. That partnership also ran its full course. On its dissolution on 31 December 1803 Drabble, Wilkinson and Robinson left the firm, the latter two establishing the firm of J Drabble &amp; Co. with James Drabble, Joseph's son.

The firm of Daniel Holy &amp; Co. continued, presumably using the original mark of 1776 as no other was registered. The partners, as from 1 January 1804, being: Holy, Parker, William Cresswell Webb, William Hall and William Hadfield. The agreement gives some indication of the specialisation, which was one of the reasons why much of the Sheffield silver production was in the hands of partnerships. Many partnerships had a 'rider' - what we should now call a traveller - who was often, also, the principal bookkeeper. In this case it was Webb, who appears to have been recruited from Birmingham. Hall was to work at the business of a "pierce worker" and Hadfield at that of a die sinker. Webb left the firm in 1808 and the remaining partners continued to 1812 when Ebenezer Parker died.

In 1812, the three remaining partners were joined by George Holy, Daniel's son and Ebenezer Parker (nephew of the previous partner of that name). The style of the firm became Daniel &amp; George Holy &amp; Co. The agreement of 1804 had provided for both George Holy and Ebenezer Parker (the younger to be employed in the firm), and for George to be admitted a partner on attaining the age of 21 if he so elected. Daniel Holy died in 1831 and Wilson records that in 1833, the firm ceased to be customers of Read &amp; Lucas, the Sheffield precious metal refiners, where they had been customers since 1776, having moved into steel making.

At the end of 1803, when Robert Frederick Wilkinson and Robert Robinson left Daniel Holy &amp; Co. they went into partnership with James Drabble, Henry Mylins (or Mylius), George Battie and Alexander Goodwin Turner, registering the mark.

Daniel Holy &amp; Co

Pair of George III Antique Silver Candelabra made in 1802

When you want to create an ambience, candlelight is perfect. Candlesticks and candelabra add atmosphere and a decorative element on special occasions.

Antique Candelabra

Antique Candelabra

Filter

Availability

Maker

Period

Monarch