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Silver Canteens of Cutlery

William Eley I was the son of George Eley and was apprenticed to William Fearn in 1770. His first mark was registered in 1778, in partnership with George Pierrepont (46 Little Bartholomew Close). Soon after, William Eley I registered various marks alone; in 1778 (4 New Street, Cloth Fair and 2 George Street, Martins-le-Grand), 1785, 1790 and 1795 (14 Clerkenwell Green). Marks, in partnership with William Fearn, were registered in 1797 (14 Clerkenwell Green) and 1802 (1 Lovell's Court, Paternoster Row).

In 1808, William Chawner entered into the partnership and a new mark was entered with the initials of William Eley I, William Fearn and William Chawner.

In 1814, William Chawner left the partnership and new marks of William Eley I and William Fearn were entered in 1814 and 1824.

William Eley I had three sons: William II, Charles and Henry. All were apprenticed to their father and became silversmiths. William Eley II was apprenticed in 1808, and obtained his freedom in 1815. Charles was apprenticed in 1811, and obtained his freedom in 1818. Henry was apprenticed in 1814, and obtained his freedom in 1822.

William Eley I died in 1824, and his sons William Henri I, Charles Eley and Henry Eley entered a conjoined mark in the same year. The partnership had a short duration, and William II and Charles Eley entered their own mark on 19 January 1825. William II entered further marks in 1815 and 1826. He died in 1841.

There is some confusion in the genealogy and marks of Eley family. There are discrepancies between different authors. On this page we followed the chronology of John P. Fallon in his Marks of London Goldsmiths and Silversmiths, Georgian Period, (c. 1697 - 1837).

William Eley &amp; William Fearn

Antique Silver George IV  Fiddle Thread Cutlery/ Flatware Service made in 1821

William Walter

Very Heavy Gauge Handforged Sterling Silver 3-Prong Rattail Pattern Cutlery / Flatware Service made in 1977 Jubilee Mark

In 1830 Benjamin Finnigan (who was first recorded trading as Brian B Finnigan) opened a workshop in Newton Street Mill, and a Finnigans shop in 15 Market Street, both in Manchester. Finnigans was originally known for the manufacturing of high quality dressing cases and travelling trunks.

Benjamin Finnigan registered marks with both Chester and London assay offices in 1830.

Benjamin Finnigan died in 1868. He was succeeded by his son William Finnigan, who continued  the family’s firm.

In 1879, William opened a Finnigans shop at New Bond Street, London. Relatively quickly, American millionaires such as the Vanderbilts, the Rockefellers and the Fords joined the house’s customer base.

At this time they were still specializing in leather and saddlery, but they also diverged and started selling clocks, watches, and silverware.

Finnigans Ltd registered marks at the London, Sheffield, Chester and Dublin offices in 1901, and subsequently with the Birmingham Assay office in 1904.

In 1938, the fourth generation of the Finnigan family, Brian Finnigan took over as the firm’s manager. He gradually expanded the reach of the family business and built up a lucrative export market in the Caribbean, New York and Canada.

After the war, Peter Finnigan joined his cousin Brian in the company. Together, in the 1950s, they pioneered the new retailing trend of moving city stores to more suburban locations and moved Finnigans store in Manchester to Wilmslow.

In 1968, Finnigans closed its New Bond Street store in London. It continued to run as a family business until it shut down its last store in 1988.

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Finnigans Ltd of Manchester

Sterling Silver George V Rattail Pattern Cutlery/Flatware Service made in 1923

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

Antique Silver Fiddle Pattern Cutlery / Flatware Service 1843-1910 (Knives C1930)

Hallmarked Elizabeth II Sterling Silver Handmade Dubarry Pattern Cutlery / Flatware made in 1991

The firm was established as Furniss, Poles &amp; Turner. The first hallmark was entered in Sheffield Assay Office as "plate worker, Furnival Street, Sheffield" on December 20, 1810.

From c. 1822 to 1945 the firm traded as William Briggs (hallmark entered as Plate Worker, Button Lane on August 14, 1822). Later, William Briggs entered in partnership with Samuel Roberts and Joseph Slater.

In 1845, the firm, trading as Roberts &amp; Slater, silver and electroplate manufacturers, entered its hallmark in Sheffield Assay Office (September 1, 1845. Address: Furnivall Street).

After the retirement of Joseph Slater (1858), the activity was continued until 1863 under the style Roberts &amp; Briggs (hallmark entered on September 1, 1859).

In 1863, after the retirement of William Briggs, the firm changed to Roberts &amp; Belk (the new partner was Charles Belk). Its first hallmarks were entered in Sheffield Assay Office on February 1, 1864.

In 1879, after the retirement of Samuel Roberts, the activity was continued solely by Charles Belk maintaining the style Roberts &amp; Belk.

Besides the Sheffield factory, the firms were active also in London, with showrooms at 28 Ely Place, Holborn (1858) and later at Gresham House, 24 Holborn Viaduct (1883).

In 1901, the firm became Roberts &amp; Belk Ltd and in 1961 was bought by C.J. Vander Ltd.

Roberts &amp; Belk Ltd

Rare Art Deco Sterling Silver Prototype Plain Pine Pattern Cutlery / Flatware Service made in 1933

<p style="text-align: left;">Georg Arthur Jensen (31 August 1866 in Rådvad – 2 October 1935 in Copenhagen) was a Danish silversmith and founder of Georg Jensen A/S.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Born in 1866, Jensen was the son of a knife grinder in the town of Raadvad just to the north of Copenhagen. Jensen began his training in goldsmithing at the age of 14 in Copenhagen. His apprenticeship with the firm Guldsmed Andersen ended in 1884 and this freed Georg to follow his artistic interests.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">From childhood, Jensen had longed to be a sculptor and he was now able to pursue this course of study at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. He graduated in 1892 and began exhibiting his work. Although his clay sculptures were well received, making a living as a fine artist proved difficult and he turned his hand to the applied arts. First as a modeller at the Bing &amp; Grøndahl porcelain factory and, beginning in 1898, with a small pottery workshop he founded in partnership with Christian Petersen. The work was well received, but the sales were not strong enough to support Jensen, now a widower, and his two young sons.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Georg Jensen in his workshop in Copenhagen, 1906:</p>
<a href="https://williamwalter.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/250px-Georg_Jensen_Alba_Lykke.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-11271" src="https://williamwalter.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/250px-Georg_Jensen_Alba_Lykke.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="198" /></a>
<p style="text-align: left;">A Georg Jensen shop at Strøget, Copenhagen:</p>
<a href="https://williamwalter.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Stro-get.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-11272" src="https://williamwalter.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Stro-get-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>
<p style="text-align: left;">In 1901, Jensen abandoned ceramics and began again as a silversmith and designer with the master, Mogens Ballin. This led Jensen to make a landmark decision, when in 1904, he risked what small capital he had and opened his own little workshop at 36 Bredgade in Copenhagen.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Jensen's training in metalsmithing, along with his education in the fine arts, allowed him to combine the two disciplines and revive the tradition of the artist craftsman. Soon, the beauty and quality of his Art Nouveau creations caught the eye of the public and his success was assured. The Copenhagen quarters were greatly expanded and before the end of the 1920s, Jensen had opened retail in Berlin (1909), London (1921) and New York (1924).</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">During his lifetime, Jensen's work was collected by museums including the Danish Museum for Decorative Art and the Museum Folkwang.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">In 2005, the Bard Graduate Center in New York presented an exhibition entitled, Georg Jensen Jewelry.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">When he was 20, Georg Jensen signed his first sculpture with "My Father" (1887). In 1894, he used the markings GJ as brand sign and from 1899 he often used GJ. In most cases the year was put next to the brand sign.</p>
Brand signs of Georg Jensen
<ol>
 	<li>Used from 1904 - 1908</li>
 	<li>Used from 1909 - 1914</li>
 	<li>Used from 1910 - 1925</li>
 	<li>Used from 1915 - 1930</li>
 	<li>Used from 1915 - 1927</li>
 	<li>Used from 1925 - 1932</li>
 	<li>Used in the years 1930 - 1939 for engravings</li>
 	<li>Used from 1933 - 1944</li>
 	<li>Used from 1945 - 1951 for items that were sold in Copenhagen</li>
 	<li>Used from 1945 – present</li>
</ol>
<a href="https://williamwalter.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Georg_Jensen_merken.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-11273" src="https://williamwalter.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Georg_Jensen_merken-300x136.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="136" /></a>

Georg Jensen

Georg Jensen Sterling Silver Old Danish (Dobbeltriflet) Pattern Cutlery/Flatware Service (Designed by Harold Nielsen 1947)

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<h1 class="entry-title">Carrington &amp; Co.</h1>
<h3>Founded 1873</h3>
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He was listed as a silversmith, goldsmith and jeweller working from the London premises of the Birmingham silversmiths G.R. Collis &amp; Co.  The business was re-styled Carrington &amp; Co in 1880 and the firm specialised in extra strong silver plate for use in restaurants, hotels and ships.

By the early 1890s Carrington were advertising themselves as jewellers, diamond merchants, dealers in precious stones and manufacturing silversmiths.  At this time the partners were John Carrington, William Carrington Smith and George Bruford.  They were awarded the Royal Warrant by Queen Victoria and would go on to gain the warrants of Prince Albert, Edward VII and George V, as well as Nicholas I and II and Queen Alexandra of Russia.  In 1893 they created the beautiful Dorset bow brooch for Queen Mary and in 1911 they set the famous Cullinan diamonds numbers III and IV into a brooch/ pendant for her, a jewel now owned by the Queen who affectionately refers to them as ‘Granny’s chips’.

John Carrington became Prime Warden of the Goldsmiths’ Company in 1903 and retired from his business in 1906 leaving W.C. Smith to continue as sole remaining partner.  Carrington co-authored a book ‘The Plate of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths’ which was published shortly before his death in 1926.  The firm was converted into a limited liability company in 1922 and was eventually bought out by the firm Collingwood.

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Carrington of London

Antique Silver Edwardian Kings Pattern Cutlery / Flatware Service For 18 People made in 1908

A Scottish silversmith working from c. 1800.

James McKay of Edinburgh &amp; Glasgow

Antique Silver Victorian Scottish Kings Pattern Cutlery/Flatware Service made in 1855

Whether you are having a large dinner party or an intimate supper, nothing enhances a meal more than using fine antique sterling silver cutlery.

Silver Canteens of Cutlery

Silver Canteens of Cutlery

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