Home

Silver Style

Daniel Smith and Robert Sharp, a London silversmith partnership 1763 - 1788. Working at 14, Westmoreland Buildings, Aldersgate.

Very important makers whose work is always of outstanding quality. They supplied silver to the Royal Family and the upper echelons of British society.

Their mark is normally found on holloware such as plates, dishes, cups and salvers. They made very fine Candlesticks and Candelabra, too.

Daniel Smith &amp; Robert Sharp

Pair of Antique Silver George III Sauce Boats made in 1764 with Masonic Interest

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 Art Nouveau Bowl made in 1901

Adie Brothers was a Birmingham based silversmith located on Frederick Street in 1902. They later became Adie Brothers Ltd and registered new hallmarks in 1922. Best known for making vanity cases but they made a wide range silver serving items. In the late 1960’s Aide Brothers Ltd became part of British Silverware, which closed in 1968.

Adie Bros Ltd

Art Deco Silver Tea Service made in 1936

Originally Grinsell &amp; Bourne, the business took on this name in 1871 after the original partnership dissolved. They were manufacturing silversmiths based in Birmingham.

John Grinsell went into business with his four sons in 1871, and they had manufacturing workshops in Birmingham, as well as show rooms in Holborn Circus, London and in Glasgow. They made a range of silver-mounted glass and stoneware, including lock-up liquor frames, biscuit boxes, butter dishes, cups, cruet frames, flagons, and salad bowls.

They registered their trademark a "Cupid standing on a scroll" in 1879. Around 1905, they registered as a limited company under the name John Grinsell &amp; Sons Ltd. They were later bought by Barker Ellis &amp; Co. Ltd which finally went into administration in 1992.

John Grinsell &amp; Sons

Antique Silver Art Nouveau Claret Jug made in 1905

The company was founded in Stockholm in 1867, and for a long time had a wide production of objects in silver.
The artistic director from 1907 - 1942 was Jacob Ängman, who, like his successor, Sven Arne Gillgren, made significant efforts to promote art industrial design.
During the 1980s, ownership and structural changes led to the break-up of Gab's management group and the business returning to the original as part of the GENSE Group.
<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15992" src="https://williamwalter.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/W61x44maker.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="1138" />

Guldsmeds Aktiebolaget

Antique Silver Swedish Hip Flask made in 1936

Paul Storr is considered one of the most talented English silversmiths of the 19th century. His legacy of exceptionally well-crafted silver has found its way into museums and private collections worldwide, including at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace as well as in the V &amp; A and the Metropolitan Museum in New York amongst many other leading collections.

He was born in London in 1771. He began his career in 1792 when he went into a brief partnership with William Frisbee (which didn’t last), and he entered his own mark in 1793. By the start of the 19th century, he had become one of London’s most renowned silversmiths and was receiving commissions from Royalty and the English aristocracy. His reputation was garnered through his mastery of the grandiose neoclassical style developed during the Regency period.

In 1797, he received his first major commission – a gold font for the Duke of Portland. He went on to create the "Battle of the Nile Cup" presented to Lord Nelson in 1799.

He entered into a working relationship with Philip Rundell in 1807 and became a partner in 1811, managing the workshops for Rundell, Bridge and Rundell. He kept his own marks throughout this period and maintained his own workshop, but it was through his association with Rundell, Bridge and Rundell who had the Royal Warrant as Goldsmiths to George III that he was able to display his exceptional skill at transforming the ideas and designs of the Rundell’s designers.

By 1819, he felt he had lost a lot of his artistic freedom and he left Rundell to open his own shop and he soon began to enjoy the patronage he wanted. He soon needed a retail premises and he joined with John Mortimer to establish Storr and Mortimer on New Bond Street in 1822.

He retired in 1838 and died in 1844. He is buried in Tooting, London. He left an estate of £3,000.

Paul Storr

Antique Silver George III Dessert Service made in 1818-20 for The Earl of Thanet

Robert Gray began to work in Glasgow in 1776 when he became a freeman. He opened a new business in 1802 under the style Robert Gray &amp; Son.

The firm used the Edinburgh Assay Office until 1819, after which, and until 1852, their work was assayed exclusively in Glasgow.

Robert Gray &amp; Son

Antique Silver George III Scottish Salver made in 1788, a baptismal gift to Lt Col Alexander Barton who later fought at Waterloo

Birmingham, 1933 hallmark.

Firm established by William Neale in 1850 in Birmingham. Later the firm became William Neale &amp; Sons as a partnership of William Neale Sr., William Neale Jr. and Arthur Neale, building new premises at 29 Warstone Lane, Birmingham (1896).

In 1905, the firm was converted into a limited liability company under the style of William Neale &amp; Sons Ltd moving in 1910 at 34 Cox Street, St. Paul's Square, Birmingham.

In 1941, the firm was absorbed by Suckling Ltd.

William Neale &amp; Son Ltd

Antique Silver George V Art Nouveau Photograph Frame made in 1913

Working from about 1762, he entered into partnership with David Whyte in Clerkenwell Green (1764-67). He works alone for a period and then enters into a partnership with the Huguenot silversmith, Nicholas Dumee, in 1773.

In January 1776, he works alone and retires in the early 1790s.

A fine maker - normally in the neoclassical style - famous for cups and covers and tureens.

He worked at 12 Clerkenwell Green.

William Holmes

Pair of George III Antique Silver Sauce Tureens made in 1784 for the marriage of  Joseph Crompton of York to Anna Maria Rookes of Roydes Hall, Yorkshire

Silver Style

Silver Style

Filter

Availability

Maker

Period

Monarch