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Silver
Appraisers
Organizations / Companies
• American
Society of Appraisers
555 Herndon Parkway, Suite 125,
Herndon, VA 20170, 703/478-2228, 
• Appraisers
Association of America, Inc.
386 Park Ave. South, Suite 2000,
New York, NY 10016, 212/889-5404,
• International
Society of Appraisers
1131 SW 7th St., Suite 105,
Renton, WA 98055, 206/241-0359,
• New
England Appraisers Association
6973 Crestridge Rd., Memphis, TN
38119, 901/758-2659,
• Value
My Stuff
Silver experts from Sothebys
value silver, plated silver, and objects of vertu such as small
personal items and Russian silver and Fabergé. Collectible
silver includes such items as early spoons, English and Continental
tea and coffee sets, candelabras and trays as well as statuary and
religious items. Appraisals start at $30.
• Silver
Appraisals From Antiques Roadshow
A great searchable resource from
years of silver appraisals.
Individuals
• Joseph
P. Brady Appraisal Services
Joseph Brady, 2870 Peachtree Rd.
#495, Atlanta, GA 30305, 770/594-9293
• Waterman
Appraisal & Services
Karen Waterman, PO Box 134,
Barrington, RI 02806, 401/595-4225
• Match
Safe Appraisals
Neil Shapiro, 128 Lancaster St.,
Albany, NY 12210-1904, 518/436-9522,
Mr. Shapiro is an avid match safe
collector and member of the International Match Safe Association. He
offers free appraisals and research including names of makers or
manufacturers, history, or materials of a particular match safe. If
he can't help I will refer you to someone who can.
Silver
Identification
Flatware Styles
• Detecting
Modified Silver and Silver-plated Flatware
Gain knowledge
about modified flatware items that have been altered to make it
appear to be a more valuable, rare or unusual piece.
• Flatware
Pattern Guide (Silverplate)
If you know the
pattern name but not the manufacturer.
• Flatware
Pattern Guide (Sterling)
If you know the
pattern name but not the manufacturer.
• Flatware
Pattern Guide (Sterling, Coin)
If you know the manufacturer
but not the pattern name.
• Flatware
Pattern Guide (Silverplate)
If you know the manufacturer
but not the pattern name.
• Flatware
Utensil Guide
Do you know the difference
between a sugar scoop and a sugar shovel? No? This is a great guide
to identify what you've been using all these years.
• Silver
Fineness Marks
The fineness of a precious metal
object (coin, bar, jewelry, etc.) represents the weight of fine metal
therein, in proportion to the total weight which includes alloying
base metals and any impurities. Alloy metals are added to increase
hardness and durability of coins and jewelry, alter colors, decrease
the cost per weight, or avoid the cost of high-purity refinement. * You'll
notice the term "millessimal," this means parts per
thousand e.g. .925/1000 or .925% fine silver and 7.5% other metal(s).
Hallmarks, Housemarks &
Makers' Marks
(What's the difference?)
• American
Arts & Crafts Makers' Marks
An educational,
research-oriented site on Arts & Crafts silver. The site
contains numerous examples, hundreds of silver marks, bibliographies,
and silver resources such as old catalogs, and the full text and
photos from silver articles that appeared in early 20th century publications.
• American
Silver Marks (Silversmiths & Silver Companies)
Extensive listing
of silversmiths and manufacturers' housemarks. Also rarely seen
Baltimore assay marks.
• American
Silversmiths by William Erik Voss
This is a single
occupation/single tree study of American silversmiths. It links
together, by blood or marriage, more than 1000 makers as far ranging
as Robert Sanderson, working in Boston c.1640, to William Herbert
Thurber who saw his family's company, Tilden-Thurber of Providence,
Rhode Island, into the 20th century. In addition, Voss has included
information on related pewtersmiths, clockmakers, artists, and metal
engravers when available. This reference for collectors contains
3,853 silversmiths, jewelers, watchmakers, and other related
craftsmen included in my larger family project, American Silversmiths.
• Marks
on Silverplate
If you have
determined your silver is plated, this is where you'll discover the maker.
• Baltimore
Assay Marks
The only time and
place in the U.S. where hallmarks were required on silver.
• British
Hallmarking System
Discover the
meaning behind all of those marks - it's fascinating!
• British
& Irish Silver Makers' Marks
A fantastic and
HUGE site for makers' marks from Birmingham, Chester, Dublin,
Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, London, Newcastle, Sheffield, and York.
• British
& Irish Silver Date Letters
To date your
silver from its hallmark, first identify the assay office (e.g.
anchor for Birmingham, leopard's head for London, etc.). Then click
on the appropriate link to go to the tables of date letters. If you
are unable to identify the assay office from one of the town marks,
you may have a piece of imported silver. Town marks for imported
silver have differed from the normal marks since 1904. Illustrations
of the various import marks are shown on the Import Marks page.
• British
Silversmith Index new
The history behind
some of Great Britian's most famous silversmiths.
• Hallmarks
of English Silver with Makers' Mark Identification
Large resource for
complete sets of hallmarks for makers
• Fused
Plate (also known as Sheffield Plate) Marks
The name applied
to a variety of articles of domestic use or ornament, made of copper
fused to silver by a special and now abandoned process. Many of these
objects were actually manufactured in Birmingham, but as the secret
of producing the material was discovered and brought to perfection in
Sheffield, the name of that town was naturally connected with it, and
thence transferred to articles constructed from it.
• English
Lozenge Registration Marks
A registration system that was
enacted around 1842.
• Chinese
Makers' Marks
Sometimes
confusing, but always interesting.
• International
Encyclopedia of Hallmarks
Outstanding
compendium of silver marks from around the world.
• Heritage
Auction's International Database
A small collection
of large, clear makers' marks.
• Jewelry
Makers' Marks
Antique Jewelry
University has an outstanding database of makers from around the world.
Family Crests
• Family
Crest Identification
Family crests are
an element of heraldry which evolved in the Middle Ages to identify
the wearer of armour in battle and flourished with the popularity of
jousting tournaments. Heraldic markings started with simple colours
and shapes and became more complicated over time.
Silver
Companies (American)
• Gorham Manufacturing
Company / Reed & Barton / International
Silver Company / Towle Silversmiths /
Wallace Silversmiths
Above companies
now owned by LifetimeBrands,
1000 Stewart Ave., Garden City, NY 11530, 516/683-6000 questions@lifetimebrands.com.
• The
Gorham Archive Blog
The Gorham Archive
weblog is intended as a forum for sharing information on the Gorham
Manufacturing Company of Providence, Rhode Island (1831-2001) and its
products. Principle contributors will be staff at Brown and
RISD currently working on the IMLS-funded collaborative project to
design a database for the Gorham Archive. Theay encourage
participation from scholars, museum curators, collectors and others
interested in and knowledgeable about elements of Gorham history.
• International
Silver Company / Meriden Brittania
Company / Rogers Bros.
Wilcox
Silver Plate Company / Wm. Rogers
Above companies
archived at the Meriden Historical Society, Records Center, 1090
Hanover Rd., S. Meriden, CT 06450, 203/639-1913. Hours: Wednesdays
2:00-4:30 pm.
• Lunt
Silversmiths
After declaring
Chapter 11 bankruptcy in mid-December 2009, Lunt's assets were
acquired by competing silver manufacturer Reed & Barton of
Taunton, MA (now a LifetimeBrands company). The design drawings from
Lunt are now housed at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, 5105
Kennett Pike, Wilmington, DE 19735, 800/448-3883.
• Stieff
(out of business)
Scott Perkins
built the best resource for anyone researching Stieff's history and
product identification. There is also a small section on Schofield Silver
Individual Silversmiths
• Paul
de Lamerie
A mini-biography
on Engand's most prominent Dutch-born silversmith.
• Paul
Revere
Visit this site to find out more
about America's most renowned silversmith. Of equal interest is Paul
Revere's family tree and the Paul
Revere Heritage Project.
• William
Spratling Silver
A great website with information
on Mexico's most famous silversmith, William Spratling.
• Paul
Storr
England's most prominent
English-born silversmith.
Silver
Dealers & Auction Houses
• Christie's
20 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10020
212/636-2000 |
• M.
Ford Creech Antiques
581 South Perkins Rd.
Memphis, TN 38117
901/761-1163 |
DC
Silver
Nate Ivey, purveyor |
• Marsh
& Ackerman Antiques
PO Box 373
Swansea, MA 02777
508/675-4889,
Cell: 508/277-9942 |
• Drucker
Antiques, Inc.
487 East Main
Street, Ste. 197
Mount Kisco, NY 10549
914/923-4560 |
• Old
Friends – Dennis Knight
Offering a
selection of coin and sterling from the 18th to the 20th centuries.
Worcester, MA |
• Firestone
& Parson
8 Newbury St.
Boston, MA 02116
617/266-1858 |
• S.J.
Shrubsole
26 East 81th St.
New York, NY 10028
212/753-8920 |
• Greenwald
Antiques
28480 Chagrin Blvd.
Woodmere Village,
OH 44122
216/839-6100 |
• Sotheby's
1334 York Ave.
New York, NY 10021
800/813-5968 |
• Heritage
Auction Galleries
1518 Slocum St.
Dallas, TX 75207
800/872-6467 |
• Spencer
Marks Ltd.
PO Box 330
Southampton, MA 01073
413/527-7344 |
• Lamb
Silver
Specializing in
early American silver
Chads Ford, PA 19317
631/655-7550 |
|
Silver
& Its Uses
Engravers
See engraving
samples here.
• George
Bentley Fine Hand Engraver new
Outstanding
holloware, flatware, and jewelry engraving, coats of arms, wax seals.
12160 State
Highway 42, Ellison Bay, WI 54210, 434/977-2787,
• Bertram
Edmonston IV
Firearm and
precious metal engraving.
PO Box 1473,
Tullahoma, TN 37388, 240/367-6082,
• Brian
Powley Engravers
Brian uses
traditional hammer and chisel, push engraving, acid-etching and
pneumatic GraverMax technology. He specializes in firearms, musical
instruments, knives, jewelry and restores the original factory
stampings on antique auto parts. Brian is well known in the music
industry as one of the nation's premier flute engravers. For the past
10 years, he also engraved the "Gun of the Year" featured
in The American Handgunner Magazine, where he is also a
freelance writer. 206 Oakwood Ave., Bloomingdale, OH 43910,
740/543-8448,
• Adone
T. Pozzobon
Specializing in
highly detailed signet rings. 6 Leamington Ave., Etobicoke, Ontario
M8Z 2W4 Canada, 416/231-9973, 877/231-9973,
Museums
with
Major
Collections
|
• Chrysler
Museum of Art, USA
• Cleveland
Museum of Art, USA
• Dallas
Museum of Art, USA
• The
Goldsmiths' Company, England
• Historic
Deerfield, USA
• J.Paul
Getty Museum, USA
• Kremlin
Museums, Russia
• Metropolitan
Museum of Art, USA
• Milwaukee
Art Museum, USA
• Minneapolis
Institute of Arts, USA |
• Museum
of Fine Arts, Boston, USA
• Museum
of Fine Arts, Houston, USA
• Museum
of the City of New York, USA
• Philadelphia
Museum of Art, USA
• Rhode
Island School of Design Museum, USA
• Sterling
& Francine Clark Art Institute, USA
• Victoria
& Albert Museum, England
• Winterthur,
USA
• Worcester
Art Museum, USA
• Yale
University Art Gallery, USA |
Organizations
• Ganoksin
The gem and jewelry world's
foremost information resource on the Internet.
• Silver
Society of Canada
The Silver Society of Canada
counts collectors, dealers, auction houses, and museums personnel to
its membership. Our mission is to further knowledge about antique and
modern silver. You find news and articles on the homepage and many
more in the archives.
Silver
Periodicals
• The
Eden Sterling Company
Publishers of The Historical
Catalogue Series. This is a series of seven professionally reprinted
silver trade catalogues from the late 19th century and early 20th
century. See Scott V. Martin's review of Eden's Unger Bros. catalog here.
• Silver
Magazine
The only publication specializing
in the entire field of silver, featuring the finest in research
pertaining to the world of silver, with articles on primarily antique
English, Continental, and Colonial American silver.
• SM
Publishers
Publishers of The
Book of Silver, Flatware Silver Marks & Patterns,
and The
Guide to Evaluating Gold & Silver Objects.
Restoration
Specialists By Medium
• Armour
Restoration: Nigel
Carren
Historic european
armour recreated and restored. 16th and 17th century armour and works
in miniature a speciality.
• Book
Restoration & Conservation: Jeffrey
S. Peachey
Peachey is the
owner of a New York City-based studio specializing in the
conservation of books for individuals, institutions and collectors.
He is a Professional Associate in the American Institute for
Conservation and was Chair of the Conservators In Private Practice in
2007-8. For more than 20 years, he has specialized in the
conservation of books and paper artifacts for institutions and
individuals. He has served as a consultant to major libraries and
university collections in the New York City region and nationally.
• Ceramic
Restoration & Conservation: The
Restoration Studio
Rho Brown is the owner and senior
conservator. While her specialty is ceramic and glass restoration,
she also restores art objects of ivory, jade, wood, marble, stone,
and bronze, your collectible dolls (including restringing, cleaning,
cutting & sewing of clothes).
• Cigarette
Lighter Restoration: ARS
& Elegant Lighters
Specializing in Dupont &
Dunhill lighters.
• Clock,
Watch & Automata Restoration: Memoria
Technica
Seattle-based workshop offering a
range of services, including conservation and restoration of
automata, mechanical music objects, and complicated musical automata
clocks and watches. Our treatment options range from a quick
assessment and stabilization to full, in-depth conservation and analysis.
• Cookware
Restoration: East
Coast Tinning
Jim Hamann refurbishes copper
pots and pans by retinning the cooking surface with the traditional
hand-wiped method. Any dents are repaired and the exterior copper is
polished to a new shine.
• Enamel
Restoration: Rosanna
Polizzotto
Rosanna has a BFA in painting and
attended the Art Students League and The School of Visual Arts in New
York City. You will not be able to see the repair with the
naked eye and in most cases with a ten power loupe. All enameling is
done with a conservators approach using a cold technique which
preserves the original work.
• Fountain
Pen Nib Restoration: Nibs
Confronted with a damaged or
mangled nib unit, many pen owners may throw their favorite writing
instrument in a drawer and think it beyond repair--and that is how
many vintage fountain pens have come to light after years of being
lost and forgotten. But the repair and restoration work that can be
done on a 14k or greater gold nib unit can often be astounding,
returning both nib and pen to full functionality. Whether you have a
contemporary pen that has just taken a nose-dive off the dining room
table, or a vintage pen that has been sitting in a box for the past
fifty years, the nib repair work done here at Nibs can often result
in a pen that writes as well as or better than when it was first sold.
• Furniture
Restoration & Conservation: Period
Furniture Conservation
Yuri Yanchyshyn is the principal
and senior conservator of Period Furniture Conservation, a New York
City firm dedicated to furniture and objects conservation. Prior to
founding the company, Yuri worked as a consulting conservator at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art. His firm's clients include museums,
historical societies, auction houses, collectors, fine arts advisors,
dealers, designers, architects, and other conservators.
• Gilding
Restoration: Gold
Leaf Restoration
For 30 years, Gold Leaf
Restoration has been at the forefront of bringing the medieval art of
gilding into the modern age. Gilding, which is the painstaking
application of a thin metal “leaf” or film to a wide
variety of surfaces, is often valued for reasons of historical
accuracy, as well as the uniqueness it imparts to modern objects.
• Glass
Beveling: Huisman
Glass
Specializing in all forms of
beveled glass including hand mirror replacements, chip removal.
• Glass
Inserts: Pairpoint
Glass
Custom blown glass
inserts for salts, ice buckets, etc.
• Glass/Crystal
Restoration: Michael
Bokrosh
Michael Bokrosh Glass Sculpture
Studio finds innovative ways to repair and restore your antique glass
& glass art sculptures so that the collector can once again
appreciate the beauty and design the original artist had intended. He
specializes in Murano glass repair, as well as Waterford, Lalique,
Daum, Kosta Boda, Orrefors, Stueben, and all contemporary glass
artists. Bokrosh also creates his own glass sculptures using optical
glass – some of the finest glass in the world.
• Horological
Restoration: Memoria
Technica
Memoria Technica is owned and
operated by Brittany Nicole Cox, also known as Nico. She is an
Antiquarian Horologist, which is another way of saying
“specialized mechanic”. More specifically, she is a clock-
and watchmaker who specializes in the conservation and restoration of
antique automata and mechanical music objects.
Her lifelong passion for horology
has seen her through nine years in higher education where she earned
her WOSTEP, CW21, and SAWTA watchmaking certifications, two
clockmaking certifications, and a Masters in the Conservation of
Clocks and Related Dynamic Objects from West Dean College, UK. She
opened Memoria Technica in 2015. Her original work has been shown at
the Museum of Arts and Design in New York and she is currently
working on a manuscript to be published by Penguin Press.
• Ivory
Restoration: The
Japanese Repository, Ron Fromkin
Restoring ivory, horn, antler,
bone, mother of pearl, and inlays in natural materials, and some
limited tortoiseshell items with mostly man-made materials. Ron also
does small ivory and wood carving of any type, small turning in
ivory, bone, and wood. Beautiful chess set restoration.
• Japanese
Sword Polishing & Restoration: Robert
Benson
Robert Benson is one of a small
number of American experts on Japanese sword polishing. He studied
sword polishing & appraisal under three top teachers, including
Koke Ono, a " living treasure" in Japan and at that time
was head sword polisher for the National Museum in Tokyo. In 1967,
the Japanese recognized Benson as being the first non- Japanese to
have studied sword polishing and first non-Japanese to have been
honored by the National Museum with a certificate recognizing him as
a polisher of distinction. Since then he has been restoring swords
for both Japanese and American collectors.
• Jewelry
Restoration: Hratch Babikian Studios
Finding innovative ways to
restore and repair antique and contemporary jewelry pieces so the
owner may once again enjoy wearing the objects as they were
originally intended. More than 35 years in the industry, Hratch pays
close attention to every detail, from retipping stone setting prongs
to replacing damaged areas to resizing rings. Also specializing in
renovating and rehabbing heirloom jewelry into more modern works. PO
Box 63573, Philadelphia, PA 19147, 215/465-9351, hratchbabikian@verizon.net
• Jewelry
Restoration & Makeovers: Klaus
Kutter, A Jour Jewelry
Klaus is an award-winning,
Swiss-trained master gold & platinum smith, designer, and gem-setter
with over 30 years of hands-on experience on the bench in
Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and USA. 325 Metacom Ave., Bristol, RI
02809, 401/254-2565
• Mirror
Restoration (Resilvering): Alchemy
Mirror Resilvering
Megan and Tom use the traditional
pour method to resilver and finish with orange shellac as a sealer.
Excellent work! 1768 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104, 651/641-1125.
• Music
Box Restoration: Music
Box Repair & Restoration
Bob Caletti is a Mechanical
Engineer and Craftsman with over 38 years of Antique Music Box repair
and restoration experience.Old world craftsmanship is used to return
Music Boxes to original condition. Complete restoration of Disc and
Cylinder Music Box case and mechanism. Machine and Wood shop on
premises quarantees that any missing or broken parts can be
reproduced like originals. Bob Caletti, 605 Wallea Dr., Menlo Park,
CA, 94025, 650/325-3898
• Paper
Restoration & Conservation: McGannon
Studios
Offering complete museum quality
conservation and restoration of paper artifacts. The wide array of
works on paper that can be preserved include prints, drawings,
watercolors, maps, pastels, historical and personal documents and
paper memorabilia.
• Picture
Frame Easels: Flech
Paper Products, Inc.
Makers of custom-made easels in
various styles and materials for new and antique picture frames.
• Porcelain
Restoration: Luel
Restoration Studio
Porcelain repair services for
plates, sculpture, vases, and figurines. Bisque and porcelain dolls repaired.
•
Silverplating: Roger
Jette, Jr
Beautiful silverplating and
goldplating without using nickel. Also offers repairs, refinishing,
and lacquering. I've been using Roger for years and have been very
happy with the quality of his work. 38 Vine St., Franklin, MA
02038, 508/520-1493
• Textile
Restoration: Frank
Connet
Conservation, restoration, and
cleaning of historic, ethnographic, and heirloom textiles.
• Watch
Case & Bracelet Restoration: Rolliworks
Outstanding craftsmen with a
laser welder.
Other
Sites of Interest
• American
Silver Museum new
An online museum
experience. Multiple photographic techniques are employed to
take a more granular look at this "mostly Meriden" and
James W. Tufts collection of silver plated hollowware (circa 1850 -
1910). Visitors can find links to the museum's YouTube channel
to enjoy the photographs in their best format, or, click on the link
to Pinterest or FaceBook to keep up-to-date with future online museum experiences.
• Christie's
Guide to Collecting Silver
Christie’s
specialist Harry Williams-Bulkeley gives seven tips on collecting
silver – from finding a show-stopping centrepiece to beating tarnish
• Chinese
Silver
A site dedicated
to Chinese export silver.
• Styles
of Antique Silver
An excellent
encyclopedia of styles from Queen Ann through Queen Victoria from
London retailer I. Franks. You can search by time period, then object.
• Antique
Georgian Silver Sugar Tongs
Web-site dedicated
to silver sugar tongs mainly covering the approximate period from
1760 to 1820 but also beyond into the early Victorian era. Only
sugar tongs that were made in the UK and Ireland are featured here
although there were many other countries making sugar tongs during
this period.
• Match
Safes
Nice collection of sterling match
safes - primarily American and British.
• Restoration
Terminology & Definitions
Prepared by Professional
Restorers International, this glossary has a wealth of
information pertaining to the restorers' field.
• Professional
Restorers International
The PRI website is a directory of
professional restorers, refinishers, and conservators. Each PRI
member has an informative page with outline of their services.
Through a search of these member pages, a prospective client can find
the appropriate person for their project.
• Coin
Database
Catalogues of Euro Coins and
coins from the United Kingdom, United States, Spain, Portugal,
France, Ireland and Germany with full mint details of size,
dimensions, metal composition, mintages and full color pictures.
• American
Numismatic Society
An organization dedicated to the
study of coins, currency, medals, tokens, and related objects from
all cultures, past and present. The Society's headquarters in New
York City has the foremost research collection and library
specialized in numismatics in the United States. These resources are
used to support research and education in numismatics, for the
benefit of academic specialists, serious collectors, professional
numismatists, and the interested public.
• Costume
Jewelry Designers & Company Information
Information on costume jewelry
designers and the jewelry marks they used on their respective designs.
• Illustrated
Dictionary of Jewelry
A great glossary on jewelry terms.
• American
Numismatic Society
The American Numismatic Society
is a museum and research institute devoted to the study of coins from
all periods and cultures.
• Barneby's
Auctions
Search for silver at auctions
from around the globe.
• Feigon
Hamilton
A consulting and staffing firm
comprised of a variety of professionals who synergistically offer
their knowledge and experience in the art of private household
service. They provide information and training that enables estates
and households to work like an empowered organization that supports
all of its participants: family, household staff and service providers.
• The
International Institute of Modern Butlers
Butlers and Household Managers
have traditionally been responsible for looking after the silver
(from the flatware to any silver art pieces) in the households they
serve. As a consequence, the silversmith often maintained a close
working relationship with butlers - and vice versa. That tradition
continues to this day and I, too, am associated with the butler
profession via the International Institute of Modern Butlers.
• The
International Perfume Bottle Association
A worldwide nonprofit
organization of perfume bottle collectors & dealers with over
1,000 members in 20 countries. Membership includes a quarterly color
magazine, an annual world-class convention focusing on education as
well as sales, monthly e-mail news releases, a lending library of
rare and out of print books, and more. |
