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Black, white, gilt, frosted, pearled and other tinted silver
On December 17th, 2009 John Culme wrote on the subject of Uncategorized.
the Goodwood Cup of 1869, Edward Barnard & Sons, London, 1869, for the retail goldsmith, J.W. Benson of 25 Old Bond Street, London, ‘a magnificent Old English Silver Tankard and Cover, modelled by Mr. J.E. Boehm, the subject being taken from Frith‘s celebrated painting of ”The Derby Day,” [it] is wrought out with consummate skill, both in the modelling and chasing, the figures being oxidized on a pearl white back-ground… (Jackson’s Oxford Journal, Oxford, London, Saturday, 31 July 1869, p. 3e)
The image on the right shows the piece as it was in 1977; that on the left as it probably originally appeared in 1869.
(photo: courtesy of Sotheby’s, London: Mentmore sale, 23 May 1977, lot 1666)
Looking at the photograph in my last blog of Hunt & Roskell’s display at the 1862 International Exhibition, one could be forgiven for thinking that the lighting was amiss; the silver is so snowy white. In fact, this image records perfectly how most display plate would have appeared . The prevailing fashion was to ‘colour’ silver in some way, either by frosting (as in the Hunt & Roskell display) or by combinations of gilding, partly gilding (known as parcel-gilding), pearling or oxidizing, the latter producing a black surface.
Techniques for colouring silver (and gold) were developed in antiquity and have been used in various ways ever since. In modern times, the silversmith’s everyday repertoire included interesting finishes for his work. Silver-gilt, because of its relative durability, has survived in great quantities; but silver objects treated with heat, acids or other agents to produce black, white and coloured tints are much more delicate. A rare 1760s, London-made blackened silver cup appeared at auction a few years ago only to create confusion because its unusual colour was nearly mistaken for ordinary tarnish.
Some French and Russian silversmiths at the Great Exhibition of 1851 caused considerable comment for their unusual oxidized work, whereas English silversmiths relied mostly on the contrast of brightly polished areas juxtaposed with dead white frosting.
The possibility of colouring silver may not be familiar to many, but Richard Hughes and Michael Rowe have dealt splendidly with the subject in their book, The Colouring, Bronzing and Patination of Metals (1991).
two marine pattern silver salts in the manner of Nicholas Sprimont (1716-1771),
created with naturalistically-coloured silver crayfish and crab by Smith & Harris, manufacturing goldsmiths and silversmiths, London, and shown at the ‘Supermodels’ exhibition, Goldsmiths’ Hall, 2001
(photo: courtesy of Smith & Harris, London)
- various items from the workshops of Hunt & Roskell and Edward Barnard & Sons are currently listed on myfamilysilver.comÂ
19th Century photography in the service of silver
On December 10th, 2009 John Culme wrote on the subject of Uncategorized.
a photograph of Hunt & Roskell’s display of silver race cups, candelabra, testimonials, wine coolers, &c,
at the International Exhibition of 1862, South Kensington, London;
a number of the pieces shown are known to have survived
Hunt & Roskell was the commercial successor to (Paul) Storr & Mortimer.
(photo: The London Stereoscopic & Photographic Co Ltd, London, 1862)
Ask any commercial photographer and he will tell you that the most challenging objects he has to capture are those made of silver: they dazzle or vanish into black or white backgrounds. Probably the very first photograph ever taken of silver, a calotype by William Henry Fox Talbot made between 1844 and 1846, shows the problem to perfection: a pair 1750s candlesticks, an Elkington coffee pot, &c, are harsh combinations of darkness and brightness. Although the same disappointing results were achieved of silver by the photographers who recorded some exhibits at the Great Exhibition of 1851, there are plenty of photographs surviving from the second half of the 19th Century which prove just how useful a medium photography became to the silver and jewellery trades.
The archive of Edward Barnard & Sons, the London manufacturing silversmiths, includes an extraordinary photographic record (circa 1850-1940) of the firm’s work. An unknown number of photographs were sent by Victorian manufacturers and retained by the Patent Office in their registration of copyright designs. Photographs were taken at most exhibitions, large and small, many of the most successful being those made by The London Stereoscopic & Photographic Co Ltd at the International Exhibition in 1862. Photography was even harnessed at that early period by manufacturers for illustrated trade catalogues, although such publications must have been expensive to produce.
Photography also became a pleasant way to record a gift of silver, sometimes with the recipient in evidence, for distribution to subscribers or for sale in local shops.
a page of die-stamped ‘Sterling Silver Novelties’ from the
CATALOG AND PRICE LIST OF DIAMOND, GOLD AND PLATED JEWELRY AND SILVER THINGS
published by Robert S. Gatter, maker, 19 Maiden Lane, New York City, 1900
(photo: unknown, 1900)
- Various items of interest are currently listed on myfamilysilver.com, including items made by the following silversmiths: Hunt & Roskell, Paul Storr, Elkington & Co and Edward Barnard & Sons
Fit for a gentleman’s desk
On October 8th, 2009 John Culme wrote on the subject of Uncategorized.
an unidentified gentleman with a silver ‘Grecian’ pattern inkstand, manufactured in three sizes (11, 13 and 16 inches wide) by Edward Barnard & Sons of London (photo: Robert Cade, Ipswich, late 1860s)
Silver inkstands, at least in Britain, were considered fitting gifts for men in all stations from the late 17th Century for nearly 300 years. But surely few recipients of such useful, decorative and expensive objects could have been as graceless as John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) when in 1858 he heard that colleagues in the East India Company were about to present him with one after 35 years’ service. They had commissioned the architect Matthew Digby Wyatt for a special design and the scheme was near to completion by Elkington’s the silversmiths when Mill declared that ‘he hated all such demonstrations [because] they were never altogether genuine or spontaneous.’ This outburst shamed the committee into delivering the inkstand to the great man’s house in secret!
No such ill-mannered sentiments marred the presentation of an inkstand to the eminent architect J.B. Papworth (1775-1847), when in 1847 a group of his professional friends and pupils gathered to express their respect and esteem. They recalled not only his services to architecture but also his influence on the applied arts (he furnished patterns for, among others, the royal goldsmiths, Rundell, Bridge & Rundell) and as the first director of the Government Schools of Design.
Many lesser dignitaries, like the unknown gentleman in our photograph, received gifts of inscribed inkstands. In fact, in Victorian times the big manufacturing silversmiths produced special models appropriate to various professions, such as Elkington’s for churchmen and philanthropists where the ink pots flanked a figure of a shivering beggar.
an engraving of the inscribed silver inkstand, manufacturer unknown, presented to the architect John Buonarotti Papworth on Monday, 25 January 1847, at the house in Bolton Gardens, Russell Square, London, of Thomas Leverton Donaldson (1795-1885), a co-founder of the Royal Institute of British Architects (The Illustrated London News, London, 30 January 1847, pp. 75-6)
- Various inkstands are currently listed on myfamilysilver.com, as well as other interesting items from Edward Barnard & Sons, Elkington & Co and Rundell, Bridge & Rundell
John Culme, who for many years has been connected with Sotheby's Silver Department, is author of several books and articles, including The Directory of Gold and Silversmiths, 1838-1914, published in 1987, and co-author with Nicholas Rayner of The Jewels of the Duchess of Windsor. He is also a Liveryman of the Goldsmiths' Company, London.
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