Sterling Silver - Scroll Pattern

Quadruple Silver
Floral Pattern needle case
Needle Case (front and back)

UK Patent 1868-3517 drawing

Design Details

Needle Case Type:	Quadruple
Patent/Registered to:	William Avery, Redditch Needle Manufacturer and Albert Fenton of the same place, Machinist
Patent/Design Representation #:	Mechanical Patent: #3517
Patent/Design Registration Date:	November 19, 1868
Location of Patent/Design Registration:	British Library - Business and Intellectual Property Centre – London
Reference #:	1868-3517, Figures 7-10
Dimensions:	3.3 x 7
Material:	Silver
Name Variations:	G. H. Johnstone & Co - Birmingham
Other Variations:	See other Quadruples
US Patent	US 1870-98904

Note: The Birmingham Assay Office confirms that The G. H. Jonstone hallmark is as shown on this needle case.

Additional Photographs

Detail views front (photos from eBay)

Detail view front and back (photos from eBay)

Detail views back (photos from eBay)

Detail view of the G. H. Johnstone hallmarks (photo from eBay)

Silver

Silver is a grayish white shiny metal used to make mirrors, jewelry, silverware, coins and other ornamental items. Because it is a precious metal, items made with silver often contain a small percentage of another metal. For example, most sterling silver is an alloy of 92.5% silver with 7.5% copper. Items made of silver usually contain some type of hallmark identifying them as such. Similar hallmarks are used to indicate whether an item is silver-plated. As a result, any item that appears to be made of silver but lacks the appropriate hallmark is usually made of something else. During the Victorian period many items were made of or plated with an alloy of copper, zinc and nickel known as nickel-silver. Nickel-silver was used because its appearance was similar to silver but it was much less expensive and didn’t tarnish like silver does.

silver

Hallmarks

English antiques made of silver usually contain five hallmarks: a silver standard mark, a city mark, a date letter, a duty mark (which narrows the date), and a makers mark. The hallmarks on the needle case on this page signify the following: the lion indicates the item is sterling silver, the anchor means it was made in Birmingham, the letter G indicates the item was made in 1881, the duty mark with a profile of Queen Victoria’s head means the item was made during her reign and the makers mark indicates this item was made by G. C. H. & Co. According to the Birmingham Assay Office this refers to G. C. Haseler & Co, a jeweler from Birmingham who first registered their makers mark in 1860. For more information on English hallmarks be sure to visit www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk and www.925-1000.com.

Silver hallmarks

Engraving

Engraving is the process of cutting or carving a design onto a hard, flat surface such as wood, stone or metal using a small chisel or tool. In fine art the term engraving is used to describe the printed image created from the incised wood or metal plate that contains the design. With jewelery and other ornamental items professional hand engravers are able to add detailed scenes and elaborate scrollwork or geometric patterns like the ones seen on the needle case on this page. Often an individual’s initials are inserted to give the item a personalized touch. Items with customized hand engraving are usually more expensive than ones decorate by machine processes.

Silver engraving