I have a few items with GA Makers Mark which I believe to be Chawner & Co. Some items I thought were identical such as spoons, differ with an additional mark near maker’s mark. In the pictures below you will see one with a W, one with an R, one with a D and one with nothing. These are separate to the date letters.
Any insight to this would be appreciated. Thank you.
These are journeymen’s marks. The business of Chawner & Co would have employed quite a number of workmen each of whom would have served an apprenticeship and become a journeyman. Each journeyman would have been expected to produce a certain quantity per day and would have applied their own private mark to ensure that they were paid appropriately. Unfortunately there is no record of these marks and who they belonged to.
Phil
