Need info on above please - sites, books etc
Many thanks
John Tongue was a Birmingham based silversmith and sadly there are not as many books on Birmingham Silversmiths as London ones. The book “The Silversmiths of Birmingham and their Marks: 1750 - 1980” by Kenneth Crisp Jones shows 4 marks registered for John Tongue, the first in 1831, the last in 1863 but no further information. There may be better books on Birmingham Silver but I don’t have any! These days, its usually easiest to look up marks on silvermakersmarks.co.uk anyway. You can see the marks and dates with some address information here.
He was a box maker amongst other things and seems to have made a number of “castle top” vinaigrettes. His boxes can be quite valuable.
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Thank you everyone.
I have a sugar sifter with his makers mark. In a box and excellent condition. Wondering about value.
Steve
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There is no particular premium for John Tongue’s work. To get an idea of value, you can investigate on ebay to find something comparable in terms or weight, age and prettiness.
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Thank you for your reply.
I’m new to antique silver. A deviation from antique furniture restoration. Getting too old to carry things…
I think I might enjoy silver dealing. That is, if my enthusiasm for purchasing doesn’t outstrip my ability sell at a profit. On this subject. Any hints/tips essential reading etc?
Steve
Hi I found a ring with J.T
Could this be John Tongue
I see he was a silver artist but do not see he worked on gold
Any info would be appreciated
John Tongue was my 5x Great Grandfather - I am keen to find out more about his work, or maybe even a picture of him. Thank you for posting this.
Snap. I’m also keen to locate a picture of him. I’d love to also find out how we are connected now if your interested to?
Hi Steve,
Yes, I would be very interested to see how we are connected - I have been tracing my family tree through Ancestry for quite some years now. Have you been doing the same? We might be able to connect through that site. Are you still local to Birmingham? The Tongues don’t appear to have moved far to my knowledge!
J
Fantastic. Local ish to Birmingham. Moved from Solihull to Tamworth a number of years back. Still have quite a lot of family scattered around Birmingham.
Not on ancestry but do have a tree building up via MyHeritage.
JoL and SteveTongue23,
I suggest you use the Private Message facility (click on the other user’s identity icon in the message thread and then “Message”). Then you can swap e-mail addresses, etc without going public.
Phil
. Cheers. Will do.