Letters A and R on silverplate

British Silver Reading Silver Hallmarks
1

Some time ago I bought a silver plate coffee/tea set at a car boot fair for £10. It is in very nice condition and the seller believed it came from the nineteen twenties. ( I find this a bit hard to believe as it is quite bright on the interior and doesn’t look that old.). The pot has a sort of finial on the top and the pattern is what I think is called twist swirl.

The pot and the sugar bowl (which has a lid to match the pot) have the letter ‘A’ and ‘R’ in italic script in individual squares on the bottom, with ‘Sheffield’ in block capitals below. The milk jug is much the same but the letters appear in diamond shaped lozenges.

Can anyone tell me what the letter A and R stand for, and possibly how old this set is?

Thanks.

2

I don’t recognise the mark from your description, but if you can post a picture of it maybe somebody will be able to help.

3

I was afraid that you were going to say that. Unfortunately, it’s going to take me a little while to digest the instructions for doing that, but I’ll have a go tomorrow.

4

I’ve had a go at resizing the picture of the coffee set. I shall try to photograph the mark in daylight in the morning.
rsz_coffee_set_001.jpg

5

I’ve tried to get a photo of the marks on the bottom of these items now, and this is the best of all my attempts. If anybody can give me any idea, I would be very grateful. I took them into my local antique shop today and he was stumped, so I’d love to be able to go back to him and say that I’ve cracked it.
rsz_marks_on_coffee_set_001.jpg