These two forks have got me puzzled , but I am still learning , I have now got all the books and recognising things slowly but struggling with these two … The forks look interesting though ? Anybody throw some ideas on them please ?
The larger plain one has marks ’ W H & S, b ?, p? , MP/B ’ , but on the front it has ’ CITY OF LONDON SS ’ , which is a ship that sank in 1881 with the loss of 41 lives .
The patterned one has ’ F N & S , ? , ? ,? , A ’ , and what looks like the letters ’ J C ’ on the front . I was going to sling them but decided to look more closely - you never know ?
I also have some plated spoons with the word ’ ORUBA ’ , and ’ W & H inside a triangular flag ’ , reference to another Ship I think ?
Hi again Pete,
Both of the forks are silver plated. The larger plain one is made by William Hutton & Sons, in Sheffield. They started using this plate mark in 1849.
The patterned fork is lilly pattern, but I do not recognise the makers mark. I will have a look over the weekend and see what I can find for you. It is certainly Victorian plate though, the marks after the FN & S are the gothic letters EP. The JC initials would probably be those of the original owner.
As for the plated spoons, the W & H inside a flag is the makers mark for Walker & Hall, which they started using in 1861. The term Oruba is something I haven’t seen on plate before. It could be to do with the RMS Oruba, or could be a fairly random plate mark.
Hey, I have 3 spoons similar to your forks that belonged to my grandma
2 of them stamped WH & S B sth
And above it MP A
the marks at the back and the front doesn’t any details…
The third looks the same front and back but different stamp 1A MAPPIN & WEBB
And above letter P
Sorry I haven’t polished them yet,
I just saw your question and thought to share : )
