This is a wonderful antique sterling photo frame with a beautiful green felt back. I just can’t figure out the silver mark. Looking for assistance
Barb
Worn logo so hard to see if that is an F or E
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Hi Barb:
I see from the nine silver sleuths who have viewed your pretty Victorian oval frame so far that none of us has answered your question as to who END was and why he, she or it chose to draw a mark which emulated a UK patent office ‘lozenge’ mark used between 1842 and 1883, but clearly wasn’t.
As there was no particular criminal laws about fake patent marks – unlike the substantial penalties for fake sterling silver marks— there were and still are laws about “passing off” and commercial fraud— free trips to the Antipodes “hulk class” was a popular sanction for that, it could actually be UK made and likely in that time period.
(S)END
CRWW
Yes, my searching was coming up blank, so no post.
But BarbG, what is there about this piece that leads you to conclude that it’s sterling?
This website shows a similar mark for the I. N. Deitsch Co. New York
whose mark also show up on this frame:
which has a sterling silver designation. “STERLING” and a number 1474 which is likely a product number.
This is likely related in any way to purse and bag makers of the similar name
Deitsch Bros. was a New York-based American company that specialized in sterling silver mesh purses and other leather goods with sterling silver mountings between 1896 and 1922. Their pieces often featured Art Nouveau designs and would be marked “STERLING,” and a specific item number.
The name “Deitsch” originates from the Yiddish and German word “deitsch” or “deutsch,” meaning "German. It served as an ethnic surname for people of German descent, particularly within Ashkenazi Jewish communities, or as a general term for a German vernacular speaker in an area with a mixed population.
CRWW
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(American sterling silver marks: marks and hallmarks of US makers: Da-Dt)
Here are both the marks side by side and they both use the diamond format so likely the same company making picture frames and leather or mesh purses with sterling silver fittings both working 1896 to 1922 more or less.
So your fretted frame is likely sterling and the poor or lightly stamped makers mark, the lack of the word “STERLING” and the absence of a product number may simply be a consequences of the mesh nature of the frame.
CRWW
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The Deitsch attribution gets my vote - seems solid. 
Thanks everybody I agree. I looked up a few Sterling silver picture frames and put in that maker and a lot came up.
Appreciate all the help
Barb
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