Featured Silver Dish...thingy. Oh, and a thimble! Look! Thimble!

Bought this today. Looking to resell it, but if I don't, then hey, I got a nice dish for *relatively* cheap moolah.



Have NO IDEA who made it or when or where or why...but it's 800 silver. That's all the guy could tell me, and I was satisfied with that. I would've liked to get it for less, but then, wouldn't we all?

Oh, and here's the thimble:



The thimble is Birmingham 1907 sterling. Bought it to go with my restored sewing machine.

 

Interesting thimble !!!!!

 

It was one of six that were for sale. This looked like the best all-round, so that's why I bought it.

 

If the maker's mark on that flora pattern thimble is J.F., it is James Fenton of Birmingham.
http://www.925-1000.com/bx_jFentonCo_B.html

Scroll down to about the 9th posting.
http://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14729&start=140

http://ancientpoint.com/inf/50071-stirling_silver_thimble_james_fenton_jf_birmingham.html

This Australian thimble site seems to have several James Fenton thimbles; however, am having trouble opening it on my iPad and am too lazy this morning to crank up the desktop to try the site. Type James Fenton in the Search Site box near top right,
http://www.thimbleselect.com

Nowwwww.... That thimble pattern looks similar to some of the patterns used by Charles Horner in his patented "Dorcas" thimbles. Horner

"... invented the with a steelcore sandwiched between two layers of silver thus thepis type of thimble is magnetic His first such thimbles did not carry a name only the registered design Number or PAT the patent Number

He introduced the DORCAS thimble which revolutionised the industry. He registered the design in 1884 with the patent number 8954 and the design was registered under number 73626. The patent ran out in the original Dorcas was manufactered until 1905."

As this thimble definitely isn't by Horner, but was manufactured after the patent expired in 1905, I wonder if it is a "Dorcas" type thimble. I doubt it is, but it certainly would not hurt to check if it is magnetic.

Charles Horner Dorcas thimbles:
http://www.charleshorner.co.uk/p2_thim.htm
http://925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3585

--- Susan

 

Pretty, Shangas!

Are there no marks on the dish?

 

Absolutely NOTHING. It says "800", and that's IT. The guy I bought it from had absolutely NO information about it, other than that.

And L. Branch: I have determined that the thimble is sterling silver 1907 Birmingham by J. Fenton.

 

I love the thimble!

 

Well, there are lots of places it can't be because of the lack of marks and the design and shape are fairly "universal." (Just musing to my self. I know you know that.) If forced to guess, my first would be somewhere in South America. Is the hammering I can see in the zoomed picture as obvious in person as it looks?

 

Was the thimble industry ripe for revolution?

 

Hi Baker.

Yes the planishing (I think that's what that is) is quite apparent. I think it's lovely. It's all ripply and oooooh.

 

I've spoken to a number of people by now and the general consensus with the dish is that it's postwar European silver. Although country of origin is still unknown. One person suggested Italian, but I'm not sure why. It's lovely either way.