Theodore B. Starr Bowl - Need Info Please

@cxgirl thank you for your help. I am slightly less confused with what I have here. Try to figure out where the 1962 comes from.

 

Thank you for your effort in trying to help me out. I will be sure not to remove the water deposit myself. Have a good day

 

Here's the date chart I used.

http://freespace.virgin.net/a.data/dateletters/Lond/londonframe.htm

The square cartouche with corners removed and the lower case italic font took me to 1962. Now, that's when the item was assayed under import rules of the UK. It doesn't necessarily tell when the item was made. (I find this site very useful because of the limited date charts on the 925 site.)

The sort of U inside a circle is the London import mark used from 1904 on. (It's actually upside down) That whole line of marks is from the 1962 assay. I don't see the word "sterling" anywhere, which may have been obliterated by the import marks, but should certainly have been there if the item was originally intended for sale in the US. The use of the .925 on imported goods also started in 1904.

When Starr went of out business in 1924 it was acquired by Reed and Barton. I do not know whether R&B continued using Starr's mark.

So, what have we got? A seriously damaged (needing professional restoration work) sterling item of unknown age, properly marked for import into the UK in 1962 for Harrod's. Was it made by Starr or just retailed by them? Cheryl thinks retailed and I don't know otherwise, so I defer to her greater experience.

 

Have a couple minutes, can add a bit to Bakersgma's excellent synopsis - Starr was a manufacturer and retailer, a large enough retailer that major makers would leave off their marks for them. Would probably date this piece to early 20th century, may have been made by them, but believe it was more likely by someone else (could look the same or very similar pieces with other marks, but not really any point in it). It would have been brought into England for sale in Harrod's Antique Dept. in 1962, and assayed and marked then.

~Cheryl

 

Thank you for all your efforts in looking into this! That is a lot of great information. The word STERLING is actually on the piece but has been mostly worn off. It's located above the hallmarks. I'm not sure if that changes anything but either way, I'm excited it wasn't a waste of money. Thank you for all your help

 

Thanks for the link on the date/letters bakers
good picking JTR, you sure can't go wrong on a buy like that!

 

I wish i could take credit for the link but i accidently sent that bakersgma had sent me. Thank you for the advice! ill be sure to add updates

 

Cheryl, why should JTR not try to remove the white stuff himself? Wouldn't silver polish work on it? I hope the bowl will not be scrapped. How should it be cleaned? THX!

 

The OP said he is inexperienced with silver, and water deposits, like salt corrosion, usually eat into the silver, there are ways to remove it, and to restore the silver, takes some patience and at least a little bit of finesse, didn't want him to charge in and cause more damage. The problem with trying to get it off with silver polish is that it's unlikely to take off the deposit or corrosion without a lot of pressure and/or abrasive, if taking it off at all, then you have an over polished area around the damage, which is probably etched underneath - polishing over remnants of 'protective' lacquering will have the same effect, wearing away the silver around the bits of lacquer. Have done a lot of corroded silver salts and salt spoons, and am not bad at it, but the last vase I had with a similar water deposit had to machine buffed (something that can also go badly in the wrong hands) - last time I told someone how to remove corrosion, they lost patience, said it didn't work, and used steel wool instead, so I just don't bother anymore. The link below is to Jeff Herman's site, he's a very skilled silversmith and restorer - there is advice on care, and a contact page too...

http://www.hermansilver.com/care.htm

~Cheryl

 

Thank you for the advice! I will be sure not to attempt it myself @DragonflyWink