Help with Tiffany stamp/identification/pattern

Discussion in 'Silver' started by PDMAC, Aug 23, 2018.

  1. PDMAC

    PDMAC New Member

    Hi, I'm trying to find any information on my coffee brewer. It has a typical Tiffany & Co stamp, but it is stamped with an "S" under "Silver Soldered". It is stamped with a catalog # of 7254. It appears to have celluloid handles, so I'm thinking 1920s? Thank you for any help. Small mark.jpg Small 2.jpg
     
  2. Bakersgma

    Bakersgma Well-Known Member

    Silver Soldered means it's silver plated, not sterling.

    BTW, it's on urn, not a 'brewer." As far as I know, there is not a "pattern name" for something like this.
     
  3. PDMAC

    PDMAC New Member

    Thank you for the info. I assumed since it has a brew basket, much like a percolator, that it was some type of brewing device instead of 'just' an urn. Any idea why it has an S stamp instead of they typical M or C?
     
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  4. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    The white insulating pieces would not be Celluloid, which melts (& catches fire) easily. Are you sure they are not ivory?
     
  5. DragonflyWink

    DragonflyWink Well-Known Member

    It has a spigot, so it's an urn, if it has a percolator, then it's a coffee urn (there were also chocolate urns with stirrers), but it could also be used for hot water. The handles are very unlikely to be celluloid, but are almost certainly ivory. Carpenter's 'Tiffany Silver' (1978) shows a "coffee or hot water urn" made about 1910 with identical ivory spigot handles. It also mentions that their electroplate marks "were often more casual than their sterling marks", and noting that the pattern numbers are not chronological as on their sterling - the electroplate marks shown in the book sometimes have the director's/president's initial, sometimes a random letter like yours (those letters are not addressed), and sometimes both are present.

    ~Cheryl
     
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  6. PDMAC

    PDMAC New Member

    Thank you so much for the replies and information, especially Cheryl. I am typically dealing with Mid-Century items, so I'm used to plastics but not ivory. I can say definitely that this is the first item of ivory I've ever had. I have a jeweler's loupe, so I will take a closer look at the handles later today. I removed one of the screw-off sides of the spigot handle and I guess I expected ivory to have more heft. Granted, it's a relatively small piece. It appears to be turned and not molded. I appreciate the assistance. What a neat item. Lucky to have found it.

    Patrick
     
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  7. PDMAC

    PDMAC New Member

    Here is a close-up of the handle. New Image.jpg
     
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  8. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    The handles & the little disk on that bollard-like thing (to keep you from banging your cup against the urn?) have all yellowed with time & handling, & all appear to be the same organic material. It's hard to be sure from the one pic, but think these parts may be bone rather than ivory. Is it just a trick of the lighting that the spigot handles do not look the same color? Can't tell if they are the same, different material or different age. Bone is less dense than ivory, & you remarked on light weight. Other eyes will bring other opinions. If you search the site for 'ivory' you will find other times we've thrashed this out.
     
  9. PDMAC

    PDMAC New Member

    They are all the same color. I reduced the contrast for the handle one so it would show the detail better. New Image1.jpg New Image3.jpg
     
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  10. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    The spigot handles look like ivory to me & if they are, other pieces will be too.
     
    kyratango and Any Jewelry like this.
  11. PDMAC

    PDMAC New Member

    Thank you for the help. I'll try the tooth test tomorrow and see what it tells me. I appreciate the help for a newbie.
     
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