Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;DragonflyWink, post: 9807070, member: 111&quot;]Pretty sure&nbsp; it&#039;s a tea ball stand w/drip tray, your mark came into use in 1898, at the same time they instituted the letter prefix on the production numbers, would date no later than the early &#039;30s and probably quite a bit earlier - &#039;A&#039; was supposed to be on tableware, but apparently tea accessories were put into the &#039;B&#039; group, like &#039;C&#039;, sort of catch-all categories.&nbsp; Don&#039;t have the time to do much checking around, but here are some links to a couple by other manufacturers:</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.rubylane.com/item/1061514-0015-7348/Tea-Ball-Stand-Whiting-Sterling-1890x27s" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.rubylane.com/item/1061514-0015-7348/Tea-Ball-Stand-Whiting-Sterling-1890x27s" rel="nofollow">https://www.rubylane.com/item/1061514-0015-7348/Tea-Ball-Stand-Whiting-Sterling-1890x27s</a></p><p>[ATTACH=full]487437[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/1171547328/simon-bros-sterling-tea-ball-strainer?show_sold_out_detail=1&amp;ref=nla_listing_details" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/1171547328/simon-bros-sterling-tea-ball-strainer?show_sold_out_detail=1&amp;ref=nla_listing_details" rel="nofollow">https://www.etsy.com/listing/1171547328/simon-bros-sterling-tea-ball-strainer?show_sold_out_detail=1&amp;ref=nla_listing_details</a></p><p>[ATTACH=full]487439[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>A Gorham tea ball, same era as your piece, the seller&#039;s dating is incorrect, the &#039;B&#039; prefix is not Gorham&#039;s 1869 &#039;B&#039; date code, which would be stamped alone, not prefixing the pattern number:</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/205159531/antique-gorham-tea-ball-infuser-vintage?show_sold_out_detail=1&amp;ref=nla_listing_details" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/205159531/antique-gorham-tea-ball-infuser-vintage?show_sold_out_detail=1&amp;ref=nla_listing_details" rel="nofollow">https://www.etsy.com/listing/205159531/antique-gorham-tea-ball-infuser-vintage?show_sold_out_detail=1&amp;ref=nla_listing_details</a></p><p>[ATTACH=full]487450[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>And a bit earlier Gorham tea ball that&#039;s on my want-list:</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.silverperfect.com/Inventory/tea%20items/grmmimtballdetail.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.silverperfect.com/Inventory/tea%20items/grmmimtballdetail.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.silverperfect.com/Inventory/tea items/grmmimtballdetail.html</a></p><p>[ATTACH=full]487451[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>~Cheryl[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in