Queen Anne Four-Tined Dognose Forks, 1705

At an auction a few years ago I purchased a group of four dognose forks, a pair and two singles.  I was most interested in the two singles: one dating to 1701 with arms for Frowde and the four-tined fork bearing the mark of Pierre Harache and the date letter for 1705.  You can read more about the four forks here.  Below are photographs of the four-tined fork.

Fast forward a few years, and I found a set of eight four-tined dognose forks for sale, all but two of them with the date letter for 1705, two bearing the maker's mark for Pierre Harache, four with that of Benjamin Watts, and two which I believe bear Continental marks.  Later matching crests were engraved on all of the forks.  On one of the Harache forks, I could see remnants of the thick sausage-like torse that seemed to match that on my fork, and the dognose terminals on the Harache forks were shaped like mine.

When I received the forks, it was pretty obvious that the two Harache forks from the set of eight were made at the same time as the one I already had. Below are the three Harache forks:

Below is a photograph of one of the forks bearing Benjamin Watts' mark.

The forks with what I believe to be Continental marks:

And, finally, a shot of the set of eight forks:

In the photograph above of the eight forks, it's easy to see the difference in terminal shape between the first and third forks from the left (the Harache forks) and the other forks.  The Watts forks' terminals more closely resemble the terminals on the Continental forks, which appear as the last pair of forks on the right in the photo above.  It's a shame about the later crests.  I wonder if the Watts and Harache forks were made for the same customer in 1705?  Did the Harache and Watts workshops have a working relationship?

Trio of 1712 Tablespoons Reunited

In an earlier post of mine, which you can find here, I described how I found a pair teaspoons to match one I already owned.  The same thing happened again to me recently.  Five and a half years ago, I purchased a great pair of tablespoons from 1712 with rubbed makers marks and arms engraved to the back of the handle.  Just last month, I found two more of these spoons from a different seller, which sent a wave of excitement through me.  I was not successful in my bid for one of them (damn you ebay snipers!), but I did manage to get the second one.  Below are photographs of the three spoons:

Front and back of trio of tablespoons.  The newest addition is the one on the right in the right-hand photograph.

Hallmarks on the tablespoons for London 1712 with rubbed maker's mark. 

Arms on all three spoons for Weld.

The date letter for 1712, the lion's head erased, and Britannia are all fairly well-struck, or at least easily identifiable.  The maker's marks are, however, very worn.  What is visible in each mark, but not so easily visible in the photograph, is a star, and on one spoon there appear to be two stars in the maker's mark.  Of course, one would hope this could be the mark for Willaume, but sadly we'll never know.

The arms to the back of the spoon handle, as far as I can tell, are for the family of Weld of Lulworth Castle in Dorset.  It is my opinion the arms are original to the spoons' manufacture and the initials "MT" were added later by heirs of the original owners.  There are a couple of Thomas Welds who married Marys.  Or does "MT" refer to a subsequent single owner without the Weld surname? 

It's always exciting to find spoons that match ones you have, and it's a reminder that silver collecting is a long game and always surprising.

Sources:

Burke, John. A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland.  Vol. I. London: R. Bentley, 1833. Google Books. Web. 8 Feb. 2019.

Provincial Silver Rattail Teaspoons? Please Help!

Hello, and a very happy 2019 to all of you!  I hope it has treated you well so far.

Below are photographs of three rattail  teaspoons I recently purchased.  Two are 11.5 cm, with the third 12 cm, and they are fairly light in weight.  As you can see, the marker's mark "AB" is struck three times on one spoon and once on each of the others.  Is anyone able to help me identify who the maker might be and where they were made?  Thank you very much!