George III Tot Cup

What, you ask, is a piece of George III silver doing on a blog that purports to report on silver from the Queen Anne, George I, and George II periods?  Well, my friends, this will be the first of a handful of such anomalies.  I purchased this little cup from a dealer here in the States for what I would consider a very good price.  What attracted me to it was its useful small size, and I could see myself alternating this little cup with my Lamerie cup for drinking port.  The cup is on a spreading foot and has a leaf-capped double scroll handle.  It is made by William Caldecott and dates to 1763, and measures just under 2 1/2 inches to the top of the handle with a weight of 2.05 troy ounces.  It is engraved under the foot with the initials S H.  I love the way the handle is attached to the rim so neatly.

George III tot cup, London, William Caldecott, 1763

Interior of tot cup and hallmarks

Another thing that drew me to this little cup was the hand-written calling card that accompanied it.  The card is an invitation to play tennis, croquet, and ping pong after three o'clock.  I love it!  On the back of this card is a history of the cup: "Little cup said by Aunt Dudley to be the only piece of silver saved by the Crook family after the British took Newport during the Revolution."  It appears as if the cup belonged to a Mary, but unfortunately I have no further information on her, Aunt Dudley or the Crook family. 

Calling card accompanying tot cup

Perhaps one day I will find out more about the original owners of the cup.  In the meantime, I enjoy it as a piece of English silver with an American history and a tie to our Revolution.  Cheers!