What is this?

[sapphire]

An eggcup, tea strainer ?  Only thing I do know is it's silver plated......mark appears to be 'C & R' or 'S & R'.

Anyone recognize this?

Excuse the 'egg', it's just for size......used that last real one at supper

[sapphire]

Maker's mark......

[waywardangler]

Hmmmm, looks pretty brassy, sapphire, or did the flash alter the color?  Is it stable with the legs like that and an egg in it?  It seems like the curled legs should clamp on the edge of a pan or something.  I have no idea what it is.

[sapphire]

Wayward, it's the flash and/or lamp that gave it that color.  It sits just fine (though bent a bit over the years) Definitely was supposed to sit on 'something' by the look of it.

[waywardangler]

I think it may be S&B for Sheperd and Boyd.  I could not copy the image but this is the page the mark is from...http://www.925-1000.com/americansilver_S.html

[sapphire]

Duh  And here I scanned over that page three times looking for S & R

[waywardangler]

We all do that, sapphire.

[sapphire]

Think you're bang on there Wayward.......

[waywardangler]

Here is a pierced silver plate egg holder on a pedestal so I think your thought that this is an eggcup may be right, sapphire.

Some listings say Shepherd & Boyd and some are Sheperd & Boyd.  Don't know which is right.

[sapphire]

Now in that link you gave me it mentions Active: 1810 - 1830.  That would mean this little curiosity has been floating around since at
the latest 1830 ??

[waywardangler]

Yes, that is what I would assume.  I have seen some other references starting at 1805 but the end year is 1830.  After that it seems Boyd was on his own.  I do not find any reference to what happened with Shepherd or Sheperd.  Does it feel like it is 180 years old?  Just think how many people have used or handled that and it still survives in nice shape!

[sapphire]

Found a record of Boyd, but no sign of Sheperd/Shepherd or anything similar in the 'S' list.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~silversmiths/makers/silversmiths/162011.htm


Now (without making ironlord cringe), I think I'll clean this little fella up and hopefully will find
out what it would have 'sat' on.

[ironlord1963]

    i think only using Steel wool would actually make me cringe  .   Something here is not matching up though, maybe it is just me and I will prep up some crow stew just in case.  It does appear to me the marks of shepherd and Boyd.  First as far as I can find they were Silversmiths, that is they used Sterling, I can find nothing about them doing any Plate.  Then if they were only in operation between 1810 -1840, That would be a bit early for Electo plate, only plate during this time would be sheffield.  So I'm not cringing right now, but I am scratching my head   

[sapphire]

Haha, OK ironlord you can scratch with one hand......the other one better be searching for answers!! 

And here I thought I had at least a partial solution to the question   Can we settle on egg cup for sure??

[ironlord1963]

Sure Looks like a really intresting Egg cup to me to me.  I did look through my books on silver and Silverplate with no concrete answers, they are not listed in the plate books and show up all over the silver books.  I will look around some more. but all I have left is the net for answers, my Books have surely come up short thus far