Georgian Sterling Silver Canteen of Old English Cutlery by WE/WF

48-piece Silver Old English Pattern Canteen, London 1799 to 1823 by William Eley & William Fearn

The Service

We are pleased to be offering a rare opportunity to buy a Georgian period silver canteen in Old English Pattern to serve up to twelve people.

 All the pieces in this cutlery service were made in London by the most important specialist silver flatware makers of the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries – Messrs Eley & Fearn. The pieces in this service were all hand-wrought and we have hand-picked them from our large stock to be the best matching in terms of length and proportions.

The service includes 12 traditional oval bowled table spoons that can either be used for supping soup or as serving items. The majority of forks from this period are worn, but those chosen for this service are in great condition with good length tines and are both straight sets of 12 – the table forks dated 1815 and the dessert forks dated 1821.

All the pieces have been polished to match each other and benefit from having no personalised engravings to them.

We have more Old English pattern items by these makers in stock, including serving pieces, that are available on request. Plus, we can offer suitable accompanying knives if required.

The Makers

William Eley & William Fearn were specialist silver spoonmakers. This close-knit branch of the larger silversmithing family concentrated on producing hand-wrought silver spoons, forks and serving pieces. The skills were passed down from master to apprentice and so long “bloodlines” of these relationships can be traced through the years.

The most important “family” began in the mid-18^th century with Ebenezer Coker and central to the group was the partnership of Eley & Fearn. William Fearn had been apprenticed to Thomas Chawner in the 1750’s and William Eley had in turn become Fearn’s apprentice in the 1770’s. The two silversmiths worked solo, in other partnerships and together from the 1790’s through to 1823. The size of the partnership increased in 1808 when their apprentice William Chawner joined them. He went on to create the most important specialist spoonmakers of the 19^th Century – Chawner & Company.

 Eley & Fearn were the most prolific and produced the best quality hand-wrought silver flatware of the period. They supplied the top London retailers and had elite private clients, always producing goods to the highest standards.

Old English Pattern

Old English Pattern was first introduced circa 1770 and has always been a favoured pattern due to its elegant and simple form. It was the dominant flatware pattern of the late 18^th century and early years of the 19^th century.

Components

This 48-piece service consists of the following:

• 12 Table/soup Spoons        22.5cm
• 12 Table/dinner Forks         20.2cm
• 12 Dessert  Spoons             17.2cm
• 12 Dessert Forks                 16.8cm

Total weight of weighable silver 2380 grams (76.5 troy ounces)

Condition

Excellent polished condition with no engravings. The spoons retain their full bowls and the forks are in fine condition with equal length tines.

Presentation

This canteen is supplied within 4 new royal blue anti-tarnish cutlery rolls.

All of our canteens are offered with a full money-back guarantee. We are also happy to send a sample place setting for approval, on receipt of a fully refundable surety payment - just phone or email your preferences. Alternatively, in-person viewings are welcome by appointment.