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THERE ARE 32 "LEARN MORE ABOUT..." TOPICS
Brass Advertising | British Placenames | British Royalty on Thimbles | British Silversmiths | Charles May | Christmas | Coalport
Dorcas Thimble Boxes | Easter | Gadgets | Francesca | Hallmarked Thimbles set | 'Mother' | The World's Greatest Porcelain Houses
Royal Albert | Royal Crown Derby | Royal Doulton | Royal Worcester Handpainted Thimbles
Royal Worcester Decal Thimbles | S + H Foskett | Silver Advertising Thimbles | Spode | Stratnoid | SylvaC
Thimble Books | Thimble Collectors Club | Thimble Societies | Thimbles with Slogans
Thimblefuls | Victorian Silver Scenic Thimbles | Wedgwood Jasperware | Wedgwood Bone China

THERE ARE 22 PAGES OF THIMBLES & OTHER ITEMS TO BUY
aluminium 1 - books 1 - brass 1 - china 6 - display cases 1
gold 1 - needlework tools 2 - other collectables 1 - pewter 1 - plastic 1
silver 3 - steel & metal 1 - unusual materials 1 - wood 1

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Compulsory hallmarking of British silver thimbles came into effect in 1884 when all silver over a certain weight had to be assayed for the purity of the silver used. Before this time is was optional to mark them, as thimbles weighed less than the required amount for assaying. Thimbles have to be 925 of 1000 parts silver (i.e. .925) to have an assay mark applied. The Lion passant is the hallmark symbol used to indicate this.

lion passant

When the silver is purer than sterling silver i.e. 950 of 1000 parts silver, the Britannia mark is used.

Britannia

There is then a symbol for the town where the assay office is located: an anchor for Birmingham, three wheat sheaves for Chester and a leopard's face for London. These three are the biggest assay offices but there are several minor offices still in existence eg. Dublin and Edinburgh.

Birmingham

Chester

London

The last mark in a hallmark, is an alphabetic symbol which denotes the year the item was assayed. Look out for special marks on thimbles - e.g. the millennium mark.

millennium mark

In addition to all these marks, in the case of thimbles, there is an additional mark: the maker's mark (the subject of this page) and the size of the thimble. This is not part of the hallmark, technically speaking.

The following listing is for maker's marks found on British silver thimbles, arranged alphabetically by the maker's mark and not by the surname. It is miles from complete but culled from as many lists as I can find. In the 1980s Edwin Holmes noted there were over 1000 silversmiths in Birmingham alone and felt it would be a never-ending task to list the ones who had made thimbles. I have a listing from 1970 which lists all the Birmingham silversmiths and Norma Spicer has produced a list from the assay office in Birmingham which is included in this list. Over 243 marks are listed here, but many still have to be identified.
The more "new" marks that come to light with maker's marks for the period 1890-1920, they are usually not for the actual thimble maker but for whom the thimbles were made for - wholesalers etc. So tho Holmes noted that there were over 1000 silversmiths, only a fraction would have produced silver thimbles and current thinking in 2007 is that the bulk of this listing are the names of wholesalers or factors who had thimbles produced with their marks, but they did not actually make the thimbles.

With the closure of the last Victorian timble maker (Ray Coggle of JS&S) in April 2005, it is gratifying to note the the growing number of hallmarks for thimble makers at the end of the 20th century and even into the 21st century. These are the antiques of the future!!

Marks
I have had to ignore punctuation, as without seeing each thimble this could never be accurate.
There is no spacing between initials to make the maker's mark as compact as possible but some have a slight spacing that is not possible to reproduce here, unless a picture of the mark is available.
I have included variations or additions to names, listing the silversmith under the most commonly found maker's mark.
These maker's marks are usually found in a lozenge on the rim of the thimble and again these vary from maker to maker. Some will have been stamped directly onto the band, not in a lozenge.
As mentioned, some of these marks may not be for actual thimble maker but the marks registered for factors or wholesalers. It was not uncommon to have one of the four big Victorian silversmiths produce thimbles with maker's marks of the wholesaler. The marks for these wholesalers would still have to be registered and this would usually have been done by the thimble maker who would have submitted the punchmark on behalf of the client. A dead giveaway is the Registration design number [RD] that belongs to one of these silversmiths on the rim along with the "mark" of the factor.
The four big English silver thimble makers were Charles Horner, James Swann, James Fenton and Henry Griffith.

Silversmith & Place
The name is the most difficult to complete; the place is the principal office, factory or shop of the silversmith. As we can see from above tho, many of the names on the list are not for silversmiths but marks for wholesalers.

Assay Office
This is the assay office/s used by the silversmith, taken from examples found on thimbles. Most lists separate the Chester and Birmingham silversmiths by assay office, but they tended to use the one most convenient at the time. They had to be registered at both assay offices, to use the specific assay office mark.

Hallmark year
These are actual hallmark years as found on thimbles. I have not included dates on thimbles for Horner, Fenton, Griffith or James Swann as they are too numerous.

Registration Date
Often we only have a registration date from an assay office to guide us; or, dates of operation; or, dates they lived. These may help in dating a thimble when there is an indistinct hallmark or two possible dates.

Notes
I have included any additional information here that can be of use.

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - XYZ
Listed in alphabetical order of first letter of maker's mark

Marks	Silversmith + Place	Assay office	Hallmark year	Registration date	Notes
A&S		Chester	1900
ALtd	Ammonite Ltd Llandow Industrial Estate Glamorgan	Birmingham	1979 1981 1982		Christmas and Easter thimbles for Heritage Collection marriage of Charles and Diana manufacturing jewellers
AB&Co	Alfred Bromet & Co Jewin Street London	Chester	1893 1894 1898 1899 1900 1903 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910	6 February 1899	made by CH as some have his Registration design numbers factor
ACe		Birmingham		1910
AE	Adam Eastwick	Birmingham Chester		Chester 1888 Birmingham 1895
AGB			1977		Queen Elizabeth II's silver jubilee
AJB		Dublin	1996
AJC	Alfred James Cheshire Tenby Street North Birmingham	Chester	1896	around 1890
AJP	Andy Poole Birmingham	Birmingham	2003 2008		maker's website
ALW		Birmingham	1997
A(M)&Co	A Marston & Company Birmingham	Birmingham	1981
AMB	Abraham Meyer Blankensee Summer Hill Terrace Birmingham	Birmingham	1885	October 1880
AN	Ari D Norman	London	1990 1994 2005 2006		maker's website
ARC	Arc Gold & Silver Ltd Century House Station Road Sheffield S20 3GS	Sheffield			post-2000 maker; date letter not being used subsidiary of Carrs of Sheffield copies of Victorian patterns; thin; cast with a seam join
AS	Adolph Scott 62 Summer Hill Road Birmingham	Chester	1908 1909 1910	1907
AT	Alfred Taylor	Birmingham			Registered design # 73871, 1850 for the Crystal Palace thimble 1851 Registered design #86699, for the 1852 Sydenham Crystal Palace active 1850-1865
AW	A Witting Hatton Garden London	Birmingham	1927 1928 1929 1938	1921	1929 'Election' thimbles possibly made by HG&S Manufacturing jeweller and watchmaker in 1921; later a wholesale jeweller
AWC&Co	Arthur Walter Crosbee 7 Vyse Street Birmingham	Birmingham			trading as A W Crosbee jewellers

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Marks	Silversmith + Place	Assay office	Hallmark year	Registration date	Notes
B&Co - i	Barraclough & Co	Birmingham			active in 1910
B&Co - ii [sketch]	Broadway & Co	Birmingham	1994 1995 1996
B&P		Birmingham	1893		PP 14988 thimbles with girl's name Maggie see also HP
Barrett	Hastings
BHJ	B H Joseph Frederick Street Birmingham	Birmingham	1884
BL		Birmingham	1984		Christmas and Easter thimbles for Heritage Collection
BWI		Birmingham	1899

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Marks	Silversmith + Place	Assay office	Hallmark year	Registration date	Notes
C&C	Albert Cohen & Charles Solomon trading as: Cohen & Charles Thavies Inn Holborn Circus London	Birmingham	1964 1968 1970 1973
C&Co	Carrington & Co Regent Street London	Chester	1892 1900		retailer made by CH as some have his Registration design numbers buy this maker's thimble
C&S C&SLtd	Clarke & Sewell Ltd Legge Lane Birmingham	Birmingham Chester	1901 1902 1909 1910 1911 1914 1918 1919 1923	1901-1929	produced 1911 Coronation thimble for George V and Queen Mary
CB	Christoper Buckton Lightcliffe Yorkshire	Birmingham	1901 1902 1906 1926	1898 1901	wholesale dealer in thimbles and fancy jewellery made by HG&S as Griffith sent in punchmark in 1901
CC		Birmingham	1886 1894
CCP		Birmingham	1984
CE&FD CE&FDLtd	Alfred Constantine & Floyd Caroline Street afterwards-Regent Street Birmingham	Chester London Birmingham	1888 1892 1894 1895 1897 1903 1910 1923	1880	made by CH factor
CFLtd		Birmingham	1914
CH - i	Charles Horner Mile Cross Halifax	Chester	too many to list	1885-1947	maker of Dorcas thimbles buy this maker's thimbles
CH - ii	Charles Hirth Bavaria	Birmingham			often confused with Charles Horner but as this was a foreign maker the (F) for foreign will distinguish his thimbles thimbles are lighter in weight and looks European in style
CHH	Charles H Hooper Northampton Street Birmingham	Sheffield	1979 1985 1986		maker of thimbles with design of hallmarks from Sheffield, Edinburgh, Birmingham and London
CJ		Birmingham	1985		with Woodsetton peeps
CJB [sketch]	Clifford John Barber Isle of Thanet Kent	London	2004 2005	February 2004
CJM		Birmingham	1977
CM - i	Charles May Shoreditch and later Hackney London Learn more about this silversmith	Birmingham London	1880 1883 1884 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1895 1896 1897 1900 1901 1904 1905 1907 1908 1909 1910 1914 1916 1918 1919 1929	1805-1929; February 1876 marks registered in Birmingham	also made gold thimbles buy this maker's thimbles
CM -ii	Charterhouse Mint Limited	London	1986		set of 12 "Thimbles through the Ages" reproductions buy this maker's thimbles
CMCoLtd		Birmingham	1908
CME	CME Jewellery 94 Grace Road Leicester	Birmingham	2000-
COG		Birmingham	1983		Christmas and Easter thimbles for Heritage Collection
CR&Co	Claydon, Robin & Co 15 Union Street London EC	Chester		3 June 1910	mark registered by HG&S on behalf of Alfred George Claydon & Charles Robin trading as Claydon, Robin & Co - wholesale jewellers, London
CS	Charles Samek
CSB	CS Bowen	London	1997		Queen Elizabeth II's golden wedding thimble
CS*FS	Saunders & Shepard London 1896 Birmingham 1909	Birmingham Chester London	1890 1893 1894 1896 1897 1900		buy this maker's thimbles
CU	Charles Usher Lincoln	Birmingham	1918		'Peter Pan Reg'd' on the band and Lincoln Imp jeweller
CW		Birmingham	1899 1914

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Marks	Silversmith + Place	Assay office	Hallmark year	Registration date	Notes
D&F	Deakin & Francis Ltd 15-17 Regent Place Birmingham B1 3NL phone 0121 236 7751	Chester Birmingham	1891 1893 1896 1897 1900 1984 1985	1901-1953 marks registered in Birmingham	makers of Victoria's Diamond Jubilee commemorative 1897 Registered design # 295282 still in operation, but thimbles no longer being produced
DB	M I Dorman-Brailsford	London	1981 1982 1983 1984		4 designs with architectural-themed domed thimbles
DF		Chester	1898		made by JS
DH&S	David Hollander & Sons Ltd Northampton Street Birmingham	Sheffield	1978
DJ		London	1999
DLS	D & L Spiers 27 Hylton Street Birmingham	Birmingham	1881 1886 1887	1881	Registered design # 75400, 1887 with girls' names: Clara, Maude, Ida, Anne, Jane and Edith see also LS
DM	Daniel May	Birmingham		1825
DMH&Co		Chester
DP	Douglas Pell Silverware Regent House 26 Bell Street Sawbridgeworth Herts	Birmingham	1992 1993 1997		factor thimbles made by Andy Poole [AJP]
DSW	David Scott-Walker	Sheffield London	1983 1986 1990 1991 1992 1993 1995 2000		some contain stone tops
DWK	Kay Thetford Kendall	London	1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1993		the mark may have been registered as Donald W Kendall there are cast animals over & around: field mouse, teddy bear, hedgehog, frog, owl, cat, fish, dog and fox

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Marks	Silversmith + Place	Assay office	Hallmark year	Registration date	Notes
E&C		Birmingham	1927 1931		also marked '925'
EDW	Edwin Dunwoody Wilmot	Birmingham	1869 1889
EET		Birmingham	1911
EFB	Edward Foligne Braham Vyse Street Birmingham	Birmingham	1925
EGP	Eustace George Parker Altringham	Chester	1894 1899 1900 1903		made by CH manufacturer, factor & importer
EJC	Jane Chantler	Sheffield	2001 2002		registered as A J Designs see also JC - iii
EL	Edmund Lowe Birmingham	Birmingham		April 1900 registered mark in Birmingham	whip mount maker
ESF&S		Chester	1903
EW	Edward Webb Birmingham	Birmingham	1881 1882 1883	March 1880 registered mark in Birmingham

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Marks	Silversmith + Place	Assay office	Hallmark year	Registration date	Notes
FC	Francis Clark Birmingham	Birmingham	1834	1826-1847 registered marks in Birmingham
FW	F Webb Great Hampton Street Birmingham	Birmingham	1894 1895 1901	1887-1934 registered marks in Birmingham	pencil case makers buy this maker's thimble
FWW&Co	F W Woolworth & Co Ltd	Dublin	1932		probably made by HG&S

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Marks	Silversmith + Place	Assay office	Hallmark year	Registration date	Notes
G&S	Gilbert & Spurrier	Chester	1892	October 1886 registered mark in Birmingham
G&SCoLtd	Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Co Ltd 112 Regent St London		1911	1852-1952	maker of Coronation of George V thimble original partners were William Gibson and John Lawrence Langham retail jewellers opened in London in 1880 amalgated with Garrard & Co Ltd, the Crown jewellers in 1952; located in original building once rebuilt in 1928
GB		Birmingham	1985
GG	George Goodman Birmingham	Chester Birmingham	1880 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1900 1902 1903 1916	1885	some have CH Registration design numbers factor buy this maker's thimble
GJD		London	1992
GP	Gertrude Platnauer 51 Vyse Street Birmingham	Chester	1918
GS - i	Gomms 138 Highgate Street Birmingham	Birmingham	1930 1931		maker of placename thimbles for Southport, Eastbourne, Blackpool, From Bournemouth; From London, Llandudno manufacturing jewellers &electroplaters
GS - ii	George Smallwood 57 St Paul Terrace Birmingham	Birmingham	1902		jeweller
GS&Co	George Snook & Co	Birmingham	1894 1897 1898 1906	1894-1901 registered marks in Birmingham	registered as thimble makers see also IGS some have Rd # 297020 for Henry Fowler
GU	George Unite [and Sons] Caroline Street Birmingham	Birmingham	1876 1886 1887 1889 1897 1901 1902 1904 1907	1832-1928 registered marks in Birmingham
GV&Co	Gourdel Vales & Co London	Chester	1895 1896 1899		some have CH Registration design numbers factor
GWH&Co	G W Hatton Birmingham	Chester	1891 1892 1897 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1906 1911 1914 1917	August 1895 registered mark in Birmingham

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Marks	Silversmith + Place	Assay office	Hallmark year	Registration date	Notes
H&C		Chester	1905
H&T	Hilliard & Thomason Spencer Street Birmingham	Birmingham Chester	1885 1887 1891 1893 1895 1897 1900 1913	1847-1888 registered marks in Birmingham	also Birmingham retailer
H&TLtd	Heaton & Taylor Ltd Birmingham	Birmingham		April 1902 registered mark in Birmingham	registered as button makers
HB	Hester Bateman	London		1761-1780	first recorded English woman silversmith maker's mark in cursive
HBH	Harrison Brothers & Howson	Sheffield	2000 2002
HC HC&S		Birmingham Chester	1899 1907 1911
HCF	Henry Charles Freeman Hatton Garden London	Chester	1894 1897		made by CH as thimbles have his RD marks
HF - i	Henry Fidkin Birmingham	Birmingham	1911 1918 1919 1920 1921	January 1919 registered in Birmingham	registered as a thimble maker
HF - ii	Henry Foskett London Learn more about this silversmith		1875 1876 1879 1881 1882	2 April 1864-1886	see also SF registered as a "Small worker" at London assay office
HF - iii	Henry Fowler Birmingham	Birmingham	1896 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1908 1909	March 1896	Registered design # 297020, 1897
HG - i		Edinburgh	1985
HG - ii 11-1858 9-1861 10-1861 4-1862 12-1861 HG&S HG&SLtd	Henry Griffith [& Sons] Leamington Spa	Birmingham Chester	too many to list	October 1858-1955	maker of Dreema thimbles maker of most English place name thimbles and The Spa and Royal Spa thimbles one of the only silversmiths who marked some of his thimbles with 'Sterling Silver' instead of having them hallmarked his thimble sizing ranges from 12-20 and follows the size in mm. erroneously referred to as Henry Griffiths the last 4 marks for "HG" in column 1 have not yet been found on thimbles buy this maker's thimbles
HG - iii	Henry Lewis Gyde 169 1/2 Hockley Hill Birmingham	Birmingham	1888
HGL		Birmingham	1899
HH	Hans Herman	London	1977	1960	no longer registered with the London Assay Office
HJ		Birmingham	1886
HJC	H J Cooper & Co Ltd Thavies Inn Holborn London	Chester	1896		made by CH as thimbles have his RD marks
HJG		Chester	1896 1910
HMS	Howard Malcolm Stearn	London	1982		an import mark registered in London
HP		Birmingham	1899 1904		# 14988 thimbles with girl's names Nellie, Maggie see also B&P
HPS	Harvey Sillis	Birmingham	2000 2002 2004
HR		Birmingham	1920
HS	Henry Swann Birmingham	Birmingham	1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1901	January 1893 registered mark in Birmingham	jeweller registered as a thimble maker no relation of James Swann
HT	Walter Thornhill & Co (Hubert Thornhill) New Bond Street London	London	1893
HW - i HWLtd HWLd	Henry Williamson Ltd Farringdon Road London	Chester Birmingham	1889 1890 1893 1896 1898 1899 1900 1903 1904 1906 1907 1909 1911 1912		factor mark can be mistaken for HWL as the small D is often missed buy this maker's thimble
HW - ii	Henry Walker	Birmingham		1850-1899
HW - iii	Harry Wainwright Birmingham	Chester	1891	1891-1892
HWI	Harriet Samuel Manchester	Birmingham	1899	1895-	watchmaker & jeweller in 1985 acquired the business of JW & Co
HWD		Chester	1895
HWP	Henry William Purcell				took a patent 1880

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Marks	Silversmith + Place	Assay office	Hallmark year	Registration date	Notes
IA	Joseph Addis Birmingham			1828-1885
IC&JF		Birmingham
IF	John Fossey		1902
IGS	George Snook Birmingham	Birmingham	1891	1894	see also GS - ii
IP	John Piercy Birmingham			1773-1801
IS&Co	Isaac Silverston & Co Birmingham	Chester	1897	1898
IT	Joseph Taylor Birmingham			April 1813; 1786-1827

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Marks	Silversmith + Place	Assay office	Hallmark year	Registration date	Notes
JA	James Allen	Birmingham	1895 1898	August 1890
JC - i	James Collins Birmingham	Birmingham		1816-1838 registered marks in Birmingham
JC - ii JC&S	J Cook [& Son] Birmingham	Chester Birmingham	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1897 1901 1903 1904 1906 1909 1911 1916 1918	1862-1878; 1888-1889 registered marks in Birmingham	buy this maker's thimble
JC - iii	Jane Chantler	Edinburgh			mark used when Jane became an independent artist-craftswoman see also EJC maker's website
JDLd JD&CoLd	Johnson, Durban & Co Ltd Birmingham		1898 1901 1902 1904	1897-1904 registered marks in Birmingham
JF	James Fenton Great Hampton Street Birmingham	Birmingham Chester Sheffield	too many to list	1852-1911 registered marks in Birmingham	buy this maker's thimbles
JH&S - i	Joshua Horton & Son Hatton Garden London	Chester	1886 + Victoria's head	1886
JH&S - ii	John Harris & Son Birmingham	Birmingham	1958 1961 1967	1957 registered mark in Birmingham
JK		Birmingham	1905
JK&F		Chester	1908
JL	John Lowe Birmingham			1854-1856 registered marks in Birmingham
JM		Chester	1899
JMB		Birmingham	1982
JNH	John Herbertson	London	1995		maker of Dorset Thimble Society 1995 conference thimble
JP	Joseph Price	Birmingham	1897
JS JS&S	James Swann [& Son] Birmingham	Birmingham Chester Sheffield London	too many to list	1887-1904, 1922 registered marks in Birmingham	registered as thimble makers enamelled thimbles from 1960s Ray Coggle owned the business from 1970, which he closed in April 2005 see also Swann Thimbles S(T) buy this maker's thimbles
JT	John Tongue Birmingham	London Chester		1831-1863 registered marks in Birmingham
JT&S	John Thompson & Son London	Chester Birmingham	1880 1887 1890 1891 1893 1894 1895 1896 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1906 1907 1909 1910 1915	mark registered in Birmingham 1882	some have CH Registration design numbers
JU&S	James Ward Usher 192 High Street Lincoln	Birmingham Chester	1892		Lincoln Imp thimbles have his maker's mark, but probably made by CH
JW - i	J Williamson		c.1840
JW - ii	James Webb Birmingham			1843-1890
JW - iii	Joseph Willmore Birmingham			1803-1832 registered marks in Birmingham
JWK	John William Kirwan Birmingham London	Birmingham		1880 registered mark in Birmingham	silver and one gold Scottish thistle-shaped thimble, 1893, registered design # 222443 by H Poths and Co
JWLtd	James Walker London	Birmingham London Chester	1923 1924 1925 1928 1929	1923-1929	London jewellers "James Walker Wishes you Luck" and "James Walker the London Jeweller" these thimbles were given away with the purchase of a wedding ring during 1920s

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Marks	Silversmith + Place	Assay office	Hallmark year	Registration date	Notes
K&Co					pre-1884
KE		Birmingham	1986
KHG	K H Gabb	Birmingham	2000
KLD	K L Downes 30 Tenby Street Birmingham	Birmingham	1981		Carlsburg advertising thimbles
KMS		Birmingham	1997		silver thimbleful
KT		Birmingham	1886		engraved with Jubilee V.R.1887

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Marks	Silversmith + Place	Assay office	Hallmark year	Registration date	Notes
L&S	Levi & Salaman Hamsell St London	Birmingham London	1888 1900 1902 1912	London in 1897	showrooms in London opened in 1897 buy this maker's thimble
LE	L Emmanuel Warstone Parade	Birmingham	1892	March 1925 registered mark in Birmingham;
LH	Leopold Heinzelmann Atlantic Road London SW	London	1901	February 1900
LL	Links of London	London	1991
LP		Birmingham	1891
LR	Ludwig Redl Austria	London	1984 1985		sets of 12: American Revolution; Shakespearean plays;Wagnerian Ring
LS	L Spiers Birmingham	Birmingham	1914	October 1886 registered mark in Birmingham	see also DLS
LSF&S		Chester
Ly&Co	Liberty & Co	Edinburgh	1988 1989		see Thimble Society summer 2004 #169a and autumn 2004 catalogues for Hera feathery design by Arthur Silver

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Marks	Silversmith + Place	Assay office	Hallmark year	Registration date	Notes
M&A		Birmingham	1985		Jo Withers of Telford handpaints the enamel of these silver thimbles
M&C		Chester	1905 1911
M&Co	Richard Charles March Birmingham	London	1899
M&W	Mappin & Webb	London	1978 1981		Royal Wedding 1981
MAA		Birmingham	1917		maker of St Peter's Band of Hope July 1918 thimble
MCASLtd	Birmingham	Chester	1901 1910 1923
MH		Sheffield	2004
MK	M Kamin & Co. Ltd Birmingham	Chester	1982 1985 1991 1994	first registered in 1970	importers and wholesalers
MN&Co	Marion & Co New Oxford Street London	Chester	1900 1904 1906	July 1900	made by CH manufacturing jeweller punch marks sent in by E Langridge, manufacturing silversmith and by HG&S buy this maker's thimble
MW		Birmingham	1983

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Marks	Silversmith + Place	Assay office	Hallmark year	Registration date	Notes
NG	Norman Grant	Edinburgh	1982 1986
NGCo NG	Northern Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Co 1 Blackett Street Newcastle upon Tyne	Birmingham Chester	1907 1926 1927 1929 1942	1916	marks found mainly on English advertising thimbles probably made by HG&S who made most of these thimbles in late 1920s dropped the Co in 1918
NM		Birmingham	1855
NSHP	N St J Paint & Son St Peters Port Guernsey	London	1999
NTS	National Trust of Scotland	Edinburgh	1991

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Marks	Silversmith + Place	Assay office	Hallmark year	Registration date	Notes
O&E		Chester	1894 1895
OA OA&S	Olney Amsden [& Son] Falcon Street London	Birmingham Chester	1892 1894 1895 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1907 1913	23 April 1900	made by CH and JF thimbles found with both maker's RD numbers haberdashery trading buy this maker's thimble
OG	Ola Gorey Kirkwall Orkney Scotland	Edinburgh	1992		modern gold & silversmith, but not longer producing thimbles

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Marks	Silversmith + Place	Assay office	Hallmark year	Registration date	Notes
PA	Philip Antrobus Birmingham	Birmingham	1881 1886 1896	November 1863-1891 registered mark in Birmingham
PB	Percy Frederick Barratt	Birmingham			importer and manufacturer of fancy goods made by JS as punchmark sent in by Swann
PC		Birmingham	1989 1991
PDAC	Philip D. A. Campbell Tobermoray Isle of Mull Scotland	Edinburgh	1987 1989 1993		made thimbles for The Thimble Guild Scotland
PFJ	P F Jackson 35 Frederick Street Birmingham	Birmingham	1926		factor probably made by HG&S buy this maker's thimble
PHV&Co	P H Vogel &Co Warstone Parade Birmingham	Birmingham	1964		maker of silver and silver-plated thimblefuls
PL	Peter Ladell	Sheffield	2000
Potter		Chester	1918
PP&TLtd	Perks Pearce & Thompson 83-84 Vyse Street Birmingham				jeweller
PS	Peter Swingler	Birmingham	1981		handpainted enamels also painted enamel thimbles for JS&S now retired
PVM		London	1982
PW		Birmingham	1894

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Marks	Silversmith + Place	Assay office	Hallmark year	Registration date	Notes
R&H [sketch]	Rayment & Hull Minster Isle of Thanet Kent	London	1995		two young gold/silversmiths
RA&Co		Birmingham	1900 1903
RC	Ron Carr Troy House 2 Holbrook Avenue Sheffield S20 3FH	Sheffield	2000 2001 2002 2003		copies of Victorian patterns; thin; cast with a seam join
RCS	Robert Catterson-Smith	Birmingham	1898	November 1907 registered mark in Birmingham	factor
RE		London	1901
RH&Co	Robert Harris & Co Carlton Ave Liverpool	Birmingham	1924	9 September 1908 registered mark in Birmingham last registration 1 April 1925	probably made by HG&S
RJ		Chester	1906
RL		London	1981		Royal Wedding 1981
RN	Ray Nimmo				these are unhallmarked thimbles, but made 2007-
RP	Robert Pringle & Sons Clerkenwell Road London EC1	Chester Birmingham London	1898 1900 1901 1903 1905 1906 1907 1910 1912 1913 1915	1898-1910	some made by CH as RD nos on thimbles also made by other London and Birmingham makers manufacturing jeweller the 2nd RP mark is for London
RW - i		Birmingham	1886
RW - ii		Edinburgh	1999		Whitby Priory thimbles

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Marks	Silversmith + Place	Assay office	Hallmark year	Registration date	Notes
S&C	Sloane & Carter Spencer Street Birmingham	Chester Birmingham	1900 1909 1911		jewellers
S&Co	Spurrier & Co	Chester Birmingham	1904 1905 1910 1911 1918	1886-1901 registered marks in Birmingham;
S&G	Salmon & Gluckstein London	Chester	1904	7 March 1896	made by CH tobacconist with fancy goods dept
S&S		Birmingham	1912
SAH		Birmingham
SB&S	S Blankensee & Son Birmingham	Birmingham	1881 1888 1896 1912
SBROS	Sydenham Bros Tenby Street Birmingham	Chester	1892 1894 1896 1898		made by Charles Horner CH
SBrs	Simon Bros Birmingham	Chester	1900 1902 1911	14 September 1899
SBS		Birmingham	1912
SC&Co	Stuart Clifford & Co	London
SF - i	Samuel Foskett London Learn more about this silversmith	Chester London Birmingham	1887 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1905 1906 1907	1865-1912	Pat. # 19157 for Trueform fingernail shaped thimble, 1905 also Registration design # 265923 see also HF buy this maker's thimble
SF - ii	Shirley Frost	Birmingham	1970 1977 1979 1981
SG&S		Chester	1921
SJ&Co		Chester	1897
SJF	Stuart Johnson-Flint	London	1983		maker of Capitol Dome thimble
SJL&Co	S J Levi & Co Birmingham	Birmingham	1919	1901-1938 registered marks in Birmingham	electroplate manufacturers
SJR SJR&S	Stephen J Rose / S J Rose & Son Ridgemount Street London WC1	Birmingham	1950 1954 1959 1966 1967 1968 1971 1972 1974 1975 1976 1980 1981 1983 1989	1965-1974	buy this maker's thimbles
SL	Samuel Ludski	Chester	1890
SM - i	Samuel Massey			1787-1788	steel-top thimble manufacturer
SM - ii	Samuel Mordan	London	1892
SM - iii	S Meriton				there were two silversmiths of this name "the older" and "the younger"
SMcL&CO	Samuel McLardy 67 Shudehill Manchester	Birmingham	1898 1907
SP	Samuel Pemberton [& Son] Birmingham	Birmingham		1773-1801, 1821 registered marks in Birmingham
SPA		Birmingham	1891
ST - i	Stephen Tree London	Chester	1893
ST - ii		Birmingham	1988
S(T)	Swann Thimbles Birmingham	Birmingham	1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1996 1997 1998 2002	1986-2002	Frank Jones was a joint owner of JS&S with Ray Coggle 1970-1986 in 1986 he went on his own ceased thimble production in 2002 buy this maker's thimbles
SWH&Co		Chester

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Marks	Silversmith + Place	Assay office	Hallmark year	Registration date	Notes
T&P	Taylor & Perry Birmingham	Birmingham		1829-1832 registered marks in Birmingham active to 1857	may have been the makers of the Windsor Castle and Dover Castle thimbles from 1840s
T&S	Turton & Sons	Chester Birmingham	1903	October 1905 registered mark in Birmingham
TB	Thomas Bartleet [and jnr] Birmingham	Birmingham		May 1812; 1816-1824 registered marks in Birmingham
TB&W	Turnbull & Woodin	Birmingham	1882
TBs TB&Co TBros	Turnbull Bros 1 Northampton Street Birmingham	Chester Birmingham	1882 1892 1893 1895 1897 1908 1910 1911	1890-1904 registered marks in Birmingham	bell-shaped thimbles Registered design #RD227060, 1894
TCG	Thimble Collectors Guild Biggar Scotland	Edinburgh	1989
TE	Thomas Kerr Ebbutt Edinburgh	Edinburgh	1986 1987
TEM	Thomas Edward Mannox Birmingham	Birmingham	1896 1897		silversmith & jeweller
TF	Thomas Freeman Birmingham	Birmingham		1822-1837 registered marks in Birmingham
TK&F TK&FLtd	Tozer, Kemsley & Fisher 84 Fenchurch Street London	Birmingham	1902 1905 1906 1907 1908 1911	registered many punches 1905-1914	shipping merchants
TJ	Thomas Johnson	London	1872
TL	Thomas Laurence Birmingham	Birmingham		July 1834 registered his mark in Birmingham
TM		Chester	1886
TO		Birmingham	1907
TO Ltd		Birmingham	1982
TS		Chester	1891

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Marks	Silversmith + Place	Assay office	Hallmark year	Registration date	Notes
VN		London	1980

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Marks	Silversmith + Place	Assay office	Hallmark year	Registration date	Notes
W&H - i	Wood & Hughes	Birmingham	1897
W&H - ii	Walker & Hall				makers of the Dura - steel-cored silver thimbles buy this maker's thimble
W&M		Birmingham	1911
WBros	Wengold Bros 84 Corporation Road Manchester	Chester	1900	22 February 1902	wholesale jewellers mark registered by CH
WCS		Birmingham	1893
WD	William Davenport	Birmingham		1888-1902
WEBHS		Birmingham	1903
WEHW		Chester			some have CH Registration design numbers
WEM		Birmingham	1897
WEP&Co		Birmingham	1916
WES	William Edward Stevens Brighton Villa Earlsdon Coventry	Birmingham	1897
WFH	William Frederick Holmes	Birmingham	1900
WGM	Walter George Matthews Baskerville Place Birmingham	Chester Birmingham	1893 1901 1904 1910		some with a Chester mark have CH Registration design numbers
WH	William Hutchinson Belgrave Terrace Birmingham	Chester	1892 1903 1904 1910 1925		buy this maker's thimble
WHC	W H Crouch London Swansea	Chester Birmingham	1908 1926		probably made by HG&S
WHD					possibly a mid-Victorian maker's mark
WHM	W H Miller 21-22 Central Arcade Birmingham	Birmingham	1985 1989		trading as Miller (Jewellers) Ltd
WHN		Birmingham	1934
WHS	W H Sparrow	Birmingham	1902 1903 1904	1903-1906 registered mark in Birmingham
WHW	William Harrison Walter London	Chester	1885 1889 1893 1894 1896 1900 1902 1903	29 August 1895	factor/silversmith some have RD72636 for CH
WIS		Birmingham	1902
WJ	William Jordan	London
WJF		London	1892
WJH	William James Holmes Birmingham	Birmingham Chester	1893 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1903 1904 1906 1908 1909 1913		this silversmith also worked in enamel but not known on thimbles and his enamel work is rare made by CH as his RD127211 mark found on some WJH thimbles buy this maker's thimble
WJM&Co	W J Myatt & Co Birmingham	Birmingham	1902 1911 1918 1919 1920	1901-1906 registered marks in Birmingham
WL	Walter Lunt Handsworth Birmingham	Birmingham	1892 1896 1899 1907	1891	silversmith & jeweller
WM	William Manton	Birmingham	1982 1983 1984 1987 1988 1989	March 1974 registered mark in Birmingham
WMH	W M Hawkes Birmingham	Chester Birmingham	1894 1899 1900 1909	August 1879 registered mark in Birmingham	registered as a thimble maker
WS	Wilkinson Silversmiths 16 Well Street Birmingham	Birmingham	1987
WS&P	Whitehill Silver Plate Co	Birmingham	1982 1984		enamel on silver
WT - i	William Turton London			1773-1791
WT - ii		Chester	1910
WTB		Chester	1901
WW WWLd		Birmingham	1889 1906

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DO YOU KNOW ANY MORE DETAILS ABOUT ANY OF THE SILVERSMITHS LISTED ABOVE? DO YOU HAVE PHOTOS OF THE MAKER'S MARKS NOT PICTURED? DO YOU KNOW OF ANY OTHER British SILVERSMITHS WHO MADE THIMBLES? EMAIL thimbleselect@bigpond.com TO SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE.

References

Bradbury's book of hallmarks: a guide to marks or origin on English, Scottish and Irish silver, gold and platinum
and on foreign imported silver and gold plate 1544 to 2001
Robert Hale, 1999

British registered design thimbles
Norma Spicer / Diane Pelham Burn, 2003

The Silversmiths of Birmingham and their marks 1750-1980
general editor, Kenneth Crisp Jones. N.A.G. Press, 1981

James Swann: maker of gold and silver thimbles
Norma Spicer, 1997

Marks of Birmingham thimble makers: 19th and 20th century
Norma Spicer, 1998

A very rare thimble: the Lincoln Imp thimble
Norma Spicer TCI Bulletin winter 2004

Thimble maker: Jane Chantler, England
TCI Bulletin summer 2008

Thimble Society [of London] catalogues

Thimble collector's encyclopedia
John von Hoelle. 3rd ed. 1986

Makers' Marks on British Silver website

Contributors

Nigel Allum - Cliff Barber - Clarice Birch - Mike Bridgett - Sue Burt - Brian Clark - Sue Christensen
Lydia Hamilton - Margaret Hendriksen - Richard PJ Huijing - Jaap Huysman - William Isbister - Alison Ive - Mick John - Ann Laibe - Andrew Long - Carolyn Meacham
Ray Nimmo [many times!!]
Di Pelham Burn - Phyllis - Judy Pollitt - Sally - Sheila
Sue Pickles - Norma Spicer - Paul Thomas - Joanna Waciorski

This listing of British Silversmiths does not purport to be complete or accurate in all aspects. Rather it invites comment and contribution to add to our knowledge of British silver thimble makers. My thanks to the other contributors.

Enjoy!

© Sue Gowan
November 2002

THERE ARE 32 "LEARN MORE ABOUT..." TOPICS
Brass Advertising | British Placenames | British Royalty on Thimbles | British Silversmiths | Charles May | Christmas | Coalport
Dorcas Thimble Boxes | Easter | Gadgets | Francesca | Hallmarked Thimbles set | 'Mother' | The World's Greatest Porcelain Houses
Royal Albert | Royal Crown Derby | Royal Doulton | Royal Worcester Handpainted Thimbles
Royal Worcester Decal Thimbles | S + H Foskett | Silver Advertising Thimbles | Spode | Stratnoid | SylvaC
Thimble Books | Thimble Collectors Club | Thimble Societies | Thimbles with Slogans
Thimblefuls | Victorian Silver Scenic Thimbles | Wedgwood Jasperware | Wedgwood Bone China

THERE ARE 22 PAGES OF THIMBLES & OTHER ITEMS TO BUY
aluminium 1 - books 1 - brass 1 - china 6 - display cases 1
gold 1 - needlework tools 2 - other collectables 1 - pewter 1 - plastic 1
silver 3 - steel & metal 1 - unusual materials 1 - wood 1

Any questions or comments?
thimbleselect@bigpond.com
I do not offer any type of valuation or advice on prices.

Last updated 5 November 2009

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