Engraving on English silver, 1680-1760

Magazine Antiques, Feb, 1997 by Christopher Hartop

6 See J. B. Carrington and G. R. Hughes, The Plate of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths (Oxford University Pres, Oxford, England, 1926), pp. 16-17.

7 A William Jennings is listed as a goldsmith in Pall Mall, London, in 1686 by Sir Ambrose Heal in his London Goldsmiths 1200-1800 (Cambridge University Press, London, 1935), p. 183, but the mark "WI" does not appear on the one surviving copperplate of makers' marks from before 1697 (when a fire destroyed the guilds records). I am grateful to David Beasley, the librarian of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, for this information.

8 Richard Hoare's "Debt Book" entry for May 24, 1695, quoted in H. P. Hoare, Hoards Bank, a Record 1655-1955 (Collins and Company, London, 1955), p. 10.

9 Rhodes and his account book are discussed in Charles Oman, English Engraved Silver 1150 to 1900 (Faber and Faber, London, 1978), pp. 82-85.

10 Yvonne Hackenbroch, "Gribelin's designs engraved on English silver: some examples in the Irwin Untermyer Collection," Connoisseur, June 1968, pp. 136-144.

11 "Vertue's Autobiography," Add. MSS 23070 (British Library, London), quoted in Arthur Grimwade, "The Master of George Vertue. His Identity and Oeuvre," Apollo, February 1988, p. 89.

12 Oman, English Engraved Silver, pp. 61-63.

13 "The Master of George Vertue," pp. 83-89.

14 Oman, English Engraved Silver, pp. 85-87.

15 For a discussion of the de Lamerie group see Hartop, The Huguenot legacy, pp. 48-52.

16 Joint Sun Insurance Company policies between de Lamerie and Gamble are discussed in Robert B. Barker, "De Lamerie, Gamble and Hogarth" (1988), a copy of which is in the research library at Christie's (New York).

17 Quoted in Ronald Paulson, Hogarth: The "Modern Moral Subject" 1697-1732, rev. ed. (Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1991), pp. 48-49.

18 The salver is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

19 For discussions concerning Hogarth's possible work as a silver engraver see Oman, English Engraved Silver, p. 91; Paul de Lamerie, the Work of England's Master Silversmith 1688-1751, ed. S. Hare (Goldsmiths' Hall, London, 1990), No. 50; and Timothy Schroder, "Paul de Lamerie: businessman or craftsman?" Silver Society Journal, Winter 1994, pp. 268-270.

20 Ann Forrester, "Hogarth as an engraver on silver," Connoisseur, February 1963, pp. 113-116. The pulls are part of a large collection of trade cards, book plates, and pulls associated with Hogarth assembled and published by his biographer Samuel Ireland (1794-1800). Hogarth was all the rage as early as the 1790s, and it is clear that spurious engravings were circulating then.

21 See The Gilbert Collection of Gold and Silver (Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1988), pp. 257-258.

22 Alan and Simone Hartman have been most generous in sharing their collection with me. Their enthusiasm is infectious. I am also extremely grateful to John Adamson, Ellenor Alcorn, Robert Barker, Jeanne Sloane, and Ubaldo Vitali.

CHRISTOPHER HARTOP is the head of the silver and objects of vertu department at Christie's in New York City.