Is English silver worth anything?

A superb and rare complete Elizabeth II walnut cased, 117 piece, twelve place canteen of flatware cutlery, in the elegant Kings pattern, retailed by Harrods Knightsbridge London and bearing hallmarks for Sheffield, 1963 and the makers mark of  Gee & Holmes. Comprising: twelve table forks, twelve dessert forks, twelve dessert spoons, twelve soup spoons, twelve teaspoons, twelve fish knives with silver blades twelve fish forks with silver tines, twelve table forks, twelve dessert knives six table spoons three piece fork set  All contained in the original superb fitted walnut canteen box with hinged lid and a single fitted drawer and custom fitted in blue felt. It bears the label "Harrods Ltd Cutlers & Silversmiths, Knightsbridge, S.W." This is the complete set, it is highly unusual to find such a nice patterned set with not even a single piece missing! Condition: In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation. Dimensions in cm: Height 19 cm x Width 50 cm x Depth 35.5 cm  - Canteen case Weight 5.44 kg Dimensions in inches: Height 7 inches x Width 1 foot, 8 inches x Depth 1 foot, 2 inches - Canteen case Weight 175 troy oz Harrods founder Charles Henry Harrod first established his business in 1824, aged 25. The business was located south of the River Thames in Southwark. The premises were located at 228 Borough High Street. He ran this business, variously listed as a draper, mercer and a haberdasher, certainly until 1831. During 1825 the business was listed as 'Harrod and Wicking, Linen Drapers, Retail', but this partnership was dissolved at the end of that year. His first grocery business appears to be as ‘Harrod & Co.Grocers’ at 163 Upper Whitecross Street, Clerkenwell, E.C.1., in 1832. In 1834 in London's East End, he established a wholesale grocery in Stepney, at 4, Cable Street, with a special interest in tea. In 1849, to escape the vice of the inner city and to capitalise on trade to the Great Exhibition of 1851 in nearby Hyde Park, Harrod took over a small shop in the district of Brompton, on the site of the current store. Beginning in a single room employing two assistants and a messenger boy, Harrod's son Charles Digby Harrod built the business into a thriving retail operation selling medicines, perfumes, stationery, fruit and vegetables. Harrods rapidly expanded, acquired the adjoining buildings, and employed one hundred people by 1880. However, the store's booming fortunes were reversed in early December 1883, when it burnt to the ground. Remarkably, in view of this calamity, Charles Harrod fulfilled all of his commitments to his customers to make Christmas deliveries that year—and made a record profit in the process. In short order, a new building was built on the same site, and soon Harrods extended credit for the first time to its best customers, among them Oscar Wilde,Lillie Langtry, Ellen Terry, Charlie Chaplin, Noël Coward, Gertrude Lawrence, Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, Sigmund Freud, A. A. Milne, and many members of the British Royal Family.  On Wednesday, 16 November 1898, Harrods debuted England's first "moving staircase" (escalator) in their Brompton Road stores; the device was actually a woven leather conveyor belt-like unit with a wood and "silver plate-glass" balustrade. Nervous customers were offered brandy at the top to revive them after their 'ordeal'. The department store was purchased by the Fayed brothers in 1985. In 2010 Harrods was sold to Qutar Holdings.  Harrods was the holder of royal warrants from 1910 till 2000 from the following: * Queen Elizabeth II (Provisions and Household Goods) * The Duke of Edinburgh (Outfitters) * The Prince of Wales (Outfitters and Saddlers) * The late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (China and Glass) The store occupies a 5-acre (20,000 m2) site and has over one million square feet (90,000 m2) of selling space in over 330 departments making it the biggest department store in Europe. The UK's second-biggest shop, Selfridges, Oxford Street, is a little over half the size with 540,000 square feet (50,000 m2) of selling space, while the third largest, Allders of Croydon had 500,000 square feet (46,000 m2) of retail space. By comparison Europe's second-largest department store the KaDeWe in Berlin has a retail space of 650,000 square feet (60,000 m2). GEE & HOLMES LTD This enterprise can be traced to the registration of Thomas Raynes Ltd as a private limited company in 1935.   Capitalised at £1,000, it was based at 39 Eyre Street, and dealt in cutlery and various tools.  The subscribers were brothers: James Fairclough Gee (1899-1974) and Reginald L. Gee (1913-?).    They had been born at St Helens, Lancashire, the sons of James Gee (1868-1948) – an insurance superintendent – and his wife, Agnes née Fairclough.  In 1939, James and Reginald Gee were living with their parents at 47 Brooklands Crescent.  They were described in the Register of England & Wales (1939) as cutlery manufacturers.  Also residing at Brooklands Crescent (62) was Leonard Wycliffe Holmes (1901-1989), his wife Florence, and their son, James Geoffrey (1932-1985).  Leonard had been born in Sheffield, the son of John Clement Holmes (a steel and iron turner) and his wife, Bertha née Shelton.  Leonard apparently received a technical education, as in 1920 he co-presented a paper on electro-plating  at Mappin Hall.  He held an Associateship in Metallurgy from Sheffield University (Sheffield Daily Independent, 19 November 1920).  Leonard and Florence had been married at a Wadsley Church in 1927: she was the sister of James F. Gee.  In 1939, Leonard was working as a commercial traveller in cutlery.   During the Second World War, Thomas Raynes Ltd was listed at 41 Arundel Street – the same address as cutlery manufacturer, L. Holmes & Co.   The Hawley Collection has a stainless table knife marked ‘L. Holmes & Co’, which was probably made at this time.   Thomas Raynes Ltd became the vehicle for a new business entity – Gee & Holmes Ltd – which initially occupied 41 Arundel Street.  In an advertisement in 1946, the partners announced that they would be moving into a new factory at 61 Eyre Lane in early 1947.  The two-storey factory, which became known as Heritage Works, was bounded by Eyre Lane and Newton Lane.  Gee and Holmes...

A rare and complete Elizabeth II, 127 piece 12 place setting Kings Pattern sterling silver table-service, bearing hallmarks for 1978 and the mak...

Very fine quality George III period sterling silver wine goblet London, 1783. Exceptional engraving on this piece, elegant garlands of acanthus leaf and roses held by quatrefoil rose...

This is a magnificent and rare, Kaymet silver plated serving trolley with revolving dome, dating from the mid 20th Century. ​It is one of the most desirable models that they made, with the revolving dome which makes it very easy to use. This stunning trolley is suitable for serving cooked meats such as roast beef, lamb and turkey. It features a vented silver plated locking retractable revolving dome which opens to a detachable well and water tank over a pair of spirit burners. The water tank has two recesses for containers for gravy or vegetables, as well as a wooden carving board. It has a vented screw knob for filling the tank with water and for vapour or steam to escape. The sides are fitted with silver plated handles, a detachable plate holder, and a rectangular wooden utensil...

This is a wonderful English antique George III sterling silver 10 inch salver, by the world famous silversmith Paul Storr. It has clear hallmarks for London 1811 and the makers mark of Paul Storr. It is typical of his work with the raised gadrooned rim with anthemion at intervals, on four fabulous foliate bracket feet. The salver is engraved with a crest and motto and the underside is later engraved Charlotte J. Parke from C. J. Parke, March 1893' The centre is engraved with a crest above a motto 'True and Fast' and I have researched this crest: The Crest of Parke The crest as engraved upon this George III English Sterling Silver Footed Salver by Paul Storr hallmarked London 1811 is that of the family of Parke. It may be blazoned as follows: Crest: A stag’s head couped sable holding in the mouth a key or Motto: True and fast The family of Parke originally hailed from the County of Cumberland in the northeast of England1 later settling in the County of Dorset at Henbury House, Sturminster Marshal, near Wimborne. Given the evidence of the inscription found on the underside of the salver ‘Charlotte J. Parke from C. J. Parke, March 1893’ it was undoubtedly at one time in the possession of Charles Joseph Parke (died 9th March 1893) of Henbury House aforesaid and gifted to Charlotte Josephine Parke (baptised 4th January 1857 died 2nd January 1941) his third daughter by his wife, Ellen Mary Ethelston. I would venture the following hypothesis that the salver was bequeathed to Charlotte in her father’s will that was granted probate at London on the 20th May 1893. The ‘March 1893’ of the inscription acts as a remembrance of the month of the death of her father. It was noted that Charlotte’s father left an estate worth some £66,892, 19 shillings and one pence, a very considerable sum in the last decade of the 19th Century and even thereafter. Charlotte never married and was living at the time of her death at The Coppice, Sixpenny Handley in the County of Dorset. Her will was proved for probate at Llandudno on the 25th March 1941. She left an estate worth £18,866, 10 shillings and 4 pence. Again, a comfortable sum in 1941. See the photo of Henbury House, Sturminster Marshal, near Wimborne, Co. Dorset. The former seat of the Parke family. The house was destroyed by fire, the remains of which were demolished in the 1990's. There is no mistaking its unique quality and design, which is sure to make it a treasured piece by any discerning collector. Condition: In excellent condition with clear hallmarks and no dings, dents or signs of repair. Please see photos for confirmation. Dimensions in cm: Height 2 x Width 26.5 x Depth 26.5 Weight 0.69 kg Dimensions in inches: Height 1 inch x Width 10 inches x Depth 10 inches Weight 1.5 lbs Paul Storr born in London England in 1771, was to become one of the most talented silversmiths of the nineteenth century. Today his legacy of exceptionally well crafted silver, found worldwide in museums and private collections, leaves one in awe when compared to that of his contemporaries.After having served a seven year apprenticeship from the age of 14, he began his career in 1792 when he went into a brief partnership with William Frisbee. This did not last and in 1793 a new mark, (his initials ‘P S’) was entered. By the beginning of the nineteenth century he had established himself as one of London’s top silversmiths producing, amongst others, commissions for Royalty. In 1801 he married Elizabeth Susanna Beyer with whom he was to have ten children. In 1807 Paul Storr entered into a working relationship with Philip Rundell and by 1811 was a partner, and managing the workshops for Rundell, Bridge & Rundell. During this period he kept his own marks and separate workshop. However it was through Rundell, Bridge & Rundell who were appointed Goldsmith in Ordinary to George III in 1804 that his reputation as a master silversmith grew. His talents lay in being able to transform ideas and designs from Rundell, Bridge & Rundell’s designers, William Theed...

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