ULTRA RARE MINIATURE
STERLING SILVER
CRICKET BAT 1896
This small, charming
Victorian novelty
Sterling silver item
is fully hallmarked for
Birmingham 1896.
But it is a bit of a
mystery item.
It doesn’t open up and
there isn’t a
suspension ring to
hang from anything
i.e. a fob chain but
it is really too big
for this anyway.
Hence we are listing
it as a very small letter opener
(see below for reason
why).
If it is not a letter
opener I have absolutely
no idea what it was
made for other than
being an extremely
cute novelty gift
for a cricket
enthusiast.
I have searched the
internet high and low
for another one but the only items I could
come up with that
were similar in form
and from the same era
were two versions
of a propelling pencil
and both were sold through
the same English antique dealer’s website.
One had a makers mark
and the other didn’t.
The one with the
makers stamp’s description
is as follows:
A rare Victorian novelty silver Propelling
Pencil made in the form of a Cricket Bat, with slide out pencil to the handle, the blade could also function as a letter
opener.
By Sampson Mordan & Co, c1890
Open 121 mm
Closed 106 mm
Sold -
£500.00
This little cutie we
are listing here is
stamped for maker:
Saunders & Shepherd
Cornelius Desormeaux
Saunders &
James Francis Hollings (Frank) Shepherd
This mark (see photo)
used 1893 to 1929.
See below for history
of company
(has a Lady Di
connection!)
It is hollow and so has a few dings and dents
as shown in the photos, mostly on one side but
the scale of it and the attention to detail are
just fantastic and the rarity of it counter
balances any condition issues as far as
I’m concerned.
Saunders and
Shepherd is a firm of manufacturing jewellers that were founded in London in
1869 by Cornelius Desormeaux Saunders Sr. and James Francis Hollings Shepherd
at 23 Bartlett’s Buildings in Holborn Circus.
They expanded
rapidly taking on numbers 24 and then 25 before also moving into Bartlett’s
Passage as their success continued to grow. Initially they specialised in
mourning jewellery made from Whitby jet but by 1880 they were advertising as
“manufacturers in gold and standard silver of brooches, earrings, chains,
swivels, lockets and necklets, pendants, solitaires, studs and charms.”
In 1889 they became
the licensees for the American firm of Krementz and their patented one-piece
collar stud and also invented the first self-closing bracelet. The following
year C.D. Saunders passed away and his three sons became directors of the
business which was converted into an LLC and henceforth known as Saunders and
Shepherd Ltd. The firm had offices in India, Canada and Australia
and tea chests full of jewels were regularly shipped for sale
abroad. In 1909 a factory was opened in Birmingham and the company
were producing increasing numbers of new designs and innovative pieces to keep
abreast of changing fashions.
The Depression of
the 1930s followed by WWII affected the business severely and they reduced it
in size in order to survive. The Birmingham factory was closed and
in 1941 the London premises was badly damaged by bombing and they lost most of
their patterns. Manufacturing was very limited and they turned to
trading in second hand jewellery to keep afloat. By the end of the
war the company had less than 30 employees left but, undeterred, they kept
going and gradually built themselves back up. In 1951 they exhibited at The
Festival of Britain and as the country began to recover from the ravages of war
so the desire and demand for jewellery increased and by the end of the 1950s
they were able to move into new premises in St Cross Street in
London. This served them well until 1980 when they bought, renovated
and moved into number 1 Bleeding Heart Yard in Hatton Garden. The
following year they were commissioned to make a gold bracelet for Lady Diana
Spencer for her 20th birthday which she would go on to wear on her wedding
day to Prince Charles. They focused increasingly on special
commissions and added an in-house watchmaker to their team.
The firm has had
various associations with other companies over the years such as Gay Freres,
Eterna, Porsche Design and Fope. Today they are based in the Birmingham
jewellery quarter where they continue to manufacture watch cases and jewellery
in 9ct, 14ct and 18ct gold.
CONDITION
It is has a few dings
and dents as shown
in the photos, mostly
on one side but the
scale of it and the attention to detail are
just fantastic and the rarity of it negates
any condition issues
as far as
I’m concerned.
Mentioning only for accuracy of description-
one side of the handle has a couple
of small areas that are not quite as
deeply ‘ringed’ as the rest of it.
Shows up more at different angles –
See photos.
Not sure why, doesn’t seem to be a
repair (see photos) so perhaps it
just left their
workshop this way.
No biggy, just want happy customers.
DIMENSIONS
It measures approximately:
10.2cm (4") long
1.8cm (1/2 ") wide
Weight is: 6.3 grams
We
guarantee our descriptions are accurate
and
our prices competitive.
Please
bear in mind that all our items are antique or
vintage
and may have some age related issues.
If
you like your item please leave us feedback
and
we will respond immediately.
If,
for any reason, you are unhappy,
PLEASE
come
back to us so we can try and
resolve
any issue you might have.
THANK
YOU
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kollectik1
(Kollectik Pty.
Ltd.)
has been
trading successfully on eBay
for a very long
time now and hopefully will
be for a long time
to come
(please see our
feedback)
Between 2007 and
2018 we were also
The
Manly Antique Centre
which has now sadly
closed as our old building was
sold to Developers
and is now a block of units.......
of course.
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