When examining silver for the first time, the last thing one should do is look for a set of marks. A piece of silver should be identifiable by it's style and decoration as well as through hallmarks, which can be faked.
Most late 17th-century silver tends to be rather light in weight as the metal was in fairly short supply. The influx of Huguenot craftsmen had a great influence on the craft in the early 18th century with makers such as Pierre Harache and Paul de Lamerie adding their own distinctive styles.
Early 18th-century items are heavier and the form and surface are generally fairly plain. Increasing prosperity led to a greater degree of decoration, which passed through the exuberance of the rococo taste until the Neo-classical designs of the late 18th century made an appearance.
By the early part of the 19th century weight had become synonymous with quality and some very heavy pieces were produced. The Victorians tended to be fond of fussy services and over-decoration and were generally content to recycle familiar shapes with elaborate chasing, indeed many much earlier, plainer pieces were "chased up" by Victorian craftsmen to fit the taste of the time.
In the past, most people started their collections with an 18th or 19th-century coffee pot and a pair of candlesticks. These are now getting harder to find and consequently are relatively expensive. There is a broad range of smaller, readily available items that are more affordable, such as cream jugs, sugar bowls, salt cellars and teapots. There are many curious and interesting items - for example, stirrup cups and babies rattles and items that have a more useful function such as wine funnels, snuff boxes or thimbles which can form the basis of a collection. Silver can be collected according to makers or according to function, or thematically - for example, tea wares or smoking paraphernalia. The new collector should be particularly careful about buying single items that may originally have been part of a pair or set: these items are worth much less as a single piece.
The following pages are intended as a brief guide to the changing styles and forms of English silver. Click on one of the categories below...