October 2022 Speaker
Our speaker for the afternoon was Martin Swinton who brought along items from his personal silver collection, some of which he had inherited and some of which he had purchased at Silver Sales which he often attends.
His first items were a Nathaniel Mills 1835 Snuff Box and a Georgian Cream Jug, which when turned upside down looked like a helmet. He then passed round a couple of items for us to examine and try to decide which was the most expensive (a bit like the Antiques on TV which Fiona Bruce does). At the end of the afternoon, he explained that the real item was the one which he had inherited from Scotland with his family crest on it.
He also told us that Scottish silver had 925 but continental had less, 600 to 800. This number is the percentage silver in the item, the rest being copper which is used to strengthen the item. The picture on the item denotes the Assay office where the item was registered, London had the Leopard, Sheffield had the Crown and Birmingham the Archer to name just a few.
Martin also mentioned Grave Robbers who would dig pits at graves and smash the coffins to steal any jewellery which may be there. Burke and Hare built some of the northern canals then turned to Body Snatching and were eventually caught, Burke was hanged but Hare escaped free.
Martin also mentioned a few of the old sayings, ‘For whom the bell tolls’ came from the fact that sometimes people were buried when unconscious so a bell would be put in the coffin and tied to the person so if they regained consciousness, they could ring the bell and be saved. ‘A dog is a man’s best friend’ a dog called Bobby, who was the pet dog of a local policeman called John Gray and stayed by his master’s grave for 14 years in Edinburgh in the mid 1800s.
Martin also showed us items from the Crimean War in the 1850’s when Robert Whitehead was a member of ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ with military inscriptions on them. He also had very large silver pot with possibly ivory or bone insulation in its handles.
His 1781 card tray was interesting, apparently in large country houses the Butler would have a card tray and he would ask visitors to produce their visiting card. He would they take it to his master to see if he wished to invite him in. This is where the saying ‘Turning the tables on you’ came from.