5     Silversmiths and Their Marks

 

 

 

T

he workmanship of silversmiths of the past, and in particular their work on toys and miniatures, although very difficult to find today, can still be seen and admired in many famous museums around the world, particularly in Amsterdam, London, and the United States. There are many other museums which have small displays of their workmanship.

There is no mistaking the high quality of the workmanship of these early silversmiths, but without their individual marks one cannot be one hundred per cent certain they were made by a certain individual, particularly as so many toys were copied. Because the toys of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were individually handmade it is natural to suppose that each of them was a one-off, that having spent hours perfecting a particular toy or miniature, the craftsman was in no hurry to make another exactly the same and would instead be turning his thoughts, perhaps, to the next project he had in mind. This is especially relevant to the work of master silversmiths like George Manjoy and David Clayton, whose quality of work is excellent.

Even today it is nearly impossible to find information about the famous English silversmiths of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Very few books have been written on the subject, and it is thirty years since Victor Houart wrote his magnificent book, Miniature Silver Toys.3 He states himself that a great deal of research is still needed on the silversmiths of those days and the making of silver toys in England; a subject about which little is known.


3 Victor Houart (1984) Miniature Silver Toys (translated by David Smith). London: Random House Value Pub (original French edition, L’Argenterie miniature, published 1981).

Despite that fact, collecting tiny silver toys and miniatures is a fascinating hobby. It is apparent from eBay, where many such items sell for hundreds of pounds, that there is a high demand for them. No sooner do good-quality Dutch toys appear than the bidding starts and prices rise. Early English toys of the eighteenth century are so expensive that they tend to stick for weeks without selling. It is possible to buy dozens of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Dutch silver toys for the price of a toy silver Georgian teapot.

Many of the silver toys are blackened with age and are very difficult to clean, as they are very delicate and if heat is applied (even hot water) it can melt the delicate silver joints of the toy. Most silver toys will never need cleaning if kept in display cabinets and only handled by people wearing gloves. It is the acid from the sweat in the hands which can cause tarnishing. If one has a piece of silver which is particularly dirty the best remedy is to use Goddards Long-Term Silver Pad Foaming Silver Polish. One or two applications of this should shift the most stubborn of stains.

There have been toys for tourists since at least the mid nineteenth century. They were often bought as little silver mementoes. Those pieces made of pure silver weren’t cheap even then – and much less so today – but if someone wanted a little keepsake, such as a silver miniature of St Paul’s Cathedral or the Eiffel Tower; then these items could be purchased. Today, there is plenty of silver to be found and numerous gift shops and good-quality jewellers sell silver toys.

Many of the countries visited today for the warmth of their sun, for instance in the Mediterranean, now sell silver toys to tourists. Turkey and Greece are forerunners in this profitable business. They are copying little models of Greek antiques, like small pots and vases. Large quantities of these unmarked silver toys can be found on the many islands of Greece. Despite the fact that many countries in the world sell silver toys for tourists, they are of little interest to the true collector of antique toys. They don’t have their wares hallmarked or indicate the country of manufacture and investigating the marks found on Dutch and English toys is half the fun of collecting.

The history of silver toys teaches us that the first known toys were made for the children of royalty and it took many years before they were made in great profusion for children in families who could afford them.