ORIGIN INFORMATION & VALUATIONS
Many people around the world have Sheffield made cutlery in their possession.
We often receive enquiries about the origin of a particular brand of cutlery or about a certain cutlery company. We are often asked to provide valuations of items which people own.
Unfortunately, it is not possible for this site to answer
these questions. We just do not have the resources. If you need information about the value of an old collection of cutlery, its age or origin, then maybe antique dealers are the ones to ask. They may even have the histories of manufacturers to hand.
You may be seeking information which could be documented in various
books to which we can refer you. Click here for the
Cutlery Bookshop.
HALLMARKS
There are 4 Assay Offices in the UK. These offices control the regulation of silver quality and content in manufactured items. To learn more about hallmarking on your silver goods, click on the links below :-
A European Union directive in 2003 sought to put an end to hallmarking. Fortunately, this is now off the agenda and, for now, a 700 year old system of guaranteeing the quality of silver has been safeguarded.
COMPANY INFORMATION
The Sheffield cutlery industry is much smaller than it used to be and there
have been many name changes or mergers with other companies. If you need to
contact a particular company, try Thompsons Directory which is said to contain names, addresses and telephone numbers of UK businesses.
It is possible that the company may have ceased trading altogether. There is a good resource of company information which you can access here -
Companies House. Look on your cutlery for the name of the manufacturers and use that name on the Companies House site to try to discover their whereabouts.
Maybe you could try the
Cutlery & Allied Trades Research Association (CATRA) which has a web site. Or see details here of how to contact British Cutlery & Silverware Association (BCSA).
Sheffield Library may help but they are very busy and your answer may be delayed somewhat. It is often possible for you to find out the information from other sources more easily, and with less delay. As a last resort, though, you could try an enquiry by email to Sheffield Library where you may find data, or try the Sheffield Help Yourself Database which has information on groups and organisations.
LOOKING FOR A DISCONTINUED PATTERN?
Please check our page here for Rare Items which may hve been discontinued. We can assist you with patterns from the Elkington, James Dixon and Frank Cobb lines. If the cutlery pattern you are seeking is discontinued or not displayed there, try the links at the bottom of that page for those hard to find patterns and discontinued lines.
TITANIC & WHITE STAR LINE?
We often get enquiries from people regarding items said to be from the Titanic or from the White Star Line and asking if we can authenticate them. We are unable to do this. We urge caution when dealing with people who claim that a particular item is from the White Star Line which included the Titanic. Whilst it is true that Elkington supplied the White Star Line many years ago, it is not possible to state whether a given item was used, and on which ship. We are aware of copies being produced since then. Whether your item
is a copy or not, we are not qualified to say.
Anyone interested in the Titanic may wish to contact The Titanic Corporation, last known address: 2 Hungerfield Road, Castle Bromwich, Birmingham, West Midlands, N36 9SD, UK (we have no web or email address).
We can offer you cutlery of the same pattern (either with or without White Star Line logos). The pattern is Dubarry and is available on our special Titanic Cutlery page.
If you are seeking a variety of RMS Titanic memorabilia, try this link to:
