User:Lar/ToDo/Makers mark



A makers mark or maker's mark is the marking placed at the bottom of a worked piece by the person or company that created it to show origin. Originally symbolic, modern marks may consist entirely of words and letters. Often the date is included, or some letters or codes to indicate manufacturing details may be included.

Makers marks appeared on a wide variety of manufactured items although are primarily found on metal, glass and ceramic objects, especially those intended for food related uses.

History
Historically, there have been a number of regulations about whether symbols can be used, what sort of symbols can be used by what organizations, and so forth. The potential for fraud, forgery, base metals used instead of fine, shortweighting and the like made this a subject for government interest from early days

One of the first known regulations in Europe was by King Edward III of England who, in 1363, ordered that:
 * "each Master Goldsmith shall have a mark unto himself, and which mark shall be known by those who shall be assigned by the King to supervise their works and allay."

Initially, the marks were typically a representation of the smith's shop sign, or a pun in rebus form of the smith's name. However, by the 17th century it was more common to see initials with symbols, although this varied, for example, the Huguenot smiths generally followed French custom using fleur-de-lis marks with initials.

http://books.google.com/books?id=aIgMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA3&dq=makers+mark&lr=&as_brr=1#PPR1,M1 chronological order of acts. Hall Marks on Gold and Silver Plate By William Chaffers

http://freespace.virgin.net/a.data/frames/index.htm or http://freespace.virgin.net/a.data/makers.htm (unframed)

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Item Description: Although English silver has been hallmarked since the Middle Ages, the practice of including a town mark, maker's mark and a date letter was adopted from the Continent, usually following Paris. Since 1260 standards were determined for Paris goldsmiths and by 1275 each city in France was ordered to have a unique identifying mark. Maker's marks, specific to each craftsman, were introduced first in Montpellier in 1355, while a system for date lettering followed in 1427. Paris goldsmiths adopted this system in 1461.

In England, official records were kept at Goldsmiths' Hall in London, one of the oldest, wealthiest and most powerful crafts guild, although fires throughout its history destroyed much of this valuable history, leaving references to hallmarking practices prior to 1697 scarce. Marks on silver wares prior to this period are often not hallmarked, and when they were, the makers are frequently unidentifiable. However, some facts are known.

The term "hallmarking" may have originated from about 1470 when silver items had to be brought to Goldsmiths' Hall in order for them to be tested and marked. However, regulating the standard of fineness of silver items was deemed necessary long before this in order to curb the various frauds committed by the goldsmiths and the first recorded attempt at this was in 1238. The first mention of including a mark on English silver comes from a Statute passed in 1300 by Edward I, which makes a reference to the Leopard's Head mark.

Date letters were changed annually with the election of a new Touch Warden on St. Dunstan's Day (May 19th). Date letters were taken from a 20-letter cycle which omitted "J" and ended at "U". Each year the form of the letter, or the shield encapsulating it, was also altered.

Official reference to the inclusion of the Lion Passant mark (from 1544) does not survive, but the reason for its use likely occurs because of the debasement of currency (begun in 1542) during the reign of King Henry VIII and the desire by the goldsmiths to reassure the public that their standards had not been degraded.

A disastrous fire in the late 17th century at the Assay Office at Goldsmiths' destroyed the earlier records of maker's marks, although from 1697 to the present the records are virtually complete. Goldsmiths and silversmiths were required to present the actual metal punch they used to mark their wares in order that an impression might be made of it in the records. This was achieved by using the punch with ink for entries in the record books and, since 1773, by stamping an impression onto lead or brass plates. During this same time period, contrary to the Civil War crisis when a great deal of gold and silver had been melted down for conversion into coinage, money was being converted into plate so rapidly that by the end of the 17th century England practically ran out of money. In an effort to counteract this the standard of silver was raised from 11oz 2dwt per Troy pound to 11oz 10 dwt. To indicate this change the crowned leopard's head and the lion passant marks were replaced by new ones: a lion's head and the seated figure of Britannia.

This was the Britannia Standard. Concurrently the maker's mark, previously made up of the craftsman's initials or a device, was required to be the first two letters of the maker's surname. Restoration of the older Sterling Standard occurred in 1720, although silversmiths could still use the Britannia Standard, which many of them did. Confusion arose however over the Britannia Standard use of the maker's first two letters of the maker's surname, while the Sterling Standard practice was to use the maker's initials. Consequently a Statute was passed in 1738 requiring all goldsmiths and silversmiths to destroy their marks and register new ones which were made up of the maker's initials and which were also in a different lettering from the previous marks. Finally, a silver item stamped with a maker's mark indicates that the piece could have been crafted either by the specific maker or that it could have been made by a journeymen in the workshop. Silversmiths such as Paul Storr often had dozens of people working for them. At this level the likelihood that the master craftsman supervised the manufacture instead of being responsible for crafting it was greater. Also, with the growth of "firms" in the second half of the 18th century, the mark often indicated a sponsor's, rather than the actual maker's, mark. Silver beakers were made in England from the 15th century until late in the 18th century. Silver tumblers are small beakers which were made from about 1660 to the end of the 18th century. These were made by hammering a single sheet of silver, leaving most of the weight in base. If they were knocked over, they would tumble back upright - hence the name. -->

http://www.instappraisal.com/searchinstappraisal.php?query=lettering

http://freespace.virgin.net/a.data/makers.htm

The presence or absence of marks can sometimes be used to determine if a piece has been counterfeited or reproduced, but that is not a sure determinant as sometimes the makers marks are also copied.

Makers marks are related to hallmarks (which assert the purity or quality of an alloy used) but may carry more specific manufacturing information, and may not carry alloy information at all. In other cases, the makers mark can be part of a more complex hallmark as in the illustration.

Note: use this link to find places that ref the term that need to be inlinked: http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&as_qdr=all&q=%22makers+mark%22+site%3Aen.wikipedia.org&btnG=Search

In popular culture
The Maker's Mark distillery and brand of bourbon/whisky takes its name from the concept of marking worked items, and the packaging features a wax seal.