Apart from the obvious pleasure I derive from writing about my hobby, it is informative and rewarding to learn more about some of my legs.
Looking at
leg collecting as a whole, it is predominantly about items that are old with a
good proportion being antiques. For those the internet can be very
revealing. Vintage legs, as I explained
the other week, are younger than antiques, but the web can still offer up
peripheral information that I did not previously know. Even for the “younger” legs additional
information does come to light, like the current price, others in a series or
availability. Corkscrews, as an instance: the web disclosed other characters or
sports in the series.
This week
I’m writing about Vestas. A Vesta is a small pocket size container for carrying
matches (or lucifers as they were called during the war). Friction matches were
first produced in 1826, and it was in c1832
that Vesta cases were first produced.
There are 3 different
categories of Vestas. The most common are Vesta Cases, which have a lid,
probably a clip and are carried in the pocket or on a chain (or on a chatelaine
in the case of a lady). The second category is Table Vestas, open topped
containers, usually slightly bigger than a Vesta Case, and often found on a
coffee table or near a fireplace, readily available for communal use to strike
a match. There is a third category, “go-to-bed” vestas, and these are usually
linked with Candle Stick Holders.
I own 4 Vestas, and this time I’m just writing
about my two Table Vestas both of which have interesting histories.
This is the
first Table Vesta , over 100 years old, and being silver the hallmark
identifies it as made in 1903, although it must be said that the letter F would
indicate it is older than that year??!!. Bought in 2012 in Stafford it is a
heavy Hunters Boot and was the number 32 in my collection. When I was on
the BBC antique Road show in 2014, the
expert Lisa Lloyd homed in on this true antique, and valued it at over £100.
The boot is elaborate and well wrinkled and includes a
small spur, and a strap that has a blank buckle that could be used as a
cartouche for an engraving. It stands 2 ½ inches and has the required cross-hatched sole for striking matches. It
weighs 9oz so at the current silver rate of £19 per ounce it has a scrap value of c£170.
What makes this Vesta particularly interesting are the hallmarks - this silver leg has TWO
sets. Dealing with the UK hallmark
first, contrary to difficulty on some occasions, this time the hallmarks are very
clear and legible. The marks read:-
SBL Lion
h F Leopard
SBL
stands for Samuel Boyce Lanbeck, a
silversmith of London, who presented the item to the London assay office for a
silver hallmark, in 1903.
Lion
is the sterling silver authentication mark
h indicates the year the hallmark was applied,
and in this case is 1903
F is
an indicator that the item is foreign
Leopard is
the symbol for London
Nothing wrong with the English hallmark but it should be
noted that the year stamp was the year the hallmark was applied, not they year
when it was made.
For this we have to turn to the continental hallmark, and
about which I have spent a considerable time researching, including signing up
for The Silver Forum. There are the 3 elements
in the continental hallmark.
Capital H in a shield, surmounted by
a crown Lion surmounted by a crown 930
Taking the number this indicates how pure the silver is.
This scale is used in Germany and
Holland, and in this case indicates 93% pure silver.
For the two other stamps, a fellow Forum member favours
Dutch as the origin. BUT we are in dispute over the original date for the foreign
hallmark. So, our investigations continue. I will let you know of any
developments.
The second Vesta is nothing like as complicated!
Made in 1900 and bought in Stafford in 2012, this glass
Vesta is again a Hunters Boot, and with a roughed base to strike matches. It has
a couple of unfortunate chips in the glass, but the silver collar does have readable hallmarks.
HWLd
Anchor lion a
Henry Williamson Ltd of Birmingham was the maker, producing a variety of silver items, but known to make Vestas. The anchor is for the Birmingham assay office, the Lion is again the silver authentication mark, and the lower-case letter “a” in a shield, is for items made in 2000.
Even though I have only written about two Legs, you can see
how research can be so educational.
Enjoy
The Microtibialist.
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