Antique Hallmarked English Victorian Silver Plated Cruet Set & Original Spoons

Antique Hallmarked Victorian "Joseph Wilmore" English Silver Plated Cruet Set & Two Original Spoons. Please browse all 12 photographs attached for size, weight and condition as they are self explanatory.

Joseph Willmore was one of the most prolific and renowned silversmiths to have worked in the famous Birmingham silver industry. Born in 1773, he was the grandson of another renowned Birmingham silversmith, Thomas Willmore, who had been active at least since the establishment of the Birmingham Assay Office in 1773. Thomas had entered his mark at the Assay Office between 1773 and 1801 in partnership with James Alston, though they were both in fact independent, with Willmore being a bucklemaker and Alston being a button maker.

Joseph followed in his grandfather's footsteps and began trading as a silversmith in 1806, when he had registered his mark at the Birmingham Assay Office as a snuff-box maker - many of his snuff boxes in fact remain highly collectable today, and he is highly regarded especially for his snuff boxes with repoussé or'castle-top' lids. He later also registered at the London Assay Office in 1814-15, opening a showroom in Bouverie Street where he could sell his wares to wealthy City businessmen. For example, at the Birmingham Assay Office, he registers as a maker of knife and fork handles in 1831, and a maker of silver-gilt knives, forks and spoons in 1832. He continued to register makers marks until 1843, and passed away in 1855, bringing an end to the Willmore tradition of silversmithing, though he had several good apprentices, including George Unite, who became a renowned silversmith in his own right.

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