Victorian Christopher Dresser Silver Plated Toast Rack
Victorian Christopher Dresser letter toast rack, silver plated circa 1881, 4.72 in. high 4.72 in. wide, bearing makers mark for Hukin & Heath (Birmingham). The firm was established in Birmingham in 1855 by Jonathan Wilson Hukin and John Thomas Heath. The firm's association with Christopher Dresser began in 1877, the first registered design dates from 1878, and others were entered up to 1881. Dresser's designs were launched at the opening of the firm's showrooms in Charterhouse Street in August 1879.
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- Victorian Period - The Victorian period of furniture and decorative arts design covers the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901. There was not one dominant style of furniture in the Victorian period. Designers used and modified many historical styles such as Gothic, Tudor, Elizabethan, English Rococo, Neoclassical and others, although use of some styles, such as English Rococo and Gothic tended to dominate the furniture manufacture of the period.
The Victorian period was preceded by the Regency and William IV periods, and followed by the Edwardian period, named for Edward VII (1841 – 1910) who was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India for the brief period from 1901 until his death in 1910. - Circa - A Latin term meaning 'about', often used in the antique trade to give an approximate date for the piece, usually considered to be five years on either side of the circa year. Thus, circa 1900 means the piece was made about 1900, probably between 1895 and 1905. The expression is sometimes abbreviated to c.1900.
- Registered Design - During the period 1842-1883 the Patent Office issued a diamond mark along with the registration number when a design was registered.
Besides indicating that the design had been registered, a diamond mark offered the buyer the reassurance of knowing an item was of British design. It assured the person registering the design a degree of protection from copying.
The mark was created to identify the type of material used (known as the class), how many items were included, (sometimes known as bundles or packages), and the date of registration.
On the diamond mark the year of registration is shown along with the month code. However, there are two ranges of year codes; 1842-1867 and 1868-1883. By looking at the design of the diamond mark you should be able to determine the correct year from the design of the diamond mark and the placing of the day number.
Source and further information: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/reg-design-diamond.htm
This item has been included into following indexes:
- Dresser, Christopher (England)
- Hukin & Heath (England) - silver plate items 12
- silver plate flatware / cutlery, accessories - silver plate items 189
- toast racks - silver plate items 29
