Index of Maker’s Marks A-Z

It was a requirement that silversmiths had their own marks.

From 1739 this was decreed to be the initial of the maker’s forename and surname. Many sets of initials, such as ‘JS’ or ‘JR’, were very common so to differentiate them different fonts were used as well as different shapes of surrounds.

To further differentiate between the numerous forenames beginning with ‘J’ — James, John, Jonathan, Joseph etc., a capital letter ‘I’ was often used instead of a ‘J’.

Despite the extensive and detailed records kept by the assay offices, fruit knives appear from time to time bearing unregistered and previously unseen hallmarks. There are a variety of possible reasons for these anomalies.

The records go back more than 200 years and it is possible some were damaged, mislaid or lost. It is likely some silversmiths may have registered but left behind little documentation.

Many small workshops or individual craftsmen only operated briefly or made very few items and may have disappeared before their marks were registered.