Recently, in another thread Maker "F S" and Shield mark? It also appeals to my love of marks and research, since Swiss marks before are so poorly understood. Only within the last two decades have Swiss marks of the late 18th to the mid 19th century been given any real attention, and I can often buy Swiss silver rather cheaply since it is so frequently unrecognized.
So I thought I would post these recent finds, in rough chronological order of their manufacture, and share some rambling thoughts on Swiss silver and its marks. Hans Jacob Wolff II served in several posts in the guild, though never as chief. He married twice — in and — and a son of the first marriage, Johann Jacob Wolff ; Master , was the last of the Wolff dynasty of silversmiths which dated back to his 2nd great-grandfather Hans Jacob Wolff I ; Master Here are five teaspoons in that pattern from Lausanne canton Vaud dating from They can be dated so narrowly because of the mark of maker Pierre-Henri Dautun Dautun was a second generation silversmith of French descent who married, in , Marie Servier.
Dautun continued the firm after the death of his partner until his own death ten years later: thus the dating of these spoons.
Also from Lausanne is this pair of spoons I got recently for scrap, and understandably so, given their terrible condition. He eventually purchased the firm in , thus inheriting a century-old tradition of craftsmanship; his son Gustave Hofer, fils , would continue the firm until He became a citizen of Basel city proper in and is listed in the guild rolls as master the same year.
She died in in Karlsbad now part of the Czech Republic. To be continued. IP: Logged. My wife thinks it is just a rationale to save things from melt. Sincerely, I am hoping to find the time to explore this growing pile. I and everyone at the SSF very much appreciate your efforts to keep us informed. I am looking forward to part II. Thanks for sharing your collection. If you want to see this developed into a slide show please contact me via email note: because of travel I may not fully reply until the middle of February.
