The Victorians loved their silver. Silver was a perfect “upscale” item which found its way to every room of a Victorian home. A brief list of silver items in the home included ashtrays, buckles, calling card cases, decanter labels, egg cups, frames, glove stretchers, hatpin stands, inkwells, jar tops, knife rests, ladles, match boxes, napkin rings, pincushions, rattles, scent bottles, shoe horns, thimbles, umbrella handles, vinaigrettes and watch stands.
The growth of a middle class with money to spend meant that a Crown Lavender Salts bottle in a silver holder was desirable in the parlor, library and boudoir. From plain to ornate, there were plenty of designs to satisfy those living in cottages, mansions and palaces. The vast majority of silver items for The Crown Perfumery Company were hallmarked Birmingham, with London a far second. Chester and New York were also represented.
The earliest Crown Perfumery silver item I have is a heavy clear glass base with a hinged silver top, dated 1890, CM. The most recent silver item is a bottle with a green base and silver screw cap, dated 1918 from J.H. Worral, Son & Co. Ltd. This London firm was well-known for silver mounted glass containers and bottles for the boudoir.
3″ / 7.6 cm 3.25″ / 8.2 cm
The following is one of the most impressive silver holders I have. The silver holder is 3” / 7.6 cm tall with a 3.25” / 8.2 cm diameter. A finely detailed, high relief pastoral scene surrounds the holder. The silver holder was crafted by T.H. Hazelwood in Birmingham, 1904.
5.5″ / 14 cm
The London firm of Robert Pringle & Sons manufactured fine gold and silver jewelry. The silver holder with cupids and garlands is dated 1901. Richard Burbidge was the Managing Director of the London department store Harrods. Burbidge had his own makers mark for silver items sold at Harrods. His Art Nouveau silver holder with a woman’s face is dated 1912. Both are truly artistic designs of the highest quality workmanship.
3.25″ / 8.2 cm
Robert Pringle & Sons Richard Burbidge, Harrods
Silver hinged cases containing pocket watch shaped salts bottles came in two sizes. The most popular is the 3” / 7.6 cm bottle with its crown shaped stopper. Sometimes there is a thumbprint shaped stopper for easier closure of the lid. Most of the silver hinged cases are round in shape, reminding one of a pocket watch; however there are several examples of heart shaped bottles and cases.
Silver cases are 3.25″ / 8.2 cm tall
Harry Matthews, Birmingham, 1904 HF, Birmingham, 1902
The designs on the Harry Matthews silver hinged cases were intricately detailed and most likely stamped onto the front and back covers. A 1902 Art Nouveau styled case has a pair of peacocks with their long tails on either side of an elaborate cartouche. Another intricate scene is of a male musician with a mandolin serenading two women seated in a garden. This scene appears on a round case and a heart shaped case.
Harry Matthews, 1902 Synyer & Beddoes, 1902 Harry Matthews, 1900
3″ / 7.6 cm 3.5″ / 9 cm 3.25″ / 8.2 cm
One delightful design is based on portraits of the four year old Lady Frances Gordon painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), an English portrait painter, who in 1768 became the first president of the Royal Academy. “A Child’s Portrait in Different Views: ‘Angel Heads’ ” (1787) was donated to the National Gallery in 1841, where it was greatly copied by painters and craftsmen. This view has been reproduced in silver on decorative items from scent bottle holders to vases to prayer book covers.
1898 1904
4.25″ / 10.8 cm 3.5″ / 9 cm
Harry Matthews, Birmingham, was not the only silversmith to use Lady Gordon’s portrait, yet he was the silversmith The Crown Perfumery Company used for five different silver holders!
1898 1903
3.5″ / 9 cm 2″ / 5.1 cm
.
1904
7.25″ / 18.2 cm
Silver holders and silver hinged cases for Crown Lavender Salts and Crown Perfumed Salts are abundant. Holders and hinged cases for Crown Eau de Cologne and Crown Lavender Water are many.
Harry Matthews, 1903 Harry Matthews, 1901
7.75″ / 19.4 cm
Silver holders for Crown perfumes are few. Below is a clear glass perfume bottle with a long neck and crown shaped stopper that has a silver mantle that covers the entire base of the bottle, hallmarked Harry Matthews, 1899.
4″ / 10.2 cm
An impressive silver overlay bottle (with thick overlay) for Orchidia is 7 1/4″ tall. The only hallmarks on the bottle are “FINE 999 Silver.” The earliest date for this perfume is 1887.
7.5″ / 18.8 cm
There are other holders that were electroplated. Two important pieces are quadruple plate hinged holders for a 4” tall Crown Lavender Salts bottle. The first holder was made by Middleton Plate Co. and the second by Simpson, Hall, Miller & Co.
4.25″ / 10.8 cm
Known Silversmiths for The Crown Perfumery Company
Birmingham: S. Blanckensee & Son Ltd.; Crisford & Norris; Deakin & Francis; Cornelius Desormeaux & James Francis Hollings-Frank Sheperd; T.H. Hazelwood & Co.; Harry Matthews; A.W. Pennington; Harry S. Synyer & Charles Joseph Beddoes; Sydney & Co.; John Thompson & Sons.
London: Richard Burbidge; Hasluck Brothers; Holland, Aldwinkle & Slater; Robert Pringle & Sons; J.H. Worrall, Son & Co.
Chester: James Deakin & Sons; William Neale
New York: George Shiebler for Tiffany
Misc.: Middleton Plate Co.; Simpson, Hall, Miller & Co.
