RARE ELKINGTON & COMPANY SILVER OVER COPPER CLASSICAL MOTIF TAZZA - CIRCA 1857

Description

ELKINGTON & COMPANY SILVER OVER COPPER CLASSICAL MOTIF TAZZA – CIRCA 1857
Measures approximately 6” high by 7” in diameter at the top and 3 ½” in diameter at the base.
Excellent original condition.
Some minor areas where the silver plating has rubbed away and exposed the copper.
Signed with the Elkington shield on the underside – see last photo.
The letter ‘S’ would indicate the year of manufacture to be 1857.
A magnet does not stick to this tazza.
I believe it to be a combination of solid copper (the scenic areas) and bronze (the rim and base) which have
been silver plated.
Up to 1840, silver plated goods were made only by rolling and soldering thin sheets of silver on to copper, a process known as 'Sheffield Plate'. In 1840, John Wright, a Birmingham Surgeon, discovered what has since proved to be the best of all liquids for electro-plating. His friend George Richards Elkington and his cousin Henry Elkington took out patents in Britain and France embodying this process for which they paid John Wright a royalty. The factory was in Newhall Street, Birmingham and they had another premises in London. In 1842, Josiah Mason, became a partner in the firm and they became Messrs Elkington, Mason and Co.
This process was soon accepted as the industry standard for electro-plating with the firm allowing a number of manufacturers to use their technique under licence. As the patent holders they also received royal endorsements and were granted Royal Warrants from several kings and queens of Europe. They became well-known for their selection of quality hotel silverware that is durable and hard-wearing and supplied the great railways companies, shipping lines and aristocracy.