Stunning & Rare English Sterling Silver Inkwell & Stand by Edward Ker Reid, London Hallmarked 1866, Stand Monogrammed

A beautiful rare English Victorian solid sterling silver and cut glass inkwell and stand. It is hallmarked London 1866 with the historically famous silversmith family of Edward Ker Reid. It has been superbly designed with the lid having engraving embellishments but not monogrammed as the inkwell tray has an engraved presentation inscription with the provenance of the Reverend Octavius James, Clarghyll Hall in Alston, U.K.  The design and engraving on the hexagonally divided stand is beautifully repeated in a curved “petal shaped” surround with the inkwell in the center. Note that one of the sections of the stand has been left “open” for a further monogram.

The inscription reads”. Presented to the Reverend Octavius James of Clarghyll Hall by Farmers & Residents in the Parish of Alston – May 1867

Clarghyll Hall was originally a 16th century bastle house which could be defended in times of attack. It was heightened and extended in the late 17th century for Nicholas Whitfield and further extended for Thomas Whitfield in the 18th century. The Rev. Octavius James who lived here 1847-89 died in a fire which destroyed part of the house.

Reid & Sons is a firm of a long family line of silversmiths founded in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1788 by Christian Ker Reid who had 13 children. William (1787-1868) being the most industrious son, set up his own new partnerships with his son Edward.

In 1838 the company Reid & Sons received a Royal Appointment from Queen Victoria and exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and at the 1862 International Exhibition held in London. Many notable commissions include a timepiece for the Newcastle & Berwick Railway, now in the collection of the Science Museum in London. Examples of their marine chronometers are held in the collection of the National maritime Museum in Greenwich London. The firm continues to trade today as part of the ‘Goldsmiths Group’. In 2013 Reid & Sons celebrated its 235th anniversary.

A remarkable historical silversmith story just adds to the desire to collect it.