Interesting piece of sterling with history.

[tamrock]

I so enjoy finding a old objects that are discarded into the secondhand market and then open up a some interesting facts to read. This little cut crystal sterling top item is referred by most as a sugar shaker or muffineer. It was priced at $2.49 and with sterling silver running at a spot price of a dollar a gram now I figured the lid alone was worth that and some. It is hallmarked as Birmingham sterling silver with a makers mark of BP over DC which the WWW indicates was the mark of Boots Pure Drug Co. founded in 1849.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_(company) The date mark appears to be that of the year 1909. I've never heard of Boots Pure Drug before, but I'm thinking Red-Coats grand to great grand parents were familiar in what you could pickup at Boots Drug.

 

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[UnderMiner]

My avatar is actually a silver stamp from something quite similar to this. Always fond of the spice shakers. And to find one for pennies on the dollar is always great.

 

[tamrock]

My avatar is actually a silver stamp from something quite similar to this. Always fond of the spice shakers. And to find one for pennies on the dollar is always great.

I've never looked at your avatar that close before. Sure enough it's an early lion mark. Thanks for the comment.

 

[Red-Coat]

Good score.

Yes, Boots was founded by John Boot in Nottingham in 1849 as a herbal medicine shop. They incorporated as Boot and Co. Ltd in 1883 and then became the Boots Pure Drug Company Ltd in 1888. They progressively branched out to sell other pharmaceutical, toiletry, kitchenware and giftware items as well as operating a lending library.

Your sifter is Birmingham hallmarked for 1909 (Birmingham or Sheffield would have been the nearest Assay Offices). In 1920 the company was sold to the American United Drug Company but then transferred back to British ownership in 1933 and changed name to the Boots Company Limited in 1971.

Almost every British high street still has a Boots store and these days they also sell a number of other items including small electricals such as hairdryers and shavers. In its heyday it was the go-to place for wedding gifts and almost everyone ended up with a trendy ‘Boots Cookshop’ wok, notable for its impressive size that couldn’t be accommodated in the average kitchen cupboard.

Old British music-hall joke:

“I need jar of Vaseline.”

“Have you tried Boots?”

“I want to slide in, not march in!”

 

[tamrock]

Good score.

Yes, Boots was founded by John Boot in Nottingham in 1849 as a herbal medicine shop. They incorporated as Boot and Co. Ltd in 1883 and then became the Boots Pure Drug Company Ltd in 1888. They progressively branched out to sell other pharmaceutical, toiletry, kitchenware and giftware items as well as operating a lending library.

Your sifter is Birmingham hallmarked for 1909 (Birmingham or Sheffield would have been the nearest Assay Offices). In 1920 the company was sold to the American United Drug Company but then transferred back to British ownership in 1933 and changed name to the Boots Company Limited in 1971.

Almost every British high street still has a Boots store and these days they also sell a number of other items including small electricals such as hairdryers and shavers. In its heyday it was the go-to place for wedding gifts and almost everyone ended up with a trendy ‘Boots Cookshop’ wok, notable for its impressive size that couldn’t be accommodated in the average kitchen cupboard.

Old British music-hall joke:

“I need jar of Vaseline.”

“Have you tried Boots?”

“I want to slide in, not march in!”

I pull out my wok to cook up my garden goods each season. I'm right now getting eager to get on to the gardening activities this spring.