GUSSY -Silver Name Pin - Nickname for Augusta Late Victorian Birmingham 1899

This silver name pin has a Lion Passant for Sterling Silver, the Birmingham Hallmark - the Anchor and date letter ‘Z’ for the year 1900 plus the letters ‘A.B’ which are the maker's mark.  This English Sterling silver brooch has the name GUSSY in uppercase fancy lettering and has lots of embellishments in the form of applied engraved ivy leaves and to the outer edges applied silver balls in the Etruscan style.  This is typical of high Victorian - very decorative!  It would have been gifted as a charming brooch with the Ivy leaves indicating a message of Friendship and Fidelity. 

It is a very nice example of an antique Victorian silver name brooch. The brooch is in very good condition.  On the reverse it fastens with an old fashioned 'c' type clasp with a long Pin which is often the case with nineteenth and early twentieth Century brooches. Measuring approximately 4.5cm by 2.5cm this pin is a larger sized item and is ready to wear and enjoy!

In the 1880’s Sterling silver jewellery became popular for everyday wear following the alteration to duty on silver and was mass produced using the new machinery. This brought small jewellery pieces into a price range that more people could afford. Many items were made in an area in Birmingham fondly named  Britain’s Jewellery Quarter. All manner of Brooches were produced not just names but flowers, leaves, commemorative, hearts and birds. Some set with paste or gems, some enamelled - all affordable and novel.  The Victorians and Edwardians liked these sentimental brooches and pins.  The origins of the Name brooch, pin or badge was to 'label' the staff in large country houses. Later name pins were used as love tokens or sweetheart jewellery and there are examples of all kinds and a wide variety of styles and names, initials and so on. You can find name brooches in Sterling silver, Gold, base metals, metal wires, carved in Whitby Jet, Bone, Ivory and Mother of Pearl and also in enamel finishes. These great pieces of sentimental jewellery make wonderful Christening gifts and are a great collector's item for anyone interested in the Victorian era and the first part of the 20th Century.

JEWELLERY DETAILS

Designer or Brand: Makers mark 'AB’

Country of Origin: UK - Birmingham Assay Office

Condition: Very Good

Decade: 1890s

Era: Antique Victorian

Type:  Name Brooch - Gussy

Hallmarked: 1899

Material: Sterling silver