Sterling Silver Sword Brooch by Charles Horner - Chester Hallmark circa 1900(SOLD)

This is a superb example of the work of Charles Horner one of Britain's most famous silver manufacturers  - the company was established in the 1860's and was disolved in 1984. Charles Horner was particularly famous for making hatpins and the famous 'Dorcas' brand of thimbles.  Jewellery made for Charles Horner usually bears the CH stamp mark and can be assayed in either Chester or Birmingham depending on the year of manufacture.  This  Sterling Silver Sword pin bears the Chester Hallmark but it is quite hard to decipher the year mark - it is circa 1900. The initials 'CH' are clear and obviously indicate this to be a Charles Horner piece.  Made by a hammering or stamping method this silver sword brooch has a decorative handle and a smooth surface to the blade.  Measuring a fraction over 3 inches in length and about an inch across at the widest part this pin is in very good order.  To the reverse is fastens with an old fashioned 'c' type clasp. This Charles Horner Brooch is in very good condition with just a few surface scratches to the silver - you would expect this on an antique brooch.  I never overclean sterling silver jewellery as people often want their antique and vintage jewellery to look its age - however this piece would buff up well with a silver cloth if you wanted to make it shine like new. There are illustrations of similar Sword Brooches in Tom Lawson's Book - 'Charles Horner of Halifax - A celebration of his life and work' ISBN No. 0-9542354-0-1.  This is a very good reference book for anyone who collects Charles Horner Jewellery.  It is well illustrated with photographs of jewellery manufacturing back in the Victorian, Edwardian and Art Deco eras.  There are also lots of pages taken from the original sales catalogues and examples of work by many of Charles Horner's designers.