Lot 333
Scottish provincial - an interesting pair of captain's calipers/dividers,
Auction: 25 May 2006 at 12:00 BST
Description
marked to one leg on the inside I.A, thistle, b, thistle, of standard form with engraved floral detail
Dimensions
Length 16.8cm
Footnote
The series of marks: I.A., thistle, b, thistle, struck to this lot and the following lot, has for some time been attributed to John Argo of Banff. However, it is now felt that this is not the case and that the lower case b does not signify a Banff town mark but a pseudo date letter for Edinburgh 1807-1808.
No known maker's mark for John Argo has a dot between the initials, as is clearly visible here. Furthermore, the maker I.A is thought to be one of a group of makers using these punches, all of which are untraced. Additionally, the lower case b and thistle punches very closely resemble those used in the cycle of hallmarks denoting Edinburgh 1807-1808.
A full discussion of this group of marks will be published in a forthcoming edition of The Finial, available through The Silver Spoon Club of Great Britain.