In October, 2023 a small silver cup with unusual pseudo hallmarks was purchased from a local estate in Launceston.1 On being shown the cup, the slightly naïve embossed decoration, simple strap handle and basic construction reminded me of a colonial or provincial manufactured piece, dating from around the second quarter of the 19th century.
Embossed with various emblems including roses, shamrocks, thistles and leaves, it bore all the signs of a British hand or influence. If of British Manufacture, stylistically it would date to circa 1825–1835.
However, given its pseudo hallmarks, comparatively naïve style, construction, and likely colonial or provincial manufacture; a more probable date would be 1835–1845.
While the exact date is unknown, the cup bears a group of pseudo English Hallmarks, JF, a head like device, (simulating a monarch’s head representing a duty mark) a crudely right facing lion passant and an obscure stamp that may possibly be “18”.
The cup has a shaped cartouche on the body opposite the handle which bears the Initials “RS” in contemporary “Old English” script.
After examining it and considering its possible pedigree, I felt it showed a number of similarities to early Australian manufactured pieces. In particular it bore a strong resemblance to embossed pieces from the workshop of David Barclay in Hobart, Alexander Dick in Sydney and Charles Brentani in Melbourne.
It is now widely accepted that the plate made in the workshop of Barclay was not wrought by him but by three assigned convict servants, Joseph Forrester, Charles Jones and William Cole. Barclay is known to have had items made for Dick and for other silversmiths in both Sydney and Melbourne.
Given the evidence of recorded items from Barclay’s workshop, it’s highly probable that Forrester was responsible for the largest output.
Joseph Forrester — Convict Silversmith
Forrester served a seven-year apprenticeship to his uncle, Robert Keay, silversmith of Perth in Scotland prior to being transported to Tasmania. Forrester is noted in the Convict Indent as by trade a silversmith, jeweller and watch maker, while the shipping list notes that he was a silversmith, jeweller and watchcase maker.
These skills gave him the ability to produce a wide range of items, including boxes, trays and cups; numerous examples of which are recorded from Barclay’s workshop. He also had the skills to complete work including chasing and embossing, seemingly a strength of his.
During his assignment to Barclay, there are records of many pieces made by Forrester for Barclay and also for Alexander Dick in Sydney on Barclay’s behalf.
These include “The Hopton Snuff Box”, a gold snuff box described as:
“…One of the best pieces of Colonial workmanship perhaps ever witnessed in this Colony; it was a most elegant gold snuff box, with the Rose, Thistle, and Shamrock, handsomely chased on the border round the lid…”2
Over the 12 years that Forrester was either assigned to Barclay, (or worked for him after receiving his ticket of leave in 1839), he must have produced many items of simpler form than those known through presentations recorded in the newspapers of the time, and now recorded in reference books.
It is certainly well documented that during the period of Forrester’s assignment to Barclay from 1830 until he left on his own account in 1842, he was responsible for a number of silver pieces bearing Barclay’s hallmarks.
Of noted embossed and chased works, the rose, thistle and shamrock were commonly found on silver attributed to and made by Forrester for Barclay, Dick, J.J. Cohen, Charles Brentani and others.
Setting Up Independently in Hobart
On the 18th June 1842 Forrester received a conditional pardon and left Barclay’s employment the following week.
Within a short time of setting up his own business, Forrester received a flatting mill from his brother William, arriving from England in October, 1842. A shipment of assorted silver plate and jewellery from his cousin Robert, also provided increased chances of sales and business for Forrester.3
On the 9th and 16th December 1842, Forrester was advertising in his own right in The Hobart Town Courier.
“JOSEPH FORRESTER, MANUFACTURER of SILVER PLATE and JEWELLERY…”…“Every description of silver plate and jewellery made and repaired…”
Having established his own business, it is reasonable to assume that Forrester would have hallmarked his own work and that the hallmarks would have included an indication that the pieces were made by him, either in the form of initials, or his full name or surname.
There is certainly evidence that Forrester was manufacturing items locally for The Hobart Community.
In a letter he wrote to his cousin, Robert Keay in Britain, Forrester indicated that he was “manufacturing some silver plate for St. Georges Church the Revd. Mr Fry and have got two or three more good orders in the house and Plenty of Jobing.”4
In a letter to his brother William in The UK on the 10th September 1843, Forrester wrote that he was “pretty well established and have got a good share of the work and thank God getting a comfortable living.”5
By September 1843 Forrester was not only making plate for St Georges Church, Battery Point as indicated in his letter to his cousin Robert but also “two of three more good orders” including a presentation plate for the captain of the Psyche,” and “plenty of jobbing.”6
From the advertisement and letters written back home to Britain, it was clear that Forrester was manufacturing items from 1842 and certainly in 1843 as well.
He suffered a burglary in early 1843 but most of the stolen property was recovered.7
In 1846 Forrester manufactured a cigar case for Mr. Cole of Liverpool Street. The Launceston Examiner, 11th February 1846 describes the presentation thus:
‘A Testimonial – We have seen a very handsome silver cigar case manufactured by Mr Forrester for Mr Cole of Liverpool Street. It is intended as a present for William Tarleton, Esq., late of Hamilton but now of Launceston.
It is beautifully embossed and bears the following inscription:
Presented to William Tarleton, Esq., By Messrs. Wells, Elley, and Clark, Officers of the Hamilton Police, as a slight mark of their sense of his unvaried, polite, and gentlemanly conduct towards them during the period he held the office of Assistant Police Magistrate.
January 1846.’
There seems little known of Forrester’s next few years in Hobart. It is likely that he was still producing items of silver during this period even though economic times were proving tough for businesses.
On Saturday, 28th March 1846, The Hobart Courier contained an advertisement indicating Forrester was moving to 52 Liverpool Street, next to The Union Bank. He applied for and was granted a pawn broker’s license a week later.
His new venture was short lived, no doubt affected by the economic depression hitting Tasmania making it increasingly difficult for small businesses to survive.
The Move to Melbourne
Forrester decided that Melbourne would offer better prospects and so, after arranging for his pawn broking business to be managed by a Mr. James Bonney, he left for Melbourne from Launceston on the steamer Shamrock, on the 14th November, 1846, arriving two days later.
Once in Melbourne, it seems certain that Forrester was undertaking work for other silversmiths and jewellers. There were many who had recently arrived in the early 1840s and had established businesses with orders to fill. Many of them are mentioned in detail in Douglas Wilkie’s book, “The Life and Times of Joseph Forrester”.
The Melbourne Argus Friday 9th July 1847, page 2 reports of “a silver medal designed by Mr. Bennett, watchmaker and manufactured by Mr. Forrester of Collins Street, which as a product of Colonial art, merits the highest encomium”.
In November 1848, The Sugden Silver Snuff Box was commissioned from Brentani; most likely it was Forrester who made the box, now held in the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.
In 1849 Forrester was working with or for Brentani at Brentani’s shop, first at 13, then at 25 Collins Street West.8
He certainly made a silver cup for Brentani, “manufactured by Mr. Forrester at the establishment of Mr. Brentani of Collins Street.”9
In May 1850, the building Forrester had been working out of was put up for sale.10 At this time or shortly after, Forrester had opened a watch making business and had applied for, and received, a pawn broker’s license.
It was at this time Joseph Forrester first appeared in Melbourne in business on his own account.
“In November 1850, a Mr. Joseph Forrester, a silversmith, obtained a license, and from 100 Bourke Street, advertised his rate of interest on loans as at one halfpenny per week for each shilling …”11
In October 1850, Forrester made a “costly gold ring” and a “remarkable handsome gold medal”12
Forrester was still in business on his own account in 1853,13 the firm changing to become Forrester, Joseph and Company, then Forrester and Hodgson, still at 100 Bourke Street until 1856.14
Interestingly, the pieces known to have been made by Forrester after leaving Tasmania in 1846 were seemingly commissioned by other retailers whose own hallmarks if any, would have appeared on them.
Could This Be Forrester’s Work?
So… did this wonderfully diminutive piece of embossed silver come from the workshop of Joseph Forrester?
If the cup was not made by Forrester, then where was it made, and by whom?
Could the cup be an example from either British India or from China, as both exported items of silver to Australia? Could it be of Scottish Provincial Manufacture?
The decoration, while loosely similar to some known 19th century Indian Colonial Silver, is not typical of work produced there. While there were a number of ex patriot Scottish and English silversmiths working in India during the early to mid 19th century, the work they produced was quite competent, generally reflecting the taste and styles of London and major centres, rather than the provinces.
Chinese Export Pieces from the same period that were marked with pseudo English Hallmarks were generally very plain and more “Georgian” in style. They appear generally to be of plain or baluster form, usually devoid of any embossed work.
The vast majority of this output was flatware, though other articles of British Design including some cups and mugs are known.
I have been unable to discover any known Chinese Export or Indian Colonial pieces of silver with hallmarks include a right facing “lion passant” or the initials, JF.
The possibility of a Scottish Provincial Origin is perhaps more likely. After extensive research however, there appear to be only three known makers with the initials JF; John Findlay of Aberdeen and John Fraser and James Ferguson from Inverness.
Fraser and Ferguson can be ruled out as they were both working at later dates, while Findlay’s known JF hallmark is complimented by two others, AB and DN indicating an Aberdeen origin.
I have been unable to trace any right facing “lion passant” hallmark on Scottish Provincial Silver Piece; there is little Scottish Silver featuring a lion passant hallmark at all.
On the balance of probability, it appears Indian, Chinese Colonial and Scottish Provincial Origin can all be ruled out.
The Case for Forrester
So, if we are to consider Forrester as the maker of the cup, what indications are there to suggest his hand?
Looking at the body of silver known to have been produced by him during his time as an assigned convict, the embossed decoration on the cup certainly fits stylistically within his output. The combination of rose, thistle and shamrock were frequently used by Forrester.
While still exhibiting a certain naivety, the embossing appears a little more refined to my eye than on earlier pieces made for Barclay in the mid 1830s.
It is quite reasonable to expect that as his output increased, so did Forrester’s skill as an embosser. The subtle variation of the hatched work in the thistles and more refined treatment of the roses on the cup may be an indication of just this. While the interpretation of these motifs differs slightly from work executed for Barclay and Dick, the matted background known in Forrester’s work remains virtually identical.
The gold snuff box presented to J.B. Coubro by the cabin passengers of the ship Portland made by Forrester in 1838, exhibits more assured embossing as do a number of other snuff boxes attributed to Forrester.
The Simpson Salver, made by Forrester in 1841 for J.J. Cohen in Sydney also shows competent embossed decoration on the border.
John Hawkins attributes a very similar salver, (made for presentation to Sir Thomas Dowling Wright) to J. J. Cohen, having defaced, possibly Anglo-Indian hallmarks. It is dated 1844, three years later than The Simpson Salver.15
Given the very similar embossed border decoration to The Simpson Salver by Forrester and the identical embossed feet, it appears almost certain that they were from the same workshop. By this time, Forrester was working in his own right in Hobart. He certainly had the skill and tools to make the salver, having received a flatting mill courtesy of his brother William from Britain in 1842.16
Could this salver also be by Forrester? If so, was it his marks that were defaced?
Reading the Hallmarks
When viewing the hallmarks on the cup, three of them strongly suggest Forrester’s hand. Obviously, the J.F points toward Forrester, while two others indicate a direct comparison to marks used by Barclay.
John Houstone, in his excellent book on Early Australian Silver notes 10 known variants of Barclay’s group of hallmarks. John Hawkins, in his equally excellent 2 volume edition, 19th Century Australian Silver, notes 5 variations of Barclay’s marks, 4 of which differ to those shown in Houstone. We therefore have 14 known Barclay hallmark groups.
Interestingly, 13 of them include a “lion passant”… all of them face right as does the hallmark on the cup.
The punch marks, shown below, are generally of square and rectangular form. The “head” or “duty mark” and “lion passant” marks on the cup are very similar to punch marks used by David Barclay on two known fiddle pattern teaspoons of c. 1830 (Early Australian Silver).17
Both of these punches used on Barclay Spoons, are interestingly paired with the script “DB” mark used on very early Barclay commissioned pieces. Could Forrester have made the punches for Barclay; could it be that these, or similar punches owned by Barclay became obsolete and were given to, or taken by Forrester on leaving his employ to establish his own business?
After an extensive search, I’ve only found a few known examples of silversmiths using a right facing lion passant pseudo hallmark on Australian silver during the 1830s and 1840s.
Of these, Barclay used by far the most, though both Robert Broad and Felix Lynn also used a right facing “lion passant” hallmark. There is one recorded right facing lion passant mark attributed to Alexander Robertson, circa 1835.
Conclusion
Extensive research and consideration into the possible origins of the cup brings me to the conclusion that a strong case can be made for Forrester being the maker.
Having completed his seven-year apprenticeship in Perth, a provincial town in Scotland, it’s almost certain that he would have been greatly influenced by the style and shapes of Scottish Provincial Silver of the 1820s.
The Scottish Provincial Aberdeen Silver Mug made by George Booth, circa 1810–1820 illustrated below left, shows a form Forrester would have been familiar with during the time of his apprenticeship in Scotland.
Shown next to the “Forrester Cup”, the similarities of shape, style and construction are quite evident.
The cup dates stylistically to the time Forrester was working in his own establishment in Hobart, from 1842 to 1846. It features motifs used by him on numerous pieces of plate made for Barclay and other silversmiths and jewellers. Forrester certainly had the skill necessary to produce the cup and was manufacturing during the time the cup was made.
The hallmarked initials, JF, match Forrester’s; I can find no other silversmiths or jewellers with the initials J.F. working in a similar manner or at a similar time in the Australian Colony. These, with the combination of two hallmarks that bear a remarkable similarity to those used by Barclay, strengthen the case for Forrester as the maker even further.
As the cup was recently purchased in Tasmania there is a strong possibility it never left there. It may well have stayed within the family it was made for until being recently sold.
On the balance of the evidence and after weighing up the options and alternatives, it seems both reasonable and credible the cup was made and hallmarked by Joseph Forrester and made in Hobart after he established his own business in 1842 and before he left for Melbourne in 1846.
This is a most remarkable and rare piece of Australiana; to date unique, making this piece, in all likelihood, the first known example of Australian Silver made and hallmarked by Joseph Forrester.
Acknowledgements
I have been very fortunate to have had available a number of excellent references available to me that have helped considerably to compile the above article.
John Hawkins 2 volume “19th Century Australian Silver”; an excellent reference and still one of the most comprehensive reviews of early Australian Silver.
John Houston’s “Early Australian Silver”, another wonderful volume that both compliments Hawkins and offers other opinions and more recent insights and new information.
Douglas Wilkie’s Book, “The Life and Times of Joseph Forrester”, an incredibly well researched and informative book that provided much new information around Forrester’s relationships with his family and other silversmiths. In particular, the correspondence between Forrester and his brother William and cousin Robert Keay, proved most useful.
Douglas Wilkie’s Article, “Finding Forrester, The Life and Death of Joseph Forrester, Convict Silversmith” also proved extremely useful.
Trove’s record of newspaper and gazette archives were very helpful in providing contemporary reports of Forrester’s output and business.
The chapter devoted to Silver in the 1977 publication, “First Fleet to Federation” in association with The National Trust of Australia provided an interesting insight into stylistic similarities between works probably made by Forrester for both Hobart and Sydney makers. This chapter was written by John Hawkins.
Finally, I’d like to thank John Hawkins who graciously agreed to review the article before publication.