Dear Helaine and Joe: This vase was given to us by my sister. On the bottom it is marked with an eagle's head inside a circle and the words "Forbes Silver" and "Quadruple 401." Can you tell us anything about it? — P.S., Brockway, Pa.
Dear P.S.: We suppose we should start by saying that this is not a vase. Instead, it is a late-Victorian silver-plated pitcher that once had a lid. That lid is now missing, and all that has been left behind is the telltale stump of the hinge that sticks up above the rear edge behind the rim.
The mark reported by P.S. indicates that this pitcher was made by the Forbes Silver Co., which was in Meriden, Conn., and was a division of the Meriden Britannia Co. Britannia, incidentally, is a type of metal similar to pewter that is made largely from tin, copper and antimony. It was used widely as a base for silver-plated items.
The Meriden Britannia Co. was founded in 1852, but Forbes did not come into being until 1894. In 1898, Meriden Britannia and its Forbes component became one of the founding members of the International Silver Co., and we could not find a record of International Silver using the Forbes mark on the new company's production.
There is some confusion about the meaning of the word "Quadruple" that is seen as part of the Forbes mark. Some people say that the word "Quadruple" or "Quadruple plate" on the bottom of an item is a sure sign of low-quality silver plate because pieces that bear this mark often are rather rough-looking and have little or no silver plating remaining on their surfaces.
This, however, is not the case and "Quadruple" plated silver was some of the best made during the late 19th century. The name "Quadruple" may seem a little strange and some say that it was electroplated four times — but to the best of our knowledge, this is not the case.
Within the silver-manufacturing industry, "Standard" silver plate used just 2 troy ounces of pure silver to electroplate 144 teaspoons, but "Quadruple" plate used 8 troy ounces of silver to plate the same 144 spoons. In other words, it took quadruple or four times the amount of silver to create "Quadruple" plated silver than it did to make the less heavily coated "Standard" plate. We feel this may account for the name.
Stylistically, the pitcher belonging to P.S. appears to be from the 1890s. The mark seems to confirm this observation, and we have no hesitation in assigning a circa 1895 date.
It is unfortunate that this piece has had such a rough life. We mentioned earlier that the lid is missing, but there is also a huge dent near the top and several others on the body. There appears to be discoloration and corrosion here and there, and all this means that the insurance replacement value of this pitcher is zero.
Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson are the authors of the "Price It Yourself" (HarperResource, $19.95). Send questions to Box 12208, Knoxville, TN 37912-0208.