A George III silver Pap Boat.

A George III plain Pap boat, London 1765, attributed to James Waters. Engraved underneath with the owner's initials 'A.A.'. \n \nThis mark appears in two versions in Grimwade within his section 'Unregistered marks': a section which includes marks which would have been within two lost London assay office registration books for smallworkers from 1739-1758 and largeworkers from 1758-1773. Grimwade gives the two 'IW' marks, [numbers 3693 and 3694], no attribution beyond a possibility that it belonged to a member of the Wood family. However, he notes the marks from 1749 to 1764 on a muffineer, salt cellars, cream jugs, a beaker and tea-vase. \n \nJames Waters, having been apprenticed to James Stone in 1730, was made free in 1737. He was appointed to the livery of the Goldsmiths' Company in 1758. It seems, therefore, certain that he would have registered a mark prior to that of 1769 when Grimwade records his mark registered in the Smallwarker's register [IW with mullet above and device below within a cogged wheel shape]. Furthermore, two salt cellars, for 1766 and 1770, of matching design and crest, have been noted with the two versions of the mark [Grimwade 3693 and 1743]. \n \nWaters died in December 1788 and left £300 to his incurably sick son, Charles Matthias Waters, [born 1745] in St. Luke's Hospital. The will was not witnessed and two silversmiths attested to Waters' handwriting before the will was proved. Waters had retired to Acton at some time beofre his death. One of the silversmiths who attested to his writing was his former apprentice William Hodgkins, who was, by 1788, in partnership with James Mince. Condition: \n

Good with original hammer marks and of nice colour and surface.

Length - 11.60 cm.; Width - 6.70 cm.; Weight - 54.10 gms.