Expert: Martin G Roberts - 10/24/2008

Question
I have two pewter mug style gill measures, and wonder if you can help me date them.  One is a quarter gill measure, and is marked Harry Mason Ltd Birmingham on the base.  I was told it was early 19th century, but it looks later to me.  There are two small marks on the top rim; one looks like 8 and one seventh, the other is very hard for me to make out.  It may be a crown above an O to the left and an R to the right, with another O centered below, and it looks like an X between the O and R. It's so small my description may be wrong.  I'm not practiced with a magnifying glass. But maybe you know when Harry Mason was producing goods.
The second is a gill measure with no maker's mark.  The upper rim has the word GILL, and to the left of it, what looks like a 1 or an l, then a crown and the letter R.  Below that is 349.  Below that LCC. This one I was told is Victorian, so I suppose what looks like an l may be the remaining half of a V. Thanks for any help you can give.

Answer
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You are right that the Mason gill is later than you were told. Harry Mason traded from 1912, and the mark with "Ltd" seems to be later, so your gill probably dates around 1920 - this is consistent with the verification mark that will GR (George V or VI) below a crown. The 'O' below the GR will probably be a 6, that being the UV number for Birmingham (see the Verification Marks page on my website for more info). All the pieces I have seen with this mark appear to have been made by Gaskell & Chambers, also a Birmingham firm, and a much bigger operation - Mason's probably only retailed pewter.

The other gill has a London County Council verification mark that could be late Victorian, and I would think a date around 1890-1900 would fit the description of a piece with GILL stamped on the collar.

Martin
www.antique-metalware.co.uk