Expert: Martin G Roberts - 8/21/2008

Question
Do you know which reproduction pewter companies might have copied a James Yates half-pint capacity mug?  I have one that is VERY obviously a copy (cast aluminum alloy of some sort)but you can make out very faintly the name James Yates beside the handle just where authentic Yates pieces were stamped.  There is a touch mark - an oval with the letters "S  C" with some vertical element between the letters perhaps a stylized tree trunk?  Thank you for your help.

Answer
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Interesting question. These things do turn up every now and then, but are not especially common. They were made by taking a copy from an original mug, probably using silicon rubber to make the mould. The mark survives because an impression is taken up by the rubber, and reproduced when new metal is cast in the rubber mould.

Those I have seen are of recent origin, and some may originate from Italy. The commonest form seems to be a copy of a mug by Abbott of Gateshead.

If you have a photo of the SC mark, do forward a copy to me (stynt@btopenworld.com) - there is a fake mark of SC recorded, but this may be a new fake mark, and it should be added to the Pewter Society database. If, on the other hand, it is the known fake mark, then your copy was made rather earlier, probably in London in the 1920s or 1930s. I shall advise when I have seen a photo.

Hope that helps.

Martin
www.antique-metalware.co.uk