Hallmarking Archive
The archival hallmarking database collates much of the known information on Edinburgh goldsmiths from the twelfth to twenty-first century. The archive was built using registration records maintained by the Edinburgh Assay Office during the periods covered.
Most of the archive’s entries relate to Edinburgh gold and silversmiths from the sixteenth century to the present day. It contains all the information from the Incorporation of Goldsmiths’ registration documentation up to 1986. Additionally, it details of all those who registered a makers mark at Edinburgh Assay Office in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries but have since let their registration lapse. There are now over 8,000 biographies and numerous illustrations of maker’s marks and object in the archive.
About the Archive
The information on this database will enable you to match marks on pieces of silver or gold with the maker of that item. Additionally, it provides any existing biographical information on that maker. You can search by makers’ mark, the name of the maker or for a keyword appearing in the records. Results are listed in order of relevance.
The Hallmarking Archive also includes information on Glasgow goldsmiths from the surviving records of the Glasgow Assay Office (1819-1964) and brief biographies of many provincial Scottish gold and silversmiths.
Our records are incomplete, and we can only access what has survived the centuries. Due to the fragility of many of the documents, we keep handling them to a minimum. The digital database enables us to preserve this information and ensure it remains accessible.
We do not give valuations on specific items. Please note that Edinburgh Assay Office does not employ an archivist. We are unable to respond to individual inquiries.
Acknowledgements
The Hallmarking Archive has been enhanced by the research and transcriptions of Incorporation records by Henry Steuart Fothringham. His help on this project has been invaluable. He is responsible for many of the biographies and has attributed marks to many of the early makers whose details were absent from the surviving records. Our thanks go to the National Museums of Scotland for use of photographs from the Silver Made in Scotland exhibition in 2008 and their archives. Thanks also to the auctioneers Woolley & Wallis who have kindly given us many examples of provincial Scottish marks from recent sales, and to Lyon & Turnbull wfor use of their images. All other contributors to the database are thanked on the page where their image or information appears.
Copyright
Unless otherwise noted, all images used on the Hallmarking Archive database are copyright of the Edinburgh Assay Office. These are not to be copied under any circumstance. Our thanks to the organisations and individuals who have allowed us to use their images. Their copyright is asserted where their images appear. Their images are similarly not to be used outside of this website.
Disclaimer
The Edinburgh Assay Office takes no responsibility for the incorrect identification of marks from the limited information available on this website and database. This information is intended as a guide and is available for research only. It is not for commercial purposes.