Silver plate railway hotel platter?

[toadfrog]

hi all new to the site , ive come across this platter and was told it was from a railway hotel does anyone recognise it ? it was from a collector of railway memorabelia any info would be of help thanks

 

[HSP 2]

Sorry I'm not much help, but it is from one of the L.M.S. ones as you can see in photo two.

 

[Peter C]

The writing in that second photo looks like "LMS" to me (London, Midland & Scottish Railway) so that might narrow things down a bit?

-Peter

 

[UrieS15]

According to the LMS society site the company inherited or created some 40 hotels. A quick look at the Mappin and Webb site is pretty inconclusive, but I'm sure if there is a specialist in Mappin Plate they may solve the GS 53/01 in a trice. All I can offer is that it must be between 1923 -1948 and I would have thought that after 1939 and the outbreak of war followed by the shortages of the years before nationalisation probably no later than 1939. Speculation that SG is 'General Stock or silverware' or possibly 'Gleneagles stock or silverware', but that is just that speculation. It does not claim to be Mappinware so was probably an industrial contract for the LMS.

 

[toadfrog]

hi thanks peter thanks thats a great help

regards

 

[toadfrog]

thanks urie

 

[Peter C]

hi thanks peter thanks thats a great help

regards

You're very welcome

-Peter

 

[Rescars]

A lot of this sort of silverware continued in regular use at the railway hotels until the end of the British Transport Hotels era. A central store of surplus items was kept in the vaults underneath St Pancras.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

What's the platter made of? Actual silver (should be a hallmark somewhere) or just silver-plated base metal, such as 'EPNS'?

The 'GS' stamped on the platter may indeed stand for 'German Silver', which is an old name for 'Nickel Silver', which is an alloy that doesn't actually contain any silver!

Nickel silver is actually an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc, and it could be that the '53' represents the percentage of copper used in the item, with the remaining nickel / zinc proportions being roughly equal.