-40%
RARE 19th CENTURY DERBY SILVER CO. BULLDOG FIGURAL TOBACCO BOX HUMIDOR
$ 525.36
- Description
- Size Guide
Description
RARE 19th
CENTURY DERBY SILVER CO. BULLDOG FIGURAL TOBACCO BOX HUMIDOR
Measures approximately 6” high (to the bulldog’s ear) by 5 5/16” wide by 6 1/8” deep
Signed on the underside ‘Derby Silver Co., Derby Conn.
Patented Sept. 6, 1887.’
It also features the impressed numbers ’90’ and ‘3406.’
This silverplated tobacco box/humidor is in excellent original condition. The bulldog has wonderful brown/black glass eyes. There are two round-headed screws which hold the lid down over the compartment under the bulldog. One of them is brass-colored and I assume is a replacement. The other one is what I believe is probably the original silver-colored one.
The Derby Silver Company was founded in 1872, and began operations on Shelton's Canal Street one year later. The company soon outgrew its quarters and constructed a larger building, which still stands on Bridge Street, Shelton, in 1877 near the Housatonic River, overlooking Derby. A number of additions were added in subsequent years. The original Canal Street building was razed when the railroad was built through Shelton in 1888.
The company made toilet articles, mirrors, combs, clocks, brushes, table and flatware, tea sets, children's cups, loving cups (trophies), candlesticks, fruit baskets, dishes, basically anything which was plated by or made of silver. Special orders were constantly commissioned as well. The factory manufactured items for the Sperry and Hutchins trading stamp stores. The Company was noted for its large line of silver plated toilet ware and an economical line of plated hollowware sold under the popular trademark of the Victor Silver Plate Company.
Showrooms were established in New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco. A considerable amount of silver was shipped to South America. The logo at the time featured an anchor, often with the words "Derby Silver Company" or its initials surrounding it.
In 1898, the plant merged with the International Silver Company, a consortium of Connecticut silver companies. At that time the Derby Silver Company works was known as "Factory B". Thus, as a rule of thumb, items with the “Derby Silver Company” logo most likely date from the nineteenth century, while items with the International Silver Company logo, either Derby or Factory B, are from the twentieth.
A victim of the Depression, the plant closed in 1933.