I have an antique sterling silver candle snuffer with a hallmark that I have not been able to identify. The candle snuffer likely dates back to the early 1900s, possibly could date back to the later 1800s, but I have no information on its age. Except that it from my personal family's estate silver collection of odds and ends of silverware.
The hallmark is at the base of the snuffer cap and has a tree under a "W" enclosed in a circle as shown in the photos below. Looking at the "W", it is not an even W and could instead represent the constellation Caasiopeia over a tree. "sterling" is engraved on the other side of the cap next to the handle. I have other pieces of silver flatware and holloware that I have been to identify, most of it from silver makers in southern New England and New York City region in the late 19th century to early to mid 20th century.
Any help in identifying the silver hallmark is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Thanls to both for the replies.
First, the mark looks like a hallmark. The only marks on the candle snuffer are the W & tree in circle on the left side of where the handle is attached to the snuffer cap while sterling is on the other side. I am attaching a photo showing the placement of the 2 "marks".
As for Tuttle Silver Co, I already considered their hallmarks in my search. There is some simalirity in the tree symbol, but nowhere close to a match. I also looked at hallmarks for Wallace & Sons and all the other W named US makers with no luck. I can't get a sense of how old the piece is from examining it, it could be 1950s or a lot older. There is a welded seam on the inside of the snuffer cap. The workmanship of the piece, while high quality, makes me wonder if this was made by a small artisan type shop and not from a large scale big name silverware manufacturer. Or perhaps it is just older than I think? Hence the difficultly in identifying what appears to be a hallmark.
I have not found any close matches to the desgn in multiple on-line search attempts. I plan to list the candle snuffer for auction sale on ebay, but am seeking to identify the maker first if possible. Again, thanks for any clues you and other can provide.
