Silverplate WEIRD Teapot Need info Also A Brass Spirit Kettle

Hi again....when I collected coffee and teapots I grabbed all kinds. These two I have researched a few years ago but nothing?

The silverplatedteapot/kettle has me stumped. No marks,looks like a wooden handle and maybe horn finial? I also see that one of the legs was welded. I wonder why someone went to the trouble for an unmarked piece? It has so many variations in style,Georgian,Victorian and maybe a China repro?

Any and all help would be great,age and style.

Then I have the brass spirit. I researched the mark to death but cannot find a maker? Again, any help greatly appreciated






Brass spirit, the pic of the base looks white but its the camera.

 

The second pot was made by S. Sternau and Co of Brooklyn and NYC. Rainwater's note about this particular mark is that it was on "metal wares."

No record of the company after 1920, but listed in the Jeweler's Weekly as early as 1896.

 

I was gonna say teens, twenties for that style of maker's mark. There are many unsold or sold cheaply on ebay.

The horn use on the first one probably makes it before about 1910 or so

 

Ah S. Sternau, thank you so much, I love it but was always curious as to the maker.
So 1910 or so for the first piece?
What is weird to me is the handle,most pots I have seen that have that kettle handle do not have legs so I don't know what style it would be? Thanks a bunch.

 

I had to put the brass here as I couldn't find a place to post other metals. Would be nice to have a threaad for copper,and other metals,etc. unless I am blind and dont see it ?

 

It'll get seen under NEW POSTS ....no matter where you put it.

 

A friend brought me that same first kettle a couple of years ago, very heavy and seemed to have some age, horn handle & knob, hers was worn to brass in places, overall, seemed a bit odd and slightly crude - personally, got a 'made in India' vibe from it.

The Sternau kettle is from around the 1890s, they were made in brass or copper, might have had a simple stand in the same material or it may have come with a fancy wrought iron stand, they ranged from relatively simple to tall floor stands, some incorporating their own little table (I've seen the floor models as 'bird cage stands', but the holder for the burner is a giveaway). Sternau was well-known for their chafing dishes and kettles, though they did make other types of pots, pans, etc. - and they introduced 'Sterno' fuel...

~Cheryl

 

Thanks Cheryl, I didn't know Sterno went back that far?

I also had a made in India vibe too. I ran out of acid to test it, it does tarnish like plated. Under the lid are scratches and they don't show any brass/copper? yet its a heavy piece. No magnet attaches when I first thought stainless steel? Maybe its like German silver/Packtong?

 

Sternau started a huge marketing campaign for Sterno in 1916, they did sell it before that, but then they renamed it 'Sterno Canned Heat' and really went to town. Here's some pics from an 1895 catalog showing your kettle in two different sizes.

~Cheryl

 

WOW, thank you Cheryl. Now I have to find a nice stand for mine I didn't think mine was that old either

 

Thanks to your pictures I found a burner that looks like it belongs to my Sterno? Its not marked but sure looks like the one pictured.

 

From the same catalog:


~Cheryl

 

you may think twice about asbestos.....it's bad news..

 

I don't plan on lighting it In the 70's when I was doing a lot of silversmithing I was using an asbestos ring mandrel and asbestos soldering block, now looking back that is something to worry about.

 

Unless you're planning on digging out the asbestos, then chopping it up and snorting it or baking it into brownies, there's no danger from that burner...

~Cheryl

 

Well I don't have that burner in my hand so I can't say what condition the 120 year old asbestos is in , but I can say that back then they did not use any of the safety methods we know of today .....so maybe it's brittle or flaking or unstable in any manner.....I wouldn't want it in my home in that condition.....or be handling it either !

 

I have asbestos shingles under my wood shingles covering my house. Now if I was to have them removed it would cost thousands plus hazmat would tack on lots of codes to boot

 

I had it in the basement of my 1st house....my agent said if you don't touch it ...it won't touch you !
Quebec has been the worlds largest supplier of asbestos ....like 4 ever ....so we learned it's hazards 1st hand.