Antique British Sterling Silver Serving Spoon - 5.705 ozt. Hallmarks indicate it was made in the 19th Century in London by the Sampson Mordan company. 

Size: 2 1/4 x 12 in. 

Gross Weight: 5.705 ozt. 

In 1815 Sampson Mordan (1770-1843), the apprentice and assistant of the mechanic John Bramah, established his own business in London. His biggest legacy was holding the first patent for a “metal pencil with an internal mechanism for propelling the graphite ‘lead’ shaft forward during use,” obtained in 1822 with co-inventor John Isaac Hawkins. In 1824 Mordan entered into partnership with Gabriel Riddle, which was eventually dissolved in 1836, when the business became known as S. Mordan & Co. When Mordan died in 1843 the business was taken over by his sons Sampson (Jr) and Augustus, who were joined by Edmund George Johnson and Zachariah Watkins the following decade. Both of the new partners retired in 1879, and after Sampson Jr.’s death in 1890 Augustus was joined by Harry Lambert Symonds. Right into the 20th Century their primary product was the mechanical pencil, although they frequently diversified into other silver objects and utensils. The factory was completely destroyed by enemy bombing in 1941, and the patents were sold off to Edward Baker. The company went into voluntary liquidation in 1952, with the patent long since expired and the mechanical pencil now a fixture of the average classroom.

#5525 .