Description

A fine quality George II sterling silver cup on a spreading foot. The scroll side handles have acanthus leaf mounts. The accompanying pair of smaller silver cups make a matching set. Each cup has a large hand engraved armorial to the front within a decorative cartouche and the scratch weight incised below. Excellent colour and very heavy weight. The large cup has a presentation inscription underneath to Harold Heinz, president of the H.J Heinz company.

Large cup weight 1059 grams, 34 troy ounces. Height 17.6cm. Spread 26.5cm. Diameter 14.2cm.
Small cups weigh 467 grams each, 15.01 troy ounces and 471 grams, 15.10 troy ounces. Height 13cm. Spread 17cm. Diameter 10.1cm.
Dublin circa 1750, maker William Townsend.

Marks. The large cup has a full set of Irish silver hallmarks stamped on the body, no date letter. The makers mark is William Townsend’s first registered mark. The other 2 cups are matching, antique, sterling silver but unmarked.

Arms. These are the marital arms for the Irish families of Barnewall and Dowdall/Dowdale/Dowdell/Dowdle. The Dowdall (originally Dovedale) family came to Ireland from the valley of Dovedale in Derbyshire. Motto: Malo mori quam foedari (I prefer to die than be dishonoured).

Inscription.
“Howard Heinz, 57^th Birthday, A Token of Affection from his British Sales Organisation”. The company slogan was “57 varieties” so this would have been a particularly special birthday for Howard Heinz.

Biography
Howard Covode Heinz (1877–1941) was the eldest son of Henry John Heinz, American entrepreneur and founder of the H. J. Heinz Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Howard succeeded Henry as president of the company on his death in 1919 and successfully led the company through the Great Depression through to the beginning of WW2. Howard tragically died in 1941 and his son H.J. “Jack” Heinz II became president continuing the successful expansion of the company until 1987 when the company passed to outside leadership.

H. J. Heinz Company
Henry John Heinz began packing foodstuffs in 1869 and founded Heinz Noble & Company with a friend, L. Clarence Noble marketing packaged horseradish. The company went bankrupt in 1875. The following year Heinz founded another company, F & J Heinz, with his brother John Heinz and a cousin, Frederick Heinz. One of this company’s first products was tomato ketchup.

The company continued to grow, and in 1888 Heinz bought out his other two partners and reorganized as the H. J. Heinz Company, the name carried to the present day. The company’s slogan, “57 varieties,” was introduced by Heinz in 1896; by then the company was selling more than 60 different products. Heinz said he chose “5” because it was his lucky number and the number “7” was his wife’s lucky number.

H. J. Heinz Company was incorporated in 1905, and Henry Heinz served as its first president, leading in the position for the rest of his life. At the time of Henry Heinz’s death in Pittsburgh at the age of 74, the H. J. Heinz Company had more than 20 food processing plants, and owned seed farms and container factories.

All 3 silver cups are in very good condition. The engravings are all matching (with minor variations) and still retain very good definition.

Maker: William Townsend

William Townsend, Dublin silver maker. Apprenticeship and freedom unknown. 1st mark registered 1734/5 (W.T within a rectangle – the W is crossed,). 2nd mark 1753/4 (W.T within a rectangle). 3rd mark c.1767 (W.T within 2 conjoined circles). As very often the case with Irish silver of this period, the date letter is usually omitted.

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