John Love and Co. registered a mark on May 1st 1783 and John Lindley & Co. registered a mark on January 28th 1788. These two marks are very easy to confuse.; In theory the difference is that Lindley’s mark has a pellet between the “I” and the “L” whilst Love’s does not. Lindley’s punch also has cut corners whilst Love’s does not. This pair of tongs makes that differentiation a little difficult as the tongs are clearly dated 1785, (with the incuse duty mark), but the maker’s mark has a pellet between the “I” and the ”L”. Clearly John Love & Co. must have been using a mark with a pellet, even though it was not registered. This problem is not unusual with Georgian sugar tongs makers, which often makes it difficult to attribute an item.

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                     1785/86

1785/86

1785/86

1788/89