Rare Antique (1920s) George V Era English Lewis Rose & Co Silver Plated Teapot / Coffee Pot (1.5 Pints, 6”/15cm, 750g).

Very rare, highly collectible teapot. Breathtaking quality. Lovely weight and feel. Needs to be seen close up and handled to be fully appreciated as the photographs attached really do not do it justice.

Superb design. Well ahead of its time. In excellent condition. No dents nor damage although if you are extremely particular I wiuld advise there are some friction marks here and there commensurate with age so please study the photographs carefully. All in all in excellent order inside and out.

Please browse all 24 sets of photographs attached for size, weight and condition as they are self explanatory.

Absolutely marvellous quality heavy electroplated hard solders teapot. The letters EPNS stand for electro plate or electro plated nickel silver. Markings arking A1 or B1 denote for the quality of the silver plate.

This is a lovely hard soldered silver plated item. Hard Soldering or silver brazing is a metal joining techniques in which a filler rod is used as the joining medium, heat is provided by a gas torch and there is no melting of the parent metal. Hard solder (true silver solder) is much stronger than the soft solders thus its use where red heat is not a problem and strength is an issue. Hard soldering has better mechanical strength and is generally used in crafting jewellery etc.

George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.

Lewis Rose & Co, Sheffield - England, were

established by Isadore Lewis in 1922, initially occupying the Mappin Buildings at Norfolk Street in Sheffield. The company trademark was 'Debesco' and later premises were at 'Debesco Works', Norfolk Street and Norfolk Lane.

In the 1950s, Lewis, Rose & Co adopted the 'Philip Ashberry' name (they were the owners of Philip Ashberry & Sons, acquired in 1935). The firm was bought by Spear & Jackson in 1969, and in 1976 the group was purchased by Guy Degrenne and the firm became Ashberry & Degrenne Ltd at Prospect Rd, Sheffield. Lewis, Rose & Co participated in the British Industries Fair of 1929, 1947 and as Co Ltd. in 1957.

Unfortunately no business records have survived for Lewis, Rose & Co. The firm advertised sparingly and generated few catalogues. Isidore Lewis never seems to have given interviews. As with other Jewish-owned cutlery companies in Sheffield, the history can only be pieced together from scattered sources. This and their quality in particular has made their items sought after by collectors.

It’s is known however a case of cutlery was purchased by Queen Elizabeth II as a present for Princess Margaret with gratifying recognition’ for the company, as the newspaper at the time put it.

Lewis was a staunch member of the Labour Party and was elected to the City Council in 1946, where for many years he was chair of the Sheffield City Council Finance Committee. In 1963, Isidore Lewis became Sheffield’s first Jewish Lord Mayor.

In the mid 1940s the firm also had a New York office on Lexington Avenue. During the 1950s the company had overseas markets in Europe, the USA, Africa, South Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. To bolster the firm’s presence in these countries.

Isidore Lewis died in Sheffield on 1 October 1983, aged 79. He was buried at Ecclesfield Jewish Cemetery in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.