• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Regency Romance Novels

Regency Romance Novels

  • Blog home
  • Something about me
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact me
  • Website >

Hester Bateman – Georgian silversmith…

November 20, 2010 By Cari

One of the things I often say to myself is, “You don’t know something until you know it.” Perhaps I need a constant reminder of the obvious because I tend to assume things. For instance; I assumed that Georgian silversmiths were all men. Today I’ve learned that they weren’t. This shouldn’t surprise me (having researched numerous women artists from all ages), but it does. My knew piece of knowledge (like most of my interesting knowledge) was accidentally acquired. I walked into town to get a few things and stopped off at the charity shop (again) and found four issues of a magazines from 1967, ‘The Antique Dealer and Collector’s Guide’. I flipped through them all and found they each had pictures or articles about some Regency or Georgian item/artist that I had to have. At home at my desk I pulled the first one off the pile and was flipping through to find “the good stuff” when I came to an ad titled Silver by Hester Bateman. I assumed Hester was a dealer. Having admired the tea pot, I read the paragraph under this photo…

…and was shocked to discover Hester wasn’t some wild haired antique dealer flogging old pots, she was the maker! This is what the paragraph says, “Hester Bateman, probably the most famous woman silversmith, first entered her mark in 1761 on the death of her husband. She continued to run a most successful business until 1790 when she retired. Her work is characterised by simple shapes, delicate piercing and engraving. Her particular contribution to the style of the period is the bead decoration which she used on so many of her pieces.”

You can see the bead work in this close up of my photo of the photo in the magazine.

If you’re unfamiliar with 18th century paraphernalia, the item at the bottom is for trimming candle wicks (I assume while burning – see! I’m assuming again). I had to know more so I looked her up. Put her name into Google images and there are lots of modern photographs of her work, some of it for sale. I could afford the silver sugar tongs at £85 (that’s about $125 USD). It’s tempting, but I think as I’m trying to stay away from sugar buying antique sugar tongs (that would beg to be used) might not be the wisest thing to spend my money on. Sorry antique dealer…maybe next century!

Wikipedia had more information on Hester (assuming it’s correct). Hester was born in 1708 in London. She married John Bateman when she was 24 and over the years had five children (two daughters and three sons). John was a chainmaker and a wire puller (can’t remember exactly how they phrased it) so she must have learned over the years the basics of fine metal working from her husband and probably assisted in the workshop. That was very common all the way back to medieval times for women married to craftsmen. (I’ve seen medieval paintings of women helping in a family business of making of armor.) In 1760 her husband died of consumption (tuberculosis). In his will he left his wife all his tools. I find this really touching. He had three grown (or nearly grown) sons at this point, but he leaves his most precious belongings to his wife. She took over the family business and in 1761 registered her own mark (the silver makers mark which is stamped on every piece of silver they make). Her mark is the stylized HB above. She was making silver ’till she was 82 when she retired. She died four years later. A woman working in Georgian England as a silver maker…’till she’s 82? I’m impressed!

You’ll be hearing more from these Collector’s Guides. In the meantime, now I know…there were women working as silversmiths in Georgian England!

Filed Under: History Notes, Regency Notes

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Donna says

    April 12, 2011 at 1:57 am

    Thanks for the history lesson. I loved learning that women helped earn the household income. Mrs. Bateman left some very beautiful pieces of silver and designed as an artist in her own right. This is a hurray for women even today.Yeah!!!!

Primary Sidebar

Recent posts

  • Changes…
  • I’m alive … I think…
  • Spring Cometh…
  • The First Day of November…
  • Romancing the Stones…

Categories

  • A Companion for Life
  • A Short Story
  • Book Reviews
  • Dancing the Maypole
  • Feeling Creative
  • General
  • Ghost stories
  • Guest Bloggers
  • History Notes
  • I've been taking photographs
  • I've been thinking
  • King John
  • Louis et Francoise
  • Lucky in Love
  • Museums
  • My Regency Romance Novels
  • Once Upon a Wager
  • Redeeming A Rake
  • Regency Notes
  • Sharing
  • Taming the Shrew
  • The Curse of Love
  • The Hired Wife

Archives

  • May 2018
  • July 2017
  • March 2017
  • November 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • June 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • January 2016
  • September 2015
  • May 2015
  • February 2015
  • November 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • June 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008

Copyright © 2023 Cari Hislop