A selection of buttonhooks which have been sold from 2007.
Archive
an enamel & STERLING silver souvenir glove hook, probably by P W Ellis & Co of Toronto, Ontario, Canada who made many of these small souvenir items
Item reference: 8600
Dimensions: 3 inches overall
Condition: good original
Price: £32 GB
Status: Sold
a steel wire glove buttoner with silver handle in the form of a jockey’s whip
Item reference: 8605
Dimensions: 3 inches overall
Condition: good original
Price: £18 GB
Status: Sold
a silver and enamel commemorative glove hook depicting the shield from one of the provinces of Canada
Item reference: 8536
Dimensions: 3 inches overall
Condition: good original
Price: £45 GB
Status: Sold
a silver handled and agate combination buttonhook & shoehorn by Crisford & Norris, established in 1896 at 118 Vyse Street, Birmingham. It is hallmarked Birmingham 1910. The agate insert is a beautiful “tigers eye”
Item reference: 8592
Dimensions: 10 & 1/2 inches overall
Condition: good original
Price: £48 GB
Status: Sold
an all-silver “bowls trophy ” glove hook
Item reference: 3237
Dimensions: 2 and 1/8 inches overall
Condition: good
original
Price: £18 GB
Status: Sold
a 9ct gold glovehook by McKewan & Adie, established in 1897 at 35 Frederick Street, Birmingham. It is hallmarked Birmingham 1899.
Item reference: 3309
Dimensions: 2 and 3/4 inches overall
Condition: good
original
Price: £28 GB
Status: Sold
This William Comyns figural silver boothook of a woman in classical dress with three small children clinging to her is one of Comyns most sought after button hooks. The second-century Roman mother was known as Sophia, her children as Faith, Hope & Charity in the anglicised form. They are sometimes known as Charity & her children. This quartet of frail females stood up to the brutal might of Rome at a time when a mere whisper of dissent could mean death to a Roman citizen. Sophia was a widow under whose loving care her three daughters acquired a poise and Christian virtue, looked upon with respect by the village which they left for the rewarding city life of Rome, the Eternal City. Through their devout Christianity, they came into conflict with the Emperor Hadrian who did not share the view that Christianity was a harmless form of worship. The rest of the story will be included with the button hook for the successful buyer but as they became Saints you might guess the fate of the family! The heavy handle is cast in solid silver, not stamped in two halves as is more usual, and has the equally heavy stylized “London” steel shank which is typical of William Comyns production. It is hallmarked for London 1887 plus Victoria’s head making it one of the earliest Victorian boot hooks.
Item reference: 8572
Dimensions: 9 and 1/2 inches overall
Condition: good original
Price: £80 GB
Status: Sold
an all-silver folding glove hook by the Chester silversmith William Manton of 103 Vyse Street, Birmingham. It is hallmarked for Chester 1896. Made from a robust gauge of silver it is an unusual shape for this family of foldover hooks
Item reference: 8527
Dimensions: 2 inches closed
Condition: minor distortion to the hook. mechanically the hinge is strong, opens & closes with a satisfying "snap"
Price: £30 GB
Status: Sold
an Art Deco silver & guilloche enamel handled buttonhook by Adie Bros, established in 1906 at 45 Frederick Street, Birmingham. It is hallmarked for Birmingham 1936, the only assay year for Edward VIII before he abdicated.
Item reference: 2883
Dimensions: 8 inches overall
Condition: good original
Price: £30 GB
Status: Sold
a Chinese Export all-silver matching pair of buttonhook & shoehorn with planished (hammered) handles and incised bamboo foliage. The cartouche is entwined BC. The maker’s mark is TUCKCHANG who worked out of Shanghai in the late 19th, early 20th centuries
Item reference: 2854
Dimensions: buttonhook 8 & 3/4 inches overall, weight
145 grams
Condition: good original
Price: £70
pair GB
Status: Sold