English Registry Marks - Signs of the Times

Part I - 1842 to 1884

One of the most frequently asked questions about antiques is: How old is it?

And often, the answer can be right there on the object in question. You just have to know to look and decipher what you see. And one of the most useful markings for helping to date decorative objects is the English Registry Mark, an odd little shape that looks like a diamond with a cherry on top - that's just what it looks like.

Within this shape are an assortment of letters, Roman numerals and numbers that, when decoded, reveal information about the item in question, and most importantly the date on which the item was registered in the British patent office. Although not a definite date on which the object was produced, it does set the earliest possible date the object could have existed, and often a piece was made within a reasonable time period of that date. [Exceptions to this are many - so please do a 'reality check' whenever you examine your item - Does it exhibit wear and patina appropriate to age? Have you researched whether or not the manufacturer still makes this piece now? Please see my Guide - "Antiques and Collectibles - Telling REAL from REPRO" for tips on distinguising old from new items.]

Beginning in 1842 and continuing until 1884, this "diamond with a cherry" was used to mark English decorative objects of wood, glass, metals and ceramics. The presence of this mark, therefore, is very reassuring when the dating pieces to within this time frame even if the contents of the mark are too blurry to read - a date range can be determined. Tables are used to decipher the marks within each diamond.

To decipher a piece that has one of these registry markings, you will need four tables which I will reproduce below. It is important to note that the markings within the diamond mark changed slightly in 1867, and this sometimes causes some confusion until one gets used to the system.

First let's look at the elements of the mark: The Roman numeral that appears in the circle at the top of the mark is the type of material of which the item is made. In the case of our example below, you can see it is a type IV, or Ceramic.

Table 1

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I = Metal

II = Wood

III = Glass

IV = Ceramics

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To decide if the piece was made before or after the 1867 dividing point, one needs to look at the number directly beneath the "cherry". If the number is a Roman numeral, then the mark is an early mark and uses Table 3 to determine the year of manufacture. If the number is an Arabic number, then this is a later mark and uses Table 4 to determine the year of manufacture.

TABLE 2

Month of the Year of Manufacture

C - January

G - February

W - March

H - April

E - May

M - June

I - July

R - August

D - September

B - October

K - November

A - December

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Table 3 - Year of Manufacture 1842 to 1867

1842 - X

1843 - H

1844 - C

1845 - A

1846 - I

1847 - F

1848 - U

1849 - S

1850 - V

1851 - P

1852 - D

1853 - Y

1854 - J

1855 - E

1856 - L

1857 - K

1858 - B

1859 - M

1860 - Z

1861 - R

1862 - O

1863 - G

1864 - N

1865 - W

1866 - Q

1867 - T

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Table 4 - Year of Manufacture 1868 to 1883

1868 - X

1869 - H

1870 - C

1871 - A

1872 - I

1873 - F

1874 - U

1875 - S

1876 - V

1877 - P

1878 - D

1879 - Y

1880 - J

1881 - E

1882 - L

1883 - K

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Later Registry Marks...

After 1883, this type of registry mark was discontinued. A simpler registration system was started using just numbers. Usually, these numbers are preceded by "Rd.No." followed by a number, and this is still in effect today. It is very similar to the American Patent Number system.

To view a table of the 1883+ registration numbers, please see PART II of this article [Part II - Registration Marks 1884+].