Two New (to me) Pipes

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jguss

Lifer
Jul 7, 2013
2,909
8,076
...and a 1909 Carrington Gough (or so the auction said, may need help verifying!)

Yes, the seller’s reading of the maker is right. SSC stood for Squire Sydney Carrington, doing business as William Henry Carrington & Co. in Manchester. Frank Gough was a tobacconist located at 30 Rochdale Rd in Blackley, Lancashire for several years early in the 20th century.
 

Fiddlepiper

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 22, 2020
717
5,414
Scotland
www.danielthorpemusic.com
Yes, the seller’s reading of the maker is right. SSC stood for Squire Sydney Carrington, doing business as William Henry Carrington & Co. in Manchester. Frank Gough was a tobacconist located at 30 Rochdale Rd in Blackley, Lancashire for several years early in the 20th century.
Amazing! Thanks. The hallmarks will give me an exact date as well won’t they?
 

Fiddlepiper

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 22, 2020
717
5,414
Scotland
www.danielthorpemusic.com
Absolutely, if they’re legible. Sometimes reading the date code properly can be a little tricky but if you post good pics there are many knowledgable people here who will chime in.
I can't venture a guess on the date from the photos however the maker's marks are clear enough:
View attachment 68847
The makers Mark and first two hallmarks of the silver are clear. The marks are for UK and Chester. The third one I can’t make out and it’s nigh on impossible to get a photo in focus with my phone. Going to try and hunt out a magnifying glass and see if I can see it better.

hopefully will have a picture later on today. Found a useful silver hallmark site that lists all the hallmarks for each year. ?
 

greeneyes

Lifer
Jun 5, 2018
2,609
13,435
As Frank Gough is included in the mark, it's likely to be after 1916 as the Chester assay mark submission suggests. This may help to narrow the possibilities if any discerning features are visible in the date letter cartouche.
 

jguss

Lifer
Jul 7, 2013
2,909
8,076
The makers Mark and first two hallmarks of the silver are clear. The marks are for UK and Chester. The third one I can’t make out and it’s nigh on impossible to get a photo in focus with my phone. Going to try and hunt out a magnifying glass and see if I can see it better.

hopefully will have a picture later on today. Found a useful silver hallmark site that lists all the hallmarks for each year. ?

A little more color on Frank Gough, who's definitely the less well known of the two. Francis Joseph Gough (1865-1922) lived all of his life in the Manchester area. As the mark makes clear he was trained as a silversmith and appears in the 1881 census as an apprentice. In the other censuses during his lifetime he is listed as a silversmith (and sometimes goldsmith as well), while in area directories from the 1895-1909 he appears as a tobacconist. The 1911 census further specifies pipe mounter as the industry/service to which he was connected, suggesting that this was his primary occupation, at least at that time. Each census lists Gough as a Worker (vs. Employer or Own Account) which indicates to me that he probably worked for Carrington most if not all of his career. In 1881 he was living with his mother and siblings on Conran Street in northern Manchester. Sometime later, probably after his first marriage, Gough moved a few blocks away to 30 Rochdale Road in Blackley. There he stayed for over twenty years before moving again in about 1910, this time to 61 Newport Road in Chorlton-cum-Hardy in south Manchester. By the time of his death a decade later Gough had moved a short distance away to 87 Newport Road.

Gough was married twice, first to Alice Mary Collinson in 1884; they had one child, a son named Francis who was born in 1889 and died relatively young in 1908. Alice died in 1898. A few years later, in 1904, Gough married a woman named Lilian Mary McKay; they had one daughter named Lilian who was born in 1905 and lived until 1985. By the time of his wife Lilian's death in 1921 Gough is listed as retired. All of which is to say that a date mark of anywhere from about 1890 to 1920 is conceivable as far as Gough's apparent period of activity is concerned. A look at Squire Sydney Carrington narrows that down a bit but that's a subject for another post. For now I'll just point out that Squire (the oldest son of WIlliam Henry Carrington) was born in 1879 and registered his first mark in 1901, suggesting that your pipe must date from after that time.
 
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Fiddlepiper

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 22, 2020
717
5,414
Scotland
www.danielthorpemusic.com
As Frank Gough is included in the mark, it's likely to be after 1916 as the Chester assay mark submission suggests. This may help to narrow the possibilities if any discerning features are visible in the date letter cartouche.
A little more color on Frank Gough, who's definitely the less well known of the two. Francis Joseph Gough (1865-1922) lived all of his life in the Manchester area. As the mark makes clear he was trained as a silversmith and appears in the 1881 census as an apprentice. In the other censuses during his lifetime he is listed as a silversmith (and sometimes goldsmith as well), while in area directories from the 1895-1909 he appears as a tobacconist. The 1911 census further specifies pipe mounter as the industry/service to which he was connected, suggesting that this was his primary occupation, at least at that time. Each census lists Gough as a Worker (vs. Employer or Own Account) which indicates to me that he probably worked for Carrington most if not all of his career. In 1881 he was living with his mother and siblings on Conran Street in northern Manchester. Sometime later, probably after his first marriage, Gough moved a few blocks away to 30 Rochdale Road in Blackley. There he stayed for over twenty years before moving again in about 1910, this time to 61 Newport Road in Chorlton-cum-Hardy in south Manchester. By the time of his death a decade later Gough had moved a short distance away to 87 Newport Road.

Gough was married twice, first to Alice Mary Collinson in 1884; they had one child, a son named Francis who was born in 1889 and died relatively young in 1908. Alice died in 1898. A few years later, in 1904, Gough married a woman named Lilian Mary McKay; they had one daughter named Lilian who was born in 1905 and lived until 1985. By the time of his wife Lilian's death in 1921 Gough is listed as retired. All of which is to say that a date mark of anywhere from about 1890 to 1920 is conceivable as far as Gough's apparent period of activity is concerned.
Thanks for the replies.

What is so interesting and amazing to me about all this is that it’s entirely possible my Great or Great Great Grandparents/associated family could have used this tobacconist. They lived very local to where it was. The idea that this tangible piece of briar and silver could have been in the shop when they were there is wonderful to me.