M.C.D.H. What was this?

lilpup · November-11-10, 07:45 PM

The two stamps aren't identical. The "1" in the top pic is lined up under the second "E" in REED but it's under the first "E" in the bottom pic - so unless they stamp the model no. separately from the name & "patented"...

**Goose** · November-11-10, 07:48 PM

so the next obvious pawn stars questions are: do you want to sell it or pawn it?? and how much do you want???

**FredGarvin** · November-11-10, 08:25 PM

Reed & Barton is a prominent silversmith manufacturer based in the city of Taunton, Massachusetts, since 1824. It is internationally acclaimed for its fine quality products, notably sterling silver and silverplate flatware. The company has produced many varieties of silver and pewter products since Henry G. Reed[1] and Charles E. Barton took over the failing pewter works of Isaac Babbitt [2] in Taunton. During the American Civil War, Reed & Barton produced a considerable quantity of weapons for Union Army soldiers and officers.

**Brock7** · November-11-10, 09:03 PM

Originally Posted by lilpup

The two stamps aren't identical. The "1" in the top pic is lined up under the second "E" in REED but it's under the first "E" in the bottom pic - so unless they stamp the model no. separately from the name & "patented"...

It does appear to me to be the case that the model no. has been stamped separately - notice how the number is not parallel to the other two lines in the bottom picture. In fact, it looks to me that all three lines are stamped separately.

The line of the third digit on the top picture goes too high on the left side and doesn't connect with the bit at the top on the right side, it looks to me like a worn or weakly struck version of the same style of six as in the bottom picture rather than any sort of three.

**Wingnatic** · November-12-10, 07:51 AM

Does it have any of these marks on it ?

http://www.silvercollection.it/reedbartondate.html

That could help narrow it down to pre-1928

Or email the link to this thread and I bet this guy could shed some light
http://sonic.net/~jayreed/RRsilverware.html

**ddmj6** · November-12-10, 10:10 AM

WOW, what a great group of folks on Detroityes! I can't thank all of you enough for helping to ID this item.I am new at this, so I am not sure what I am doing! I do believe that it is a piece from Michigan Central Dining Hall as suggested in one of the posts. I also think that the number on the bottom may be 1560 vs 1530 as also mentioned.Seeing that my wife and I have been avid collectors for over 45 years and our house is overloaded, I will put the item on eBAY and let it go to a home that would appreciate it! My eBAY seller user id is ddmj6.Half the fun of collecting is tracking down the history of an item! Thanks again for all your help! Dick

**ddmj6** · November-12-10, 10:21 AM

WOW, what a great group of folks on Detroityes! I can't thank all of you enough for helping to ID this item.I am new at this, so I am not sure what I am doing! I do believe that it is a piece from Michigan Central Dining Hall as suggested in one of the posts. I also think that the number on the bottom may be 1560 vs 1530 as also mentioned.Seeing that my wife and I have been avid collectors for over 45 years and our house is overloaded, I will put the item on eBAY and let it go to a home that would appreciate it! My eBAY seller user id is ddmj6.Half the fun of collecting is tracking down the history of an item! Thanks again for all your help! Dick

Originally Posted by jcole

Here's a link to Reed and Barton's website. Perhaps you could mail them the photo and see if they can give you any type of lead?
https://www.reedandbarton.com/site/default.aspx

A little history from their website:

**ddmj6** · November-12-10, 10:22 AM

WOW, what a great group of folks on Detroityes! I can't thank all of you enough for helping to ID this item.I am new at this, so I am not sure what I am doing! I do believe that it is a piece from Michigan Central Dining Hall as suggested in one of the posts. I also think that the number on the bottom may be 1560 vs 1530 as also mentioned.Seeing that my wife and I have been avid collectors for over 45 years and our house is overloaded, I will put the item on eBAY and let it go to a home that would appreciate it! My eBAY seller user id is ddmj6.Half the fun of collecting is tracking down the history of an item! Thanks again for all your help! Dick

Originally Posted by Stosh

It's not a hotel.

If anything, it would be from the dining car onboard the train, or perhaps the dining hall in the train station?

**ddmj6** · November-12-10, 10:25 AM

WOW, what a great group of folks on Detroityes! I can't thank all of you enough for helping to ID this item.I am new at this, so I am not sure what I am doing! I do believe that it is a piece from Michigan Central Dining Hall as suggested in one of the posts. I also think that the number on the bottom may be 1560 vs 1530 as also mentioned.Seeing that my wife and I have been avid collectors for over 45 years and our house is overloaded, I will put the item on eBAY and let it go to a home that would appreciate it! My eBAY seller user id is ddmj6.Half the fun of collecting is tracking down the history of an item! Thanks again for all your help! Dick

Originally Posted by EastsideAl

I'm a bit more interested in the item itself, now that we've seen more of it. What is that spout assembly under the lid about? That would seem to make it unlikely that the item was designed as a beer stein or tankard. Perhaps some sort of decanter or pitcher.

From what I can tell of Reed and Barton markings, the plain marking on the bottom makes it very likely that the item was made before 1928. R&B started using year markings then. It very well may be something more utilitarian than a presentation piece. In the 1800s and into the 1900s R&B made a lot of service ware for hospitals, railroads, etc., in addition to their higher-end products.

**ddmj6** · November-12-10, 10:28 AM

WOW, what a great group of folks on Detroityes! I can't thank all of you enough for helping to ID this item.I am new at this, so I am not sure what I am doing! I do believe that it is a piece from Michigan Central Dining Hall as suggested in one of the posts. I also think that the number on the bottom may be 1560 vs 1530 as also mentioned.Seeing that my wife and I have been avid collectors for over 45 years and our house is overloaded, I will put the item on eBAY and let it go to a home that would appreciate it! My eBAY seller user id is ddmj6.Half the fun of collecting is tracking down the history of an item! Thanks again for all your help! Dick

Originally Posted by Brock7

I found it listed in the 1887 Polk directory, but not in the 1885 or 1895 editions.

**ddmj6** · November-12-10, 10:30 AM

WOW, what a great group of folks on Detroityes! I can't thank all of you enough for helping to ID this item.I am new at this, so I am not sure what I am doing! I do believe that it is a piece from Michigan Central Dining Hall as suggested in one of the posts. I also think that the number on the bottom may be 1560 vs 1530 as also mentioned.Seeing that my wife and I have been avid collectors for over 45 years and our house is overloaded, I will put the item on eBAY and let it go to a home that would appreciate it! My eBAY seller user id is ddmj6.Half the fun of collecting is tracking down the history of an item! Thanks again for all your help! Dick

Originally Posted by Goose

so the next obvious pawn stars questions are: do you want to sell it or pawn it?? and how much do you want???

**Wingnatic** · November-12-10, 10:38 AM

My second link above is a guy who looks like he knows a thing or two about railroad dining stuff and has a handful of Reed & Barton stuff . I have to agree with Eastside Al , I think it pre-dates 1928

**Ragtoplover59** · November-12-10, 10:45 AM

Originally Posted by ddmj6

WOW, what a great group of folks on Detroityes! I can't thank all of you enough for helping to ID this item.

Well you sure tried!

when you want to use the quote function, be sure to clean up anything that don't need to be posted again.

These are good people, and they can turn on you in a heartbeat if you fill the page up with the same post all day! LOL

Hang in there ddmj6, it will get much easier to understand how all this works.......if you come back more often!

**gazhekwe** · November-12-10, 11:08 AM

I get the dates between 1893 and 1913, or maybe between 185- and 1893 depending on which building on Third had the Dining Hall. The City Directory link puts it in the 1880s.

**Brock7** · November-13-10, 08:24 AM

According to buildingsofdetroit the second MCRR depot that existed at the foot of 3rd was in full operation as the main Detroit depot from 1884 to 1913. This is the building that contained the dining hall according to the description posted by Stosh and the listings in the directories.

The first depot at 3rd went into use in May of 1848, I don't know if it was razed to allow for building of the second depot. It was the freight depot that was burned in "The Great Railroad Conspiracy", which I suppose was a different building from the passenger depot.

I was mistaken about the dining hall not being listed in the 1895 directory, I'd searched manually the first time, but trying OCR search did turn it up in both the regular listings and the street guide at the back. Still didn't find it in the '85 directory though.

In the 1875 directory there are several listings of men who boarded at Michigan Central Dining Rooms, not all of whom were employed there. I suppose these were at the first 3rd st. passenger depot.

In the 1869 and 1870 directories there are listings for the Central Railroad Hotel opposite the MCRR depot at no.26 Third st., on the ne corner of Front and Third. In 1875 and 1885 the same location with the same proprietor is listed simply as the Central Hotel.

A map for reference.

**EastsideAl** · November-15-10, 05:02 AM

The 1893 date that gazhekwe cites above is actually the opening date of the nearby Union Station on Fort St. at Third. The two stations often seem to be confused in histories of the city because they were very close to one another, were somewhat similar in appearance, and with Union Station remaining in use into the '70s, and standing until 1974, it is the train station in that area that a lot of living Detroiters remember.

**Brock7** · November-16-10, 08:00 AM

Here's an interesting view of the yard behind the 2nd depot on 3rd, including the river and Windsor across the way.
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/imag...5DEB02E314.TIF

**Jimaz** · November-17-10, 01:16 PM

Originally Posted by EastsideAl

I'm a bit more interested in the item itself, now that we've seen more of it. What is that spout assembly under the lid about?

That had me stumped too until I noticed a similar design on a bottle of liquid laundry detergent. It's an ingenious design for a dripless spout. Any drips are channeled back into the container after it's set back down. This would be a welcomed feature on such a syrup pitcher! Here's a similar design for an oil bottle: