STERLING SILVER TONGUE SPATULA DATED 1824
MADE BY ROBERT RUTLAND
This silver tongue depressor (spatula) measures 5 1/2 inches in length. It is marked with five stamps : the city mark of an uncrowned leopard, used beginning in London in 1822; the silver standard mark of sterling .925; the date mark of 1824; the duty mark of King George IV; and the maker mark of “RR”. According to records of silversmiths working in London, Robert Rutland was born in the St. Marylebone area of London in 1785. His death was recorded in the London Death and Burials Index for St. Marylebone on 24 February, 1828, aged 42 years. At various trials at the Old Bailey, in 1808, 1813, and again in January 1824, Rutland gives his address at 13, New Lisle Street, Leicester Square. According to Holden’s Annual London and Country Directory of the United Kingdoms & Wales for the year 1811, Rutland was working as a silversmith and spoonmaker at 13, New Lisle Street, Leicester Square. During the 1808 trial, Rutland describes himself by stating: “I was taken dangerously ill.” Given his somewhat early death at the age of 42, he may have been suffering from a long term illness.