Figural Bull & Bear Quadruple Plate Inkstand

Description

• Subject / Motif: A figural confrontation between a standing bear and a charging bull, capturing the classic 19th-century symbolic clash of market forces.
• Base & Pen Rests: The rectangular base features a scalloped egg-and-dart/petal border along the rim and includes integrated scrolled front rests designed to cradle dip pens.
• Well Receiver: The right side of the base incorporates four scroll-form retaining brackets to securely hold the inkwell.
• Inkwell & Lid: A heavy, square pressed clear glass inkwell base with fluted chamfers. It is fitted with a lift-off lid embossed with a central blooming floral rosette encircled by a zigzag geometric band.
• Material & Construction: Silver electroplate on white metal base (quadruple plate), paired with pressed pattern glass.

Maker & Manufacturer History

• Maker: Benjamin J. Mayo (B. J. Mayo), a prominent jeweler, silversmith, and electroplater active in Newark, New Jersey.
• Location: The stamped address “887 Broad Street, Newark, N.J.” corresponds to the firm’s prime retail and manufacturing storefront on Newark’s central commercial corridor.
• Marking Breakdown:
  • B. J. MAYO: The maker/retailer name.
  • 887 BROAD STREET NEWARK, N.J.: The shop’s physical address.
  • QUADRUPLE PLATE: Designates a high-grade electroplating standard (indicating four layers of pure silver plating over base Britannia/white metal).

Manufacturing Period & Historical Context

• Estimated Date: Circa 1875–1895 (Gilded Age).
• Context: Benjamin J. Mayo began business around 1860 and occupied the 887 Broad Street address primarily from the 1870s through the late 1890s. Wall Street bull-and-bear allegorical desk ware gained popularity among financiers, brokers, and businessmen during the late 19th-century expansion of the American securities markets.