Brass Double Inkstand – Registered Design

Description

• The Base & Stand: A rectangular brass standish featuring an openwork pierced gallery along the front rim with scrolling foliate and shell motifs, complemented by matching scrolling handles on either end and raised on four bracket feet.
• The Inkwells: Two matching spherical, cage-work inkwells featuring an open-work lattice design. Each has a hinged domed lid and a tiered finial knob, but the internal inserts are missing.
• The Central Pen Wipe: Positioned centrally between the inkwells is a square-based pedestal fitted with a conical holder containing a dark-bristled brush explicitly used as a pen wipe to clean steel nibs.
• Hallmarks and Markings: The underside is stamped with William Tonks & Son’s trademark—a sunburst star emblem above W. T & S—alongside the British statutory design registration number Rd. 94034.

Background Information on William Tonks & Son

William Tonks & Son was a premier manufacturer of architectural brassware, metal furnishings, and luxury desk accessories based in Birmingham, England. Operating through the 19th and early 20th centuries, the firm was celebrated for high-quality metal casting, stamping, and finishing, regularly registering their decorative domestic designs with the British Patent Office.

When Was This Made?

The design registration number 94034 dates the official registration of this pattern to 1888, placing the manufacture of this piece in the late Victorian era (circa late 1880s to 1890s).