Silver maker
The Stieff Company marks
Stieff succeeded the Baltimore Sterling Silver Company, founded in 1892, and became known for Baltimore repoussé flatware and holloware.
- Active
- 1892–1990 (as Stieff, then Kirk Stieff)
- Based in
- Baltimore, Maryland, United States
- Marks listed
- 3
- Typical pieces
- repoussé holloware, flatware
The marks, by date
Each mark’s wording is written out as a transcription: the words and line breaks, not a picture of the mark. Where a source describes a mark instead of quoting it, the description is shown in italics.
Holloware date marks: circled numbers 1–16 for 1901–1916, small symbols 1917–1935, letters A–Z for 1936–1958, then numbers 1–22 for 1959–1980.
History
In 1979 it bought the Kirk firm, creating the Kirk Stieff Company. Kirk Stieff was bought by Brown-Forman in 1990.
Dating clues
- Stieff dated holloware from 1901; flatware is not date coded (925-1000).
- 925-1000 notes it is unknown whether date marking continued after the 1979 Kirk merger.
Other names on the marks
Baltimore Sterling Silver Co.; Kirk Stieff Co.
Where sources disagree: Only 925-1000 gives the Stieff founding history (Baltimore Sterling Silver Co. 1892, Stieff name c.1904) and it starts the date marks in 1901, before the name date it gives. silvercollection.it confirms only the 1979 Kirk purchase and the 1990 Brown-Forman sale.
Sources
Marks help identify a maker and a date range, but they can’t prove a piece is genuine. Reproductions and later reissues can carry old marks. This entry isn’t an appraisal.