Hello
I am trying to find some dates for the use of “F.F.L.” for Frank F London of Queen Street Brighton. I want to date this Masonic jewel but it has the dreaded o/O date letter. Any help would be great.
Arthur
Not a sponsor’s mark I have seen before so I can’t give a good answer. I have found him in telephone directories from 1920 to 1938, but he doesn’t have an entry in the 1939 directory - so not conclusive!
Phil
A bit more information:
Frank Fincher London was born in 1870. In the 1911 census he is listed as a Watchmaker & Optician at 55 London Road, Brighton. In the 1920 phone directory he is a Watchmaker and Masonic Manufacturer, also at 55 London Road. I had another look in the phone directories and have now found him in 1939 when he is listed as a Masonic Outfitter at 34 Queens Road, Brighton with a private address in Portslade, a suburb of Brighton. In 1944 he is still listed as a Masonic Outfitter but at what may be a private address in Gloucester Road, Brighton. In 1946 he is a Masonic Manufacturer, but at what is definitely a private address.
Putting the above clues together my feeling is that 1938 is more likely than 1913 as the date of this masonic jewel.
And one last piece of data: after an exhaustive search I came up with a masonic jewel for sale on Ebay with the same sponsor’s mark and a Birmingham hallmark of 1930.
Phil
Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.