Undated
STERLING BY POOLE / 440
Single straight block-letter name-and-standard line; 440 is a product number, not assigned a year.
stamped · silver · Taunton, Massachusetts, United States
Silver
Poole Silver co marks
Poole Silver co marks include stamped “STERLING / by / Poole / 990” on silver in Taunton, Massachusetts, United States.
- Active years
- 1892–1971
- Country
- United States
- City / region
- Taunton, Massachusetts
- Products
- silver-plated tableware, sterling flatware and hollowware, pewter, brass wares
- Marks
- 5
Predecessor partnership from 1892; incorporated as Poole Silver Company in 1895; acquired by Towle around 1970–1971. This end date is a company phase, not the last possible use of the brand.
What to look for
- Read the material wording alongside POOLE. STERLING BY POOLE differs from the company’s EPNS, EPCA and SILVER PLATE stamps.
- The lion-over-STERLING-BY-Poole arrangement is distinct from the plain block-letter signature. Product numbers such as 990 and 440 are separate from the maker wording.
- The circular QUADRUPLE PLATE stamp and oval EPNS stamp include TAUNTON MASS. Neither is a British assay-office hallmark.
- Bristol Silver is a Poole division name. Its plated wares should be compared with Poole’s plate marks rather than treated as sterling from the place name alone.
Marks & lettering
5 marks
Undated
E.P.C.A. / SILVER PLATE / POOLE [device] SILVER / COMPANY
Four-line plate signature with full COMPANY wording and a small device between the name words.
stamped · silver-plated base metal · Taunton, Massachusetts, United States
Undated
STERLING / by / Poole / 990
Lion emblem and vertical script-name arrangement distinguish this from the plain block signature.
stamped · silver · Taunton, Massachusetts, United States
Undated
POOLE SILVER CO. / EPNS / TAUNTON MASS. / 7412
EPNS occupies the oval centre; 7412 is separate product numbering.
stamped · silver-plated base metal · Taunton, Massachusetts, United States
Undated
QUADRUPLE PLATE / POOLE SILVER / CO. / TAUNTON MASS.
QUADRUPLE PLATE and concentric arrangement distinguish it from oval EPNS.
stamped · silver-plated base metal · Taunton, Massachusetts, United States
About Poole Silver
Poole Silver Company grew from a Taunton, Massachusetts, partnership formed by George Poole and Edward Roche in 1892. Initially known as Poole, Roche & Company, the concern became a corporation under the Poole Silver Company name in 1895. Its early business was silver-plated tableware: tea and coffee services, pitchers, trays, covered serving dishes and trophies. Plating was applied to several base metals, including nickel silver and Britannia metal. The range also included pewter, which became an important part of its interwar production.
George Poole’s family continued the business before selling it in 1946 to a group led by Sidney A. Kane. A sterling-silver department opened that year, adding solid-silver flatware and hollowware to the plated wares. The Bristol Silver division followed in 1950 for more affordable plated hollowware, and a brass division was established in 1964. Towle acquired the company around 1970–1971. Poole therefore appears on objects of different materials and price ranges. The wording STERLING, EPNS, EPCA or SILVER PLATE is an essential part of reading the mark, while adjacent pattern numbers identify products rather than automatically supplying a calendar year.
Also known as: Poole, Roche & Company · Poole & Roche · Poole Silver Co. · Sterling by Poole · Bristol Silver by Poole · Poole Silver Company
Look-alikes & how to tell them apart
Gorham
Both firms used lion imagery on some sterling wares. Gorham’s familiar device combines lion, anchor and G; compare the complete device and written Poole name rather than matching a lion alone.
F.B. Rogers Silver Company
Another Taunton maker of plated household wares. TAUNTON MASS identifies a manufacturing town shared by both firms; require the POOLE name or a matching complete company stamp.