In 1842 the British Government established the British Registry Mark
The purpose of the mark was to show that the design or shape had been registered at the Patent Office in London and was thereby protected from piracy by other manufacturers for a period of three years. This appears as a diamond shaped mark and gives the EARLIEST possible date of manufacturer and appears on Victorian ceramics from 1842 to 1883. After 1883 the Registry Number (Rd. No.) is used.
The British Registry Number is the equivalent to our Patent Number and applies to Designs, Trade Marks, Copyrights and Patents. A complete set of printed specifications of patents from 1617 is available in the UK Patent Office Library and since 1854 the office has published a weekly Journal of Patents. The Patent Office also publishes a weekly Trade Marks Journal in which all newly accepted marks are reproduced.
The diamond can be found either printed or impressed. As a general rule the printed marks related to the decoration on the piece, whereas the impressed marks generally related to the shape of the object.
Table 1 was in use between the years 1842 and 1867.
Table 2 was in use between the years 1868 and 1883
From 1884 a numerical identification was attributed to new patent models.
Unlike silver items, there is no date letter on silver plate allowing us to recognize the date of its manufacture.
For silver plate items the patent's date of registered models may be useful for an approximate dating.
The 'lozenge' mark used between 1842 and 1883 to certify the patent of the models registered by the UK Patent Office allows the identification of day, month and year of their registration.
The purpose of the mark was to show that the design or shape had been registered at the Patent Office in London and was thereby protected from piracy by other manufacturers for a period of three years. This appears as a diamond shaped mark and gives the EARLIEST possible date of manufacturer and appears on Victorian ceramics from 1842 to 1883. After 1883 the Registry Number (Rd. No.) is used.
The British Registry Number is the equivalent to our Patent Number and applies to Designs, Trade Marks, Copyrights and Patents. A complete set of printed specifications of patents from 1617 is available in the UK Patent Office Library and since 1854 the office has published a weekly Journal of Patents. The Patent Office also publishes a weekly Trade Marks Journal in which all newly accepted marks are reproduced.
The diamond can be found either printed or impressed. As a general rule the printed marks related to the decoration on the piece, whereas the impressed marks generally related to the shape of the object.
Table 1 was in use between the years 1842 and 1867.
Table 2 was in use between the years 1868 and 1883
From 1884 a numerical identification was attributed to new patent models.
Unlike silver items, there is no date letter on silver plate allowing us to recognize the date of its manufacture.
For silver plate items the patent's date of registered models may be useful for an approximate dating.
The 'lozenge' mark used between 1842 and 1883 to certify the patent of the models registered by the UK Patent Office allows the identification of day, month and year of their registration.
Registry Mark Used Between Registry Mark Used Between
1842 – 1867 1868 - 1883
Table 1 & Class
|
i |
Metal |
| ii | Wood |
| iii | Glass |
| iV | Ceramics |
| V | Paper Hangings |
| Vi | Carpets |
| Vii | Printed Shawls |
| Vlll |
Other Shawls |
| lX | Yarn |
| X | Printed Textiles |
| Xl | Furniture |
| Xll | Other Textiles |
| Xlll | Damasks |
| Xllll |
Lace |
Table 1 Year
| A | 1845 |
| B | 1858 |
| C | 1844 |
| D | 1852 |
| E | 1855 |
| F | 1847 |
| G | 1853 |
| H | 1843 |
| I | 1846 |
| J | 1854 |
| K | 1857 |
| L | 1856 |
| M | 1859 |
| N | 1864 |
| O | 1862 |
| P | 1851 |
| Q | 1866 |
| R | 1861 |
| S | 1849 |
| T | 1867 |
| U |
1848 |
| V |
1850 |
| W |
1865 |
| X |
1842 |
| Y |
1853 |
| Z |
1860 |
Table 2 Year
| A | 1871 |
| C | 1870 |
| D | 1878 |
| E | 1881 |
| F | 1873 |
| H | 1869 |
| I | 1872 |
| J | 1880 |
| K | 1883 |
| L | 1882 |
| P | 1877 |
| S | 1875 |
| U | 1874 |
| V | 1876 |
| X | 1868 |
| Y | 1879 |
Table 1&2 Month
| A | December |
| B | October |
| C or O | January |
| D | September |
| E | May |
| G | February |
| H | April |
| I | July |
| K |
November and 1860 December |
| M | June |
| R |
August and 1867 1 to 19 September |
| W | March |
In 1884 the "Diamond" code was dropped and items were simply stamped with the registered number.
From 1884 a numerical identification was attributed to new patent models. The table below reports the first serial number attributed from 1884
Table of Registration Numbers found on Wares from 1884 Number as of Jan 1 of Year
From 1884 a numerical identification was attributed to new patent models. The table below reports the first serial number attributed from 1884
Table of Registration Numbers found on Wares from 1884 Number as of Jan 1 of Year
| Registration Number |
Issue Date |
| 000001 | 1884 |
| 019754 | 1885 |
| 040480 | 1886 |
| 064520 | 1887 |
| 090483 | 1888 |
| 116648 | 1889 |
| 141273 | 1890 |
| 163767 | 1891 |
| 185713 | 1892 |
| 205240 | 1893 |
| 224720 | 1894 |
| 246975 | 1895 |
| 268392 | 1896 |
| 291241 | 1897 |
| 311658 | 1898 |
| 331707 | 1899 |
| 351202 | 1900 |
| 368154 | 1901 |
| 385180 | 1902 |
| 403200 | 1903 |
| 424400 | 1904 |
| 447800 | 1905 |
| 471860 | 1906 |
| 493900 | 1907 |
| 518640 | 1908 |
| 535170 | 1909 |
| 552000 | 1910 |
| 574817 | 1911 |
| 594195 | 1912 |
| 612431 | 1913 |
| 630100 | 1914 |
| 644935 | 1915 |
| 653521 | 1916 |
| 658988 | 1917 |
| 662872 | 1918 |
| 673750 | 1920 |
| 680147 | 1921 |
| 687144 | 1922 |
| 694999 | 1923 |
| 702671 | 1924 |
| 710165 | 1925 |
| 718057 | 1926 |
| 726330 | 1927 |
| 734370 | 1928 |
| 742725 | 1929 |
| 751160 | 1930 |
| 760583 | 1931 |
| 769670 | 1932 |
| 779292 | 1933 |
| 789019 | 1934 |
| 799097 | 1935 |
| 808794 | 1936 |
| 817293 | 1937 |
| 825231 | 1938 |
| 832610 | 1939 |
| 837520 | 1940 |
| 838500 | 1941 |
| 839230 | 1942 |
| 839980 | 1943 |
| 841040 | 1944 |
| 842670 | 1945 |
| 845550 | 1946 |
| 849730 | 1947 |
| 853260 | 1948 |
| 856999 | 1949 |
| 869854 | 1950 |
| 863970 | 1951 |
| 866280 | 1952 |
| 869300 | 1953 |
| 872531 | 1954 |
| 876067 | 1955 |
| 879282 | 1956 |
| 882949 | 1957 |
| 887079 | 1958 |
| 891665 | 1959 |
| 895000 | 1960 |
| 899914 | 1961 |
| 904638 | 1962 |
| 909364 | 1963 |
| 914536 | 1964 |
| 919607 | 1965 |
| 924510 | 1966 |
| 929335 | 1967 |
| 934515 | 1968 |
| 939875 | 1969 |
| 944932 | 1970 |
| 950046 | 1971 |
| 955342 | 1972 |
| 960708 | 1973 |
| 965185 | 1974 |
| 969249 | 1975 |
| 973838 | 1976 |
| 978426 | 1977 |
| 982815 | 1978 |
| 987910 | 1979 |
| 993012 | 1980 |
| 998302 | 1981 |
| 1004456 | 1982 |
| 1010583 | 1983 |
| 1017131 | 1984 |
| 1024174 | 1985 |
| 1031358 | 1986 |
| 1039055 | 1987 |
| 1047478 | 1988 |
| 1056076 | 1989 |
| 1061406 (Last No.) | July 1989 |
| 2000000 | August 1989 |
| 2003720 | 1990 |
| 2012047 | 1991 |
| 2019933 | 1992 |
| 2028110 | 1993 |
| 2036116 | 1994 |
| 2044229 | 1995 |
| 2053113 | 1996 |
| 2062102 | 1997 |
| 2051420 | 1998 |
| 2080159 | 1999 |
| 2089190 | 2000 |
| 2106868 (Last No) | December 2001 |
| 3000001 | December 2001 |
| 3000396 | 2002 |
| 3009769 | 2003 |
| 3015708 | 2004 |
| 3019908 | 2005 |
| 2006 |
|
| 2007 | |
| 2008 | |
| 2009 | |
| 2010 | |
| 2011 | |
| 2012 | |
| 2013 | |
| 2014 | |
| 2015 |
Example
This 'Bee case' patent is dated 27 June 1872
day 27 (upper corner)
month June (lower corner M)
year 1872 (right corner I)
month June (lower corner M)
year 1872 (right corner I)
This patent shows the marks of a wine jug which patent can be dated to October 28, 1875, it is hallmarked for 1878, therefore within the protected period for the patent. Even if the patent was long expired, the registration number was often stamped in.
This shows the patent No. 5518 for a clever mechanism, whereby the moving of the handle causes the lid to open or close is found on two nearly identical jam jars, one marked for London 1898, by Heath & Middleton, the other marked Birmingham 1929 by Mappin and Webb
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If you would like to reprint, or quote all or part of this article, please send your request by e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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