Sterling Butter Knife, England 1862

This is a wonderful butter knife and very old. The detail of the well preserved hallmarks, last picture, tell us it was done by "GA" for Chawner & Co (George William Adams, 1840-1882, London), the Monarch's Head duty mark (Queen Victoria), the Lion Passant sterling Silver mark and the Leopard's Head London town mark, the date letter "g" for 1862.
The following data was taken from the very useful web page http://www.silvercollection.it/ENGLACHAWNER.html. “The business was founded in 1815 by William Chawner II who was apprenticed to William Fearn in 1797. Free in in 1804 he entered his first mark as spoonmaker in 1808 in partnership with William Eley and William Fearn. The partnership was dissolved c. 1814 and William Chawner II entered his first mark alone in 1815. After his death (1834) the business was continued by his widow Mary (née Burwash). Later, Mary Chawner took into partnership (1840) her son-in-law George William Adams (husband of her daughter Mary Ann), who, after her retirement (or death) managed the business as Chawner & Co and remained sole partner until 1883. In this year Chawner & Co was sold to Holland, Aldwinkle & Slater (1883-1922, when the firm was absorbed by Francis Higgins & Son Ltd). Chawner was the most important manufacturer of spoons and forks in London and participated to the 1851 Great Exhibition and to the 1862 International Exhibition. Their pattern book (c.1875) is the reference for naming many of the patterns manufactured in the Victorian era. Chawner & Co were supplier of important retail houses as Hunt & Roskell, R.& S. Garrard & Co, Elkington & Co (in most cases they overstruck the pieces with their own mark).”
Was this piece done for the international exihibition? The fact is that the way it is engraved on the way (second picture) is rare for an English knife, the pattern looks older like a medieval draw. If you makes zoom you will be able to distinguish the small details likes small stripes and dots inside the garlands. It is 19 cm long and about 30 g heavy. The sensation that I feel with it in my hand it is not translated to the pictures. You know the whole province of Córdoba had in 1869, 210.508 habitants and in 1870 the train arrived to the city.