Lot 203: An 1893 Birmingham Sterling Silver Folding Button Hook

A late Victorian folding button hook, featuring a sterling silver hook and a decorated handle. The hook is of traditional form, tapering to a terminal hook, and is hinged to fold into the handle for storage. The handle is constructed from two panels of an organic white material, possibly mother-of-pearl, featuring engraved foliate and floral motifs within oval borders, finished with a fan-shaped bolster at the pivot. The hook bears four struck hallmarks near the hinge: the maker’s mark AS, the Lion Passant for sterling silver, the anchor for the Birmingham Assay Office, and the date letter t for 1893. No further maker’s marks, signatures, or labels are visible on the item.