Foliate and scrollwork engraved silver square scent bottle by S.Mordan

Foliate and scrollwork engraved silver square scent bottle, with a hinged top and glass stopper. Full hallmarked for silver, London 1887, maker’s mark “SM” for Sampson Mordan. Sampson Mordan (1790 – 9 April 1843) was a British silversmith and co-inventor of the first patented mechanical pencil. In his youth, he was apprenticed to inventor and blacksmith Joseph Bramah, who patented the first elastic ink reservoir for a fountain pen. In 1822, Mordan and his co-inventor John Isaac Hawkins filed the first British patent for a metal pencil with an internal mechanism to push the lead shaft forward during use, as an improvement on less complex mechanical pencils that simply tightened the pencil lead to hold it in a single position. Mordan purchased Hawkins and entered into a business partnership with Gabriel Riddle, an established stationer. From 1823 to 1837, they manufactured and sold silver mechanical pencils under the brand name “SMGR.” After the Riddle partnership dissolved, Mordan continued to sell his silver pencils as “S. Mordan & Co.” He also added many other types of silver and gold items to his product line. Mordan often crafted his pencils in whimsical “figural” shapes resembling animals, Egyptian mummies, or other objects; like his other silver and goldwork, these pencils are now highly collectible. Upon Mordan’s death in 1843, his sons Sampson (junior) and Augustus inherited the company. “S. Mordan & Co.” continued to produce silverware and brass postal scales until 1941, when their factory was destroyed by bombs during the London Blitz.