Silver-plated bell by goldsmith François Levrat, mid-19th century

Silver-plated metal service bell bearing the hallmark of the silversmith François Levrat, produced between 1815 and 1827.
Note some dents.
Period mid-19th century.
Dimensions: H 19 x Diam. 25.8 cm

In 1743, a Sheffield inventor, Thomas Boulsover (1706-1788), developed a process for plating silver on copper by hot rolling. Above all, he discovered that the plated metals could be shaped and stamped together in this way. Others after Boulsover improved his invention and an entire industry was established in Sheffield which flourished until the development of electroplating by cousins George Richards Elkington and Henry, of Birmingham, in the late 1830s. This process revolutionized the cost of production and made it possible to manufacture larger pieces of goldwork. Levrat was one of the first to have produced in France objects in metal plated with silver, gold and platinum whose quality equaled that of the Sheffield workshops. In 1819, the excellence of his achievements was praised by Louis XVIII who presented him with a silver medal in recognition of the "efforts crowned with complete success by means of which this distinguished manufacturer has succeeded in wresting this branch of industry from the English, by bringing it to the last degree of perfection." (Journal de Lyon et du département du Rhône, 8 November 1819, no. 37).

In 1809, François Levrat is mentioned for the first time, in partnership with Charpentier. In 1810, he joined forces with Papinaud and established himself at 66 rue de Popincourt, in Paris. In 1811, they won the grand prize (1,500 francs) awarded by the Société d’Encouragement pour l’Industrie Française for the production of a silver-plated country kitchen. Levrat won the silver medal for plated goldwork at the Exposition des Produits de l’Industrie in 1819 and again at the 1823 Exposition. Buoyed by his success, he set up a warehouse in Lyon with Mr. Parrayon, a novelty dealer, on Place de l’Herbier. The local press echoed the prestige of his articles "which are hallmarked and checked, present no danger, and are noticed on the tables of the main houses of the Capital, as much for their solidity as for their elegance and the happy choice of shapes." (Journal de Lyon et du département du Rhône, ibid.). Before 1815, Levrat produced mainly from copper plated with silver in the fortieth, which he stamped with his initials. After 1815, he more generally used a twentieth lining and stamped in full letters. In 1827, Louis Levrat - probably his son - succeeded him in partnership with Théodore Parquin. If the pedestal table here is a unique example of the doubled furniture produced by François Levrat, Parquin produced them in greater numbers, mainly bathtubs.

Ref: 02G74B78Z0