Victorian Silver Plated Christofle Chocolate Pot with Wooden Handle (and a Unique Eastern Canadian Provenance!)

FOR SALE ☞ Silver Plated Chocolate Pot with Wooden Handle by Christofle

DESCRIPTION ☞ Victorian Silver plated chocolate pot with feet, lid and dark wooden handle. Stamped on the bottom with the oval CC balance scale Christofle markings as well as 1 9 in separate boxes indicating the amount of silver used in production. More photos and info are available upon request.

ADDITIONAL INFO ☞ A handwritten note found inside the piece reads "From 580 Dundas St. in London, Ontario. Probably from Gran Harley's (ie) Cronyn side of the family. Should be appraised for historical value."

The original 580 Dundas Street was built by Rev. Benjamin Cronyn about 1846, and demolished in 1968.

"Benjamin Cronyn was the first bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Huron. Cronyn was born in Kilkenny, Ireland and educated at Trinity College, Dublin. A member of the prominent Anglo-Irish Protestant Ascendancy Cronyn family, and a relative of Robert Whitehead, he emigrated to Canada in 1832. He founded Huron University College." - from Wikipedia.

"Cronyn built his house after 1845, using stone from the Thames River and black walnut and pine for the woodwork. The wall stone was cut into smooth blocks and the windows were fitted with heavy walnut shutters. The house had two large chimneys and twelve fireplaces. Its finished cellar served as sleeping quarters for male servants, and as an area for candle-making and meat-curing."

"The Pines was sold in 1853 to J. B. Strathy, the Customs Collector, and in 1884 to Charles Murray, manager of the Federal Bank of London. In 1887, the property was bought by John Labatt (Heir to Labatt Brewing Co.), who gave it to his daughter Amelia in 1892, on her marriage to Hume Cronyn. She renamed the house Woodfield. The house later passed to her daughter, Katherine Harley, who lived there until 1967.

"It was demolished the following year." - from londonpubliclibrary.ca with additional info about John Labatt from Wikipedia.

Katherine Harley was born to a prominent family. Her father was politician Hume Blake Cronyn (1864-1933), Member of Parliament for London, Ontario (term 1917-1921). Hume Blake Cronyn was a grandson of both Benjamin Cronyn, first bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Huron (1802-1871) and politician William Hume Blake (1809-1870), first Chancellor of Upper Canada.

Harley's mother was Frances Amelia Labatt, heiress of the Labatt Brewing Company. Labatt remains the largest brewing company of Canada. Frances' father was businessman John Labatt (1838-1915), and her grandfather was company founder John Kinder Labatt (1803-1866). The Labatts were a prominent Irish-Canadian family, claiming descent from a French Huguenot family which settled in Ireland.

Katherine's brother was Canadian actor Hume Cronyn, married to the famous Jessica Tandy.

It is **possible**, but not confirmed, that this silver plated Christofle chocolate pot belonged to Katherine Harley, and was passed down to her along with the house which originally belonged to her great grandfather Reverend Benjamin Cronyn. We cannot confirm this information but we include it in the listing as pertinent to this item.

DIMENSIONS ☞ Approx 7.5" tall and 8.5" wide (including handle)

CONDITION ☞ Very good condition -- no major wear, scratches, dings or dents that we noticed. Wooden handle is sturdy, no cracks or major wear on that either. There is some slight tarnishing from age (we do not clean silver pieces, they are sold in our shop just as they come to us) Please see photos. Color may differ slightly in real life from how it appears on your screen due to varying monitor settings.

ABOUT US ☞ Front Street Antiques is located in downtown historic Kaslo, British Columbia, Canada. We are a husband and wife team on the hunt for interesting items that inspire nostalgia and curiosity. We are antique enthusiasts and we do our very best to describe any imperfections and quirks, as well as provide a general background on the item; however, we are not yet experts on every item in our store. Have a question about this item or want to see more photos? Send us a message & we’ll get back to you ASAP!

PLEASE NOTE ☞ This item requires insurance with shipping!! Item will be carefully packaged up and shipped within 3 business days of sale, often sooner. We combine shipping on multiple items -- please send us a message prior to purchase to give us a heads up & we will be happy to refund the difference upon shipping!

All our listings are considered collectible, retro/vintage (25+ years) or antique (100+ years) and are rarely brand new. The majority of our stock comes from auctions and private collections or estates. Items for sale may display some age related wear and/or minor flaws consistent with the date of manufacture. Photos are included as part of the description. Due to the age and nature of our stock, all items are sold "as is" and final sale unless damaged in transit/with insurance.

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