An extremely rare Victorian antique sterling silver set of six table forks, Exeter 1851 by Henry Ellis and Son Each of Ellis Leaf pattern, initialled with a G in gothic script to the front. Fully marked to the reverse. (6) Length – 21 cm / 8.25 inches Weight - 425 grams / 13.66 ozt This peculiar pattern is only found from the firm of Henry Ellis and Son, predominantly on caddy spoons therefore its occurrence on other flatware is particularly rare. A caddy spoon is known with a registered design mark for 10th April 1850 (hallmarked Exeter 1849). Ellis was the inventor of the safety brooch which are also stamped that the silver was from the Combe Martin mines in North Devon. It is also noted that the firm advertised that their spoons were made from the silver from Combe Martin (Story of the Caddy Spoon, 1775-2015, exhibition catalogue, page 35). The now disused mines also financed the war expenses of Edward III and Henry V. This pattern is not listed in Pickford’s ‘Silver Flatware: English, Irish, and Scottish, 1660-1980’ (1983).