{"product_id":"victorian-epns-inkwell-sheffield-silver-plate-cobalt-blue-glass-c-1880s-1900s","title":"Victorian EPNS Inkwell — Sheffield Silver Plate \u0026 Cobalt Blue Glass, c.1880s–1900s","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThere is a particular blue that belongs to the Victorian writing desk. Not sky, not sea — deeper than both. The blue of the glass liner inside this inkwell is exactly that colour. It has not faded in a hundred and twenty years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe outer is electroplated nickel silver, made in Sheffield — stamped EPNSAI on the base, which places it firmly in the Victorian or Edwardian tradition of Sheffield silverware. The form is a broad flared foot rising to a narrowed neck, simple and well-proportioned. The cobalt glass liner lifts out completely, sitting separately inside the metal outer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe silver plate has tarnished to a warm bronze-gold with age, and there is surface marking consistent with a long life on a well-used desk. This is not a pristine object. It is an honest one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eIt would sit well beside books, on a writing desk, or as a small vessel for a single stem.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr class=\"border-border-200 border-t-0.5 my-3 mx-1.5\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDETAILS\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eDimensions: approx. 4 cm tall × 3.5 cm diameter across the top Maker's mark: EPNSAI \/ Sheffield, stamped to base Material: Electroplated nickel silver, cobalt blue glass liner Origin: Sheffield, England, c.1880s–1900s Condition: Good vintage condition. Significant tarnishing and surface scratching to the silver plate consistent with age. Cobalt glass liner intact, no chips or cracks. Liner removes completely.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr class=\"border-border-200 border-t-0.5 my-3 mx-1.5\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTHE STORY\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eSomeone sat at a desk with this beside them. Dipped a pen. Wrote something that mattered, or something that didn't, or something they were not sure about until the words were down on the page.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe inkwell didn't mind either way.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eIt was made in Sheffield, in the era when Sheffield meant something — when the mark stamped into the base was a guarantee of craft and material. EPNSAI. Electroplated nickel silver. Made to last, and it has.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe blue inside is cobalt. It was chosen, once, by someone who understood that even a working object could hold something worth looking at.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe desk is gone. The ink is long dry. The blue remains.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eMoss \u0026amp; Maye\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Moss \u0026 Maye","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57502316986750,"sku":null,"price":28.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0995\/3830\/5406\/files\/49AA0082-AEB2-465F-9E4E-7E5703C017CE.jpg?v=1780425070","url":"https:\/\/mossandmaye.com\/products\/victorian-epns-inkwell-sheffield-silver-plate-cobalt-blue-glass-c-1880s-1900s","provider":"Moss \u0026 Maye","version":"1.0","type":"link"}