Craigdarroch Castle : Object : tray, pin [2009.003.001.005]

Object

Accession Number

2009.003.001.005

Description

Part of an assembled 13-piece dresser set, this sterling silver pin tray is engraved with the initials "LMD" (for Laura Miller Dunsmuir) in scrolling font in the centre of the tray, the edges profusely decorated with repousseed and embossed flowers.

Narrative

This mirror is part of a fine 13-piece silver dresser set assembled and owned by Laura Miller Dunsmuir (nee Surles). The set is unusually large and of very high quality. A Canadian woman of Mrs. Dunsmuir's wealth and social status during the Victorian and Edwardian eras would typically have had a dresser set similar to this one.

Shreve & Co. of San Francisco, the maker of this pin tray, sold a number of silver objects to various branches of the Dunsmuir family during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including: the 103-piece set of cutlery for Craigdarroch's dining room (now owned by the Royal British Columbia Museum); a tea & coffee service owned by Elizabeth Hamiton Dunsmuir (Mrs. John Bryden) (see 2007.2); and a silver bowl owned by Sarah Byrd Dunsmuir (Mrs. Guy Audain) (see 2005.016.019).

History of Use

This pin tray is part of a fine 13-piece silver dresser set assembled and owned by Laura Miller Dunsmuir (nee Surles). She used it at her house Burleith, at Government House while her husband James served as Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, and at her residence Hatley Park. After her death, it was passed down through her descendents until acquired by The Castle Society.