Thomas Moore III registered his first mark as a small-worker in partnership with John Bourne. That mark was entered by power of attorney. They appear as buckle-makers in the parliamentary report of 1773. and registered a mark as such on 8th February 1775. It is believed that John Bourne may have been a sleeping partner as he lived in Staffordshire, Thomas Moore went on to register several marks alone as a buckle-maker between 1776 and 1783. Unfortunately we do not have any reliable images of these marks.

My attribution of these tongs to Thomas Moore III must be in some doubt, firstly because we have no record of what his mark looked like and secondly it is unclear whether the second letter is even an "M" as the mark is somewhat distorted.

The tongs are delightful with feather edging arong the arms and heavily engraved bowls. I have dated them at around 1780. If they are indeed by Thomas Moore III then they will be dated after 1776. These dates are entirely in keeping with the style of the tongs. 

Click here for tongs by John Bourne & Thomas Moore