A George VI silver tray, Edward Barnard & Sons Ltd, London, 1940

Silver objects were still being made in Britain in 1940, although with goldsmiths being reemployed in war-related precision work and the October introduction of purchase tax, new silver objects were becoming expensive and rare. Only five trays of this model and size passed through the Barnard ledgers in 1940-41, four of which were sold to unidentified retailers (Edward Barnard & Sons Stock Book, AAD 5/184-1988, n.p.).

A tray with identical ivory handles and handle mounts, probably supplied by Barnard's to the retailing firm of Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Co. Ltd, London, 1936, is in the Seawolf collection and was exhibited at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 28 February-20 April 2003, no. 120. See also Treasures of the 20th Century [exhib. cat.], The Goldsmiths Company, 25 May-21 July 2000, p. 59.