Rathbone Casket

William and Elizabeth Rathbone were given the casket for their Golden Wedding Anniversary in 1862. They must have been thrilled with their present, containing an album with photographs of every one of their forty-four nephews and nieces. The casket has strong links with Liverpool. William Rathbone V was a former Mayor of Liverpool and the family was known for supporting local good causes. The casket itself was made by Joseph Mayer, a Liverpool goldsmith with a shop at 68, Lord Street. Mayer also made a generous gift to Liverpool, donating his collection of 14,000 objects to the Museum in 1867. Mayer started off in business with his brother-in-law, a retail jeweller. He set up on his own so that he could design and make his own work. The complex patterns on the casket have been cut out using a piercing saw. The thin saw blade has been inserted through a hole in the silver and then the hole enlarged to form a particular shape, by sawing. The decorative openwork produced is called pierced work.