Are antique moulds always copper?

Copper accounts for 60 of the 71 titles, so it defines the category in practice. Tin and bronze make up a small remainder. The non-copper entries include six tin chocolate moulds, a bronze spoon mould and a bronze mould for printing tarot cards. Both bronze pieces stray out of the kitchen entirely.

What were copper jelly moulds used for?

Jellies, creams, aspics and ices. The mould set the dish, which was then turned out whole and presented at table. That is why the shapes get elaborate. Architectural and figural forms were meant to be seen once the mould came off.

How often do these come up for sale?

Around six a year come to market on Sellingantiques. Thirty different dealers have listed one at some point, so no single dealer holds the category.

Do moulds usually carry a maker's name?

No. Only 13 of the 71 titles name a maker at all, so a marked mould is the exception. Where a name or a stamped pattern number is present, dealers put it in the title. Benham and Froud are the two names that recur, and one mould is marked only "CM".

Is it better to buy a single mould or a set?

Singles are what mostly comes up. Plural "moulds" appears in only 21 titles, against the many describing one mould. Sets and pairs sit higher in the sampled range as a total. A pair of raised pie moulds, a pair of lidded ice cream pots and a collection of fifteen occupy the top.

What does a listing mean by Victorian?

Often not much more than a rough century. Twenty-five listings say simply "Victorian" and 20 say "19th Century". Only 18 give a clean year, spread between 1800 and 1920 and clustering in the 1880s. Several titles date more tightly than the dealer's date field does, with "c1880", "c1860" and "1853" all appearing.