Russian, Whishaw (Hills &) Seal, Image & Found by Pete Penfold.
Found in Hayle, Cornwall, ?mm.
From Ged Dodd, "Obverse:- AП 1И ..
AП (AP ligature) / 1И is number 1 grade.
Reverse:- HILLS & WHISHAW is usually Hills and Wishaw
and what looks like a number 1 seems to be a mouse on top of a flax or hemp spool.. (tell me about it).
(Hills and Wishaw (ХИЛЛCЪ И BИШAУ) set up businesses in Archangel in 1842. They used the flax from a district of Russia called Vologda (BOЛOГДA) and put this name on their Archangel seals. Their notation was I.I. instead of the normal AP (Archangel Port). They also had premises in St Petersburg where they combined with a company called AB Damatskoi (ДAMAЦKOИ) in the late 1840's and had Paired Company seals. This seal is one of the rare singles from them.
... .see reference IDS 1344 on The PeaceHavens Project, Seal Numbers 1300 - 1399 The PeaceHavens Project, Russian Flax/Hemp Bale Seals The PeaceHavens Project, Inspector Database The PeaceHavens Project, Post Numbers".
COMMERCIAL GAZETTE 6 Jan 1849 (The Spectator Archive), "Tuesday, January 2. PARTNERSHIPS DISSOLVED. Hill, Brothers, Riga, merchants ; as far as regards J. H. Hill-Hills and Whishaw, St. Petersburg, merchants ; as far as regards B. and W Whishaw and J.H. Hill-,.T. and S. Kennard,London, merchants- Hill and Co, Archangel, merchants"
