AN EARLY 20TH CENTURY ARGYLL MARTIN & HALL, SHEFFIELD circa 1900, of conventional form engraved to one side with an Earl's coronet surmounting a swan and coronet crest with the Prince of Wales feathers and crown to the other, with a leather-covered handle (15cm high, 15.9oz) Footnote: Heraldry: The Earl's coronet surmounting the crest to one side and the heraldic badge for the Prince of Wales of feathers and Prince of Wales crown to the other side suggests this particular Argyll was perhaps a gift to an Earl from the Prince of Wales Note: John Campbell the fifth Duke of Argyll and his wife Elizabeth Gunning Baroness Hamilton of Hameldon, sought to solve the issue of gravy and sauces cooling too much due to the distance travelled from the kitchen to the dining room. Their residence at Inverary Castle on the shore of Loch Fyne may also not have provided too warm a climate in the winter months. By adding an internal compartment for water, this could then be heated up by an iron rod, with the addition of a double exterior wall. It is this internal compartment that sets them apart from coffee pots, waterpot or even chocolate pots, but they do come in all shapes and sizes. Most often than not, the spout is located near the bottom to allow the gravy to be poured from underneath the layer of fat which may have settled.