Victorian Silver and Silver Plate And The Thousands Of Other Pieces—

A complete silver service in Victorian times had many types of spoons, with a different one for coffee, demitasse, soup, cream soup, ice cream, and dinner. It also had dozens of different serving pieces, and no one would ever use a cold-meat fork for hot meat. Fish servers, cucumbers (to remove crumbs from the table), […]

Silver Plate Vocabulary

4, 6, or 8: appears on some spoons and forks that were double plated. 6, 9, or 12: appears on some spoons and forks that were triple plated. A1: appears on silver-plated flatware to indicate it is standard plate. Quadruple plate: indicates 8 troy ounces of silver per gross (144) of teaspoons. Double, standard, and […]

Victorian Silver and Silver Plate Double-Wall Water Pitcher

The first silver-plated ice-water pitchers had two metal walls with an air space between the walls that kept the liquid cool. Later the pitchers were fitted with a porcelain liner. Several patents for double-wall pitchers were granted about 1850. James Stimpson received the most important patent for a double-wall pitcher and permitted four companies to […]

Studio Silversmiths

This table lists studio silversmiths with their locations and marks. Dates given are approximate working dates. Birth and death dates for individuals are in parentheses. Silversmith Location Dates of Business Mark Allan Adler Los Angeles, California (1916–2002) Porter Blanchard Los Angeles, California (1886–1973) William Waldo Dodge Asheville, North Carolina (1895–1971) active 1920s–1930s Clemens Friedell Los […]

Important American and European Silver Makers

This table lists silver makers with location and marks. Dates given are approximate working dates. Birth and death dates for individuals are in parentheses. Silver Maker Location Dates Mark Buccellati Milan, Italy 1919–present Cartier Paris, London, New York City 1847–present Cellini, Inc. Warwick, Rhode Island 1961–present Christofle Paris, France 1830–present Gorham Company Providence, Rhode Island […]

Liberty & Company

Liberty & Company is one of the most famous stores in London. The original store was established in 1875. The owner, Arthur Lasenby, had art nouveau fabrics made for the store. Egyptian and Moorish furniture was imported; later, Arts and Crafts pieces were sold. By the early 1900s, the store was selling art pottery by […]

Gorham Marks for Martele and Athenic

Maker Dates Mark Martelé (c.1905) Athenic (1901–c.1915)

Georg Jensen and Scandinavian Design

The most famous Scandinavian silver firm is Georg Jensen Silversmithy, founded in 1904. The jewelry, silverware, and hollow ware made by Georg Jensen and his designers created a look that was unlike other pieces made in the early 1900s. His designs influenced the silver made in the United States, England, and other countries for many […]

Silver Tea Service

Let’s Have Tea–Or Take A Coffee Break Tea and coffee, and chocolate too, were introduced to Europe about the same time in the early seventeenth century. They were popular in England by the mid-seventeenth century and in America by the 1690s. Chocolate was preferred at first. Then coffee, being cheaper, became the most popular beverage. […]

Teapots

Tea was a scarce and expensive drink when it was first introduced in England during the seventeenth century. Early teapots were designed to hold just one cup of tea. By the mid-1700s the teapot had been enlarged, and it held several cups of tea. After 1800 the teapot became the large six-cup size we know […]