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What’s Old Is New: Using Antique Sterling Silver in a Modern World--Carla Zarse, Silver Specialist, Replacements, Ltd.If you’ve been fortunate enough to have inherited a set of sterling silver flatware from a relative, have you gone through it only to find a mysterious collection of serving pieces that look more like medical instruments than something to use at Sunday dinner? Or have you set up your holiday table with this beautiful antique flatware set using the basic place setting pieces, only to leave the remaining place or serving pieces in the case or tucked in a drawer because you have no idea what to do with them? Many of these amazing and unusual antique sterling pieces were made by American silver manufacturers between 1890 and 1925, when a dinner party at home was a major social event. During this period, Americans took mealtime and pushed the limit on extravagance and abundance. The classic table setting for a wealthy American family hosting a dinner party in the late 1800s could consist of up to 20 place pieces and numerous serving pieces of sterling silver. The menu, much like today’s restaurant fare, represented the nouveau cuisine of fashion and technology. From terrapin soup (Wallace Silver Violet and Whiting Division Silver Louis XV) to Saratoga chips (Tiffany & Co. Flemish), the American palate was evolving as fast as the modernization of the country itself. Refrigeration and cross-country transportation opened the doors for regional foods to reach tables across the United States. Exotic foods such as oranges (Durgin Silver Fairfax and Whiting Division Silver Lily) to oysters (Gorham Silver Cambridge and Whiting Division Silver Louis XV) were appearing on menus from the West Coast to Maine. No longer were diners limited to “local” foods. Now they could expand their palates to include off-season foods in the dead of winter. Dinner parties in Kalamazoo, Michigan, could offer the same gourmet delicacies as the fanciest restaurants in New York or Miami. The Industrial Revolution was not only changing the landscape of the country, it was filling the pockets of Americans with new-found wealth. An historical event that would have influence for years to come was the discovery of the Comstock Lode in Virginia City, Nevada, in 1859. This silver and gold deposit was the largest discovery of precious metals in the United States. Between 1859 and 1878, the Comstock Lode yielded $400 million in gold and silver, roughly equivalent to $500-600 billion in today’s dollars. Although the Comstock Lode was nearly mined out by 1874, its discovery still affects our economy today. The high era of sterling silver started its downward spiral in 1873, when the U.S. Congress passed “The Coinage Act.” This legislation embraced the gold standard and reduced the country’s dependency on silver as a currency. Additional discoveries of silver worldwide further reduced its market value. These changes took their toll on the American silver flatware and hollowware industry. Tiffany & Co. continued to prosper, yet other major sterling silver manufacturers faltered. Gorham Silver was forced to cut salaries, Whiting tried to merge with Gorham, and many smaller American silver companies disappeared altogether. In 1875 silver was trading at only 61 cents an ounce and manufacturers desperately needed to create a market for it. What better way than to bring it to the table of every housewife in America? Europeans were no strangers to elegantly designed sterling silver flatware and tea services, but in America, the story was different. That would soon change. One colorful character of this era of new-found wealth from the Nevada silver mines was John W. Mackay, part owner in the Consolidated Virginia and California Mining Company, which controlled a majority of the revenues of the Comstock Lode. Mackay, a man who became a millionaire many times over, commissioned a custom silver flatware and hollowware service for his wife, Marie Louise Mackay. Rumor has it that Mackay’s wife (a widow who was working as a seamstress when he met her) was not “embraced” by American high society. Finding herself married to one of the richest men in America, Marie, after taking a ride down into one of her husband’s mines and being given a nugget of silver as a souvenir, was said to have come up with the idea of creating the massive sterling silver service from the Comstock Lode that her husband commissioned. Designed by Edward C. Moore of Tiffany & Co., Marie’s sterling silver service took more than two years to create and more than 1/2 ton of silver from the Comstock Lode mine. When it was completed, Mackay purchased the original dies from Tiffany and destroyed them, preventing anyone else from having the pattern. Unfortunately, Marie Mackay’s dinner service did not help her American society standing. She later moved to Paris, where famous dignitaries such as President Ulysses S. Grant and “Buffalo Bill” Cody dined with it when visiting the Mackay home in France.
(Images courtesy of W.M. Keck Museum, Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno.)
More than 1/2 ton of silver was used from the Comstock Lode for the massive silver service that millionaire John Mackay commissioned for his wife, Marie. The service took more than two years to complete. It was a “custom pattern,” consisting of 1,250 pieces and requiring 9 large wooden cases to store. By the late 1800s, American silver companies started to modernize their manufacturing process. In 1885 Gorham Silver introduced the company’s most popular silver flatware pattern, “The Chantilly.” Created by Gorham’s top silver designer, William Codman, and marketed as “the best selling silver pattern in the world” by the company, the pattern was introduced to the American public with much hype. Unfortunately, the overly ornate design of the pattern was not a hit and the pattern flopped due to lackluster sales. It was discontinued in 1889. But the American silver consumer, as we know, can be fickle. Demand began to surface and the Gorham Silver flatware pattern was “re-introduced” in 1903 as “The New Chantilly,” with a less ornate design. At the height of production in 1914, more than 200 different Chantilly piece types were available, either through special order or in stock via retailers. Chantilly is still Gorham Silver Company’s and Replacements, Ltd.’s most popular and successful sterling silver pattern to date (Gorham Silver Chantilly). In 1925 a somewhat unknown yet very significant act was enacted by the United States Department of Commerce. Known as “The Simplified Practice Recommendation No. 54,” the document changed the way American silver companies would perform business. The Simplified Practice Recommendation No. 54
The demand for silver was on the rise worldwide and the U.S. government (or perhaps the household staffs who had to polish all the silver flatware and hollowware) felt it was necessary to put a stop to the endless creation of piece types. Gone from the shelves were terrapin forks (Tiffany & Co. St. James and Durgin Silver Orange Blossom), which became “endangered” due to over-harvesting of turtles, not forks, off the coast of Maryland. To the smelter went sardine forks (Kirk Stieff Rose and Gorham Silver Lancaster), only to be remolded into multipurpose and boring-looking serving forks. Lost, perhaps in the garbage, were sterling silver ice cream spoons (Gorham Silver Chantilly and Reed and Barton Marlborough). Who needs them anyway when a good, old-fashioned teaspoon will work? From 1925 on, sterling silver flatware patterns with elaborate place settings and serving pieces began to all but disappear from department store shelves, only to be replaced with the most utilitarian piece types, now known as the “hostess set.” Perhaps the last blow to the silver industry occurred in 1980, when the Hunt brothers, powerful Texas investors, attempted to “corner the market” on sterling silver. Silver went from $11 an ounce in September 1979 to $50 an ounce in January 1980, an all-time high. Massive amounts of antique silver flatware and hollowware were sent to scrap for a quick return on their weight per ounce. Countless rare pieces of antique silverware ended up being melted down for cash. Antique sterling silver was worth more almost anywhere but the dinner table. When the silver investment bubble burst in early 1980, the price per ounce settled back down to pre-speculation levels. Silver that hadn’t already been lost to the smelters was carefully put away. A new generation of stainless steel flatware entered the dining room, changing our eating habits forever. But there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. What to do with your grandmother’s antique sterling silver service for 12 with a case of unusual “instruments” that perhaps were meant to serve some odd “food du jour” back in 1906? Get it out, polish it up, and use it! Many classic antique silver flatware piece types that were en vogue many years ago can be “recycled” for use on today’s table. Following are some suggestions. Salad Serving Set Antique sterling salad serving sets are great for serving vegetables, casseroles, mashed potatoes, risotto, rice, various pasta dishes, lasagna, macaroni and cheese, fruit salads, and of course, salads. Individually or as a set, their uses on today’s table are virtually endless. Sugar Tongs A small implement that was designed to pick up sugar cubes for tea and coffee, sugar tongs were a staple in every household for afternoon tea. They average between 4 to 5 inches in length and add elegance to any table. Sugar tongs are a great utensil to use when serving hors d’oeuvres, small pastries (brunch or dinner), cookies, candies, sliced cheeses, olives, or anything small that you do not want to pick up with your fingers. For a buffet table with unusual foods that just do not work with a spoon or fork, such as sushi, sugar tongs are ideal. Lettuce Set Lettuce sets (lettuce serving fork and spoon) became popular after the Industrial Revolution, particularly when the refrigerated box car came into use in railroad transportation throughout the U.S. Various salads, especially lettuce, became available out of season, gaining great popularity among restaurants in the 1900s. Antique sterling lettuce sets are great for serving Chinese food, fried chicken, pasta salads, spaghetti and meatballs, shrimp, scallops, and other seafood. The spoon alone can be utilized with pitchers of lemonade, margaritas, martinis, or ice tea. The fork is great for serving cold cuts or vegetables from the grill. Butter Pick Originally used for piercing chilled pats of butter, butter picks are a distinctive way antique silverware can be used to upscale a fondue set, add elegance to a martini, or serve chocolate-covered strawberries. Ice Tongs Originally delivered in large bricks, ice was either shaved or broken down manually with a pick. The chunks of ice were not easy to manipulate and touching with one’s hands could be unsanitary; hence the necessity of tongs or ice spoons. In the early 1800s, the “ice box” was first introduced into the home. In 1911, the mechanical ice maker was patented. After the introduction of Freon in the 1930s, refrigerators with ice trays for making individual ice cubes became the norm, and ice tongs were less useful. For today’s table, they are an ideal serving piece. Antique sterling ice tongs can go from the grill to the table with a touch of elegance to boot – croissants, bagels, fried chicken, corn on the cob – ice tongs work for just about anything! Ice Spoon Who could predict in the 1930s that you could get your choice of shaved or cubed ice from your refrigerator door? Ice spoons can be used today for serving vegetables, rice dishes, fruit salads, cole slaw, or delicate desserts. Pierced ice spoons have a touch of elegance when compared with the average pierced tablespoon of today. Berry Spoon The berry spoon was first introduced in England more than 175 years ago. A serving spoon, elaborate in design, it was used to serve berries or fruit. Modern American silver patterns have re-named the piece a “casserole spoon.” Berry spoons can be used to serve a multitude of entrée dishes and should not be limited to fruit only. This piece type is a must-have serving piece for your table – it’s beautiful and its uses are endless. Fish Set In the early 1900s, fish was a protein dish that was found on almost every table. From salmon to lobster, it was not only popular, but most importantly, plentiful! For serving your Mom’s homemade pasta to cheese enchiladas, an antique sterling fish set is not only elegant, it is perfect for those challenging dishes that are too difficult to serve with just a serving spoon. Master Butter Knife Antique silver flatware like the master butter knife of course can be used for its original purpose, but it’s also an excellent and attractive utensil for serving bagels and cream cheese. Bon Bon Spoon The bon bon spoon is antique silverware that is perfect for serving grated cheese or salad toppings. Pie Knife Remember, pizza is just a big Italian pie, and your pie knife is the perfect serving piece for it. Asparagus Probably no other vegetable has had the influence on table settings that asparagus has enjoyed. By some accounts Romans dined on asparagus as far back as 200 B.C. It was a popular dish during the reign of King Louis XIV of France in the 17th century. Asparagus achieved popularity in American households about 1855. Sterling silver piece types seemed to become more popular than the vegetable itself! Great patterns for asparagus serving tongs are Shiebler American Beauty , Tiffany & Co. Broom Corn, and Gorham Silver Strasbourg. Asparagus serving forks may be found in Durgin Silver New Standish, Gorham Silver Buttercup, and Schofield Baltimore Rose. Individual asparagus tongs were one of the most unusual piece types produced by silver makers. They resembled a medical instrument more than an eating utensil, but were nonetheless popular among those who could afford them. When Emily Post mentioned the acceptability of eating asparagus with your fingers in her 1922 Etiquette Manual, however, demand for the item was reduced. But if you’re interested, good patterns to find individual asparagus tongs are Gorham Silver Baronial-Old, Tiffany & Co. English King, and Towle Old Colonial. You can use individual asparagus tongs for hot dogs at a cookout or for pastries at brunch – a great serving utensil that will definitely generate conversation! Hotdogs and Hamburgers Do you have some antique silver flatware pieces at your house you'd like to make use of? Believe or not, you can use those unusual, formal pieces in very casual ways. Use your ice tongs to grab hot dog or hamburger buns without damaging them at a cookout. Individual asparagus tongs – what better way to get your hot dog securely in a bun? Your mustard ladle can be used for just that purpose, of course. Cream ladle? Great for ketchup, mayonnaise, or chili sauce. If you have a chipped beef fork, the flared tines are great for serving tomato slices, lettuce, or cheese. For serving pickles or tomatoes, a lemon fork or cocktail fork will work beautifully. Sugar tongs are great for onion slices, tomatoes, and pickles. Finally, have a sugar shell or sugar sifter? They’re ideal for serving relish, chutney, or sauerkraut. See, what’s old really is new! Get that antique silver out of storage, polish it up, and have some fun! Sources Carpenter Jr., Charles with Carpenter, Mary Grace, Tiffany Silver, rev. ed (San Francisco, CA: Alan Wofsy Fine Arts, 1997). Hood Jr., William P. with Berlin, Roslyn and Wawrynek, Edward, Tiffany Silver Flatware, 1845-1905: When Dining Was an Art (Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: Antique Collectors’ Club, 2000). Osterberg, Richard, Sterling Silver Flatware for Dining Elegance (Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 1999). Rainwater, Dorothy and Redfield, Judy, Encyclopedia of American Silver Manufacturers, rev. 4th ed. (Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 1998). SM Pub General Silver Forum. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
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