*+*+*+*~The Silver Thread~*+*+*+*

[JewelFreak]

My favorites. These were my grandmother's, no idea where she got them. The handles are mother of pearl. I use the big ones for cheese; the little scimitars are butter knives. There was a large butter-serving knife that matched but my aunt hung onto it. I won't go into her, one of the most evil humans I've met -- I'm sad to be related to her.


Close-up of the pattern on the banding.


Antique serving spoons. Two have monograms of my gr-gr-gr-grandmother, who married in about 1822. They are coin silver -- if you haven't come across it, coin silver is 90% silver, 10% copper (sterling is 92.5% silver), the same alloy used for U.S. coins before 1964.


Pickle forks; I use them for the rare times I need them for hors d'oeuvres. Bought these in Holland but they're English.

 

[chrono]

JF,
Your flatware pieces are gorgeous! I love the simplicity of the Art Deco salad flatware.

 

[JewelFreak]

Cake or pie cutter (silver plate), and server, coin silver with ivory handle.


Etched pattern on the cutter blade.


And on the pie server.

Ready for a laugh? Guess what this is!!

It's a cocktail muddler. You smish the cherry or whatever -- and lo & behold, the handle is hollow so you can sip through it! (Also used for iced tea.) Totally cracks me up. I have 4 of these useful things!

 

[JewelFreak]

Thanks, Chrono. It has such sentimental meaning.


A few serving things & my adorable little baby salt spoons.


Close-up of the salt spoons -- they're so intricate, I love them even though I never use them.


Candlesticks DH bought me. I keep these polished pretty well because they're so elegant.


Closer pic.

 

[JewelFreak]

Ok, one more because this is too sort-of sweet not to share. I hope I'm not boring the pants off you! (Also didn't realize these pics would come out so HUGE, apologies.)

The pearl-handled knives & a lot of extra teaspoons & forks (for your large tea parties & luncheons, of course ) live in wraps made by my grandmother or one or the other of my great-aunts. This is good old Nebraska at work. I just love them.

The inner layer is silver cloth, sewn onto dotted Swiss & embroidered. Does this say Late-1800s or what? Talk about warm & family-ish, I can picture the old girls chatting & creating away.

 

[AGBF]

I may be interrupting your posting with my comment, Laurie, but all your silver is stunning. I love the education I am receiving as well as the the peek at your unique and historical pieces. It is wonderful to have something that went back as many generations in your family as some of your pieces do. And it is wonderful that you know what the esoteric pieces you own are called and for what purposes they are supposed to be used (as well as their silver alloy composition). You are like a museum curator giving a tour: so very knowledgeable. It is a pleasure reading your postings! These photos should also be added to your own thread so that people can always go there to see your collection in one place. I hope that when you have time you will post these photos there as well.

Deb

 

[JewelFreak]

So somewhere I have two tiny sterling salt cellars with blue glass liners and tiny spoons as short or shorter than toothpicks, but with a little shovels at the end, too!

Deb

Deb, it's possible those are formally caviar spoons if they have shovels. I happened across this photo online yesterday. Do they look like this?

My silverplate flatware is my everyday flatware. I've been using the same set for longer than I care to admit. All those spoon options is one of the things I like about vintage flatware. I guess I've gotten spoiled - when I eat a thick soup or porridge, I want nothing less than a gumbo spoon, and for cream soups I want a cream soup spoon! I like to use a coffee/five o'clock spoon with ice cream because it make it last longer, and I love it when I get to pull out a berry fork for strawberries! Oh and don't get me started about restaurants that can't be bothered with iced tea spoons, seafood forks, and proper butter spreaders!

VRB, you are too much! I'm grinning ear to ear.

 

[JewelFreak]

I may be interrupting your posting with my comment, Laurie, but all your silver is stunning. I love the education I am receiving as well as the the peek at your unique and historical pieces. It is wonderful to have something that went back as many generations in your family as some of your pieces do. And it is wonderful that you know what the esoteric pieces you own are called and for what purposes they are supposed to be used (as well as their silver alloy composition). You are like a museum curator giving a tour: so very knowledgeable. It is a pleasure reading your postings! These photos should also be added to your own thread so that people can always go there to see your collection in one place. I hope that when you have time you will post these photos there as well.

Deb

My mother is the one to be thanked for telling me the stories she knew about everything. I have always loved silver -- and gems -- and jewelry -- and antique furniture -- and about a hundred other things I'll never get to touch, let alone own. Doubt I'll put the photos on the other thread, though -- DH is already convinced we're gonna be robbed since I put it here. Whoever you might be, please don't! You'll break my heart. No amount of insurance (which I don't have anyway) could replace it. Where's the begging emotie when you need it?

 

[chrono]

The later pictures are even better; the detailing, engraving and very specific usage are so unique! I am so envious of your heirloom pieces.

 

[AGBF]

AGBF:

So somewhere I have two tiny sterling salt cellars with blue glass liners and tiny spoons as short or shorter than toothpicks, but with a little shovels at the end, too!

VRB:

Deb, it's possible those are formally caviar spoons if they have shovels. I happened across this photo online yesterday. Do they look like this?





VRB, you are too much! I'm grinning ear to ear.

I looked for VRB's original posting in this thread and in Laurie's silver thread and could not find find it, but: YES! That is EXACTLY what my (supposed) salt cellars look like! Are they caviar spoons and pots? Is there a name for a caviar pot? This is what I was talking about when I said that Laurie knew what all her esoteric pieces of silver were actually supposed to be used for!

I mean it's not as if I have served caviar as often as I have served salt, and those caviar servers (if that's what they are) have been used to serve salt very nicely...but it is wonderful to know what they actually are! I have posted about this before on Pricescope, but when I wrote thank you notes for my wedding gifts, I had no idea what one of my older friends-who was then simply a former teacher (the one who used to use her silver every day)-had given me. I may have thanked her for the lovely little silver bowl for all I know! I later came to realize that it was a wine coaster! (I mean...drink much?)

Deb

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Laurie, I adore the King Richard (remembered the pattern as soon as I saw it!), your gorgeous antique pieces, and the beautiful candlesticks ! I guess the ladies who made all those beautiful linens would never believe how we spend our spare time these days! I have a few things made by my great grandmother, but it is sad that those days are just gone. I am so glad you posted some pictures! Trust me, I had the same kind of uncomfortable feeling posting pics online of something valuable and not specifically insured!

I am still not sure if you have Deb and me mixed up since our dining room furniture is similar! Her DR has the red wallpaper and mine is painted a deep blue/teal with cream trim (if it can even be seen in those pics). Hers is the one with the light colored room beyond.

 

[Rosebloom]

Oh Laurie, what a beautiful collection! I'm in awe! Thank you so much for sharing. After the holidays I'll have a polish party and post some pictures (although my collection pales in comparison to yours it is very well loved!).

 

[AGBF]

I have been looking all over the Internet for caviar spoons and salt cellars trying to see if there is a definitive answer as to what the original purpose was meant to be for my little cobalt blue glass and sterling servers with the silver shovels. The caviar spoons I was directed to were all oval shaped, but-to be fair-so were all the salt spoons. (Well, all the salt spoons were either round or oval.)

The salt cellars were mainly glass, but were clear, cobalt blue, or red...very, very pretty. (I am speaking of antique ones now.) There were not many shovels available. The only shovels I found were for salt...and were labelled, "Tiffany style" (whatever that means) sterling silver salt spoons. I decided to post the two photos-the one VRB posted and the one I just found-and then go back to looking. This is like a scavenger hunt!

Link to Tiffany Style Sterling Silver Salt Spoon...http://www.lookintheattic.com/urac0001.html

Deb/AGBF

 

[AGBF]

Trust me, I had the same kind of uncomfortable feeling posting pics online of something valuable and not specifically insured!

Of course posting 5 carat diamond rings is totally without risk. I mean, we are all incredibly dumb in some ways, right? Not that I have any diamonds or flatware in my house at the moment. But when I used to have some I still posted here! Of course back then I had a demented, oversized dog who attacked anyone who came on my front porch, too. Now I have one who seems only to scare away the UPS and Fedex men, which just makes life inconvenient. Can't they tell that he is friendly, for Pete's sake? The breed doesn't even bark.Delivery men nowadays are wimps! Scared just because of a 150 pound black dog jumping up on my fence to greet them!

Deb

 

[isaku5]

We had collected quite a few pieces of Victorian silver and I display many. These need cleaning once a year and I had not had any problems using Hagerty products over the years. One by one they have been discontinued and the last jar of cleaner I bought just does not do a good job at all.

I would appreciate some suggestions if anyone has a favourite.

 

[AGBF]

We had collected quite a few pieces of Victorian silver and I display many. These need cleaning once a year and I had not had any problems using Hagerty products over the years. One by one they have been discontinued and the last jar of cleaner I bought just does not do a good job at all.

I would appreciate some suggestions if anyone has a favourite.

Laurie posted the name of her favorite. I looked through this thread and didn't see it. I will go look through her thread. I may have missed it in this thread, though. I believe she said it was blue and came in a jar. I remembered that because I had always used a pink polish that came in a jar.

Deb

 

[AGBF]

We had collected quite a few pieces of Victorian silver and I display many. These need cleaning once a year and I had not had any problems using Hagerty products over the years. One by one they have been discontinued and the last jar of cleaner I bought just does not do a good job at all.

I would appreciate some suggestions if anyone has a favourite.

Laurie posted the name of her favorite. I looked through this thread and didn't see it. I will go look through her thread. I may have missed it in this thread, though. I believe she said it was blue and came in a jar. I remembered that because I had always used a pink polish that came in a jar.

Got it. Laurie had it in her own thread on silver. She had written:

"I used Never Dull polish. Have tried a zillion brands over years & I love this. Comes in blue tin cans -- it's treated cotton-y stuff that you rip little pieces off of. One reason I like it is that you can get it into little crevices. I use it on silver jewelry too. Some hardware stores carry it."

Deb

 

[JewelFreak]

When I looked at the can later, I realized it's spelled NEVR DULL. In a dark blue metal can, you can find it in hardware stores, though not everybody carries it. I have found it on the west coast, in the NE & in the south, so I guess it's a national brand. Might see it in Home Depot; don't think Lowe's has it. Probably available online. It is treated cotton-like material where you pull off a piece. I like that you can get it into tiny spaces & not being liquid, it doesn't leave dried goo to corrode little crevices where it might be overlooked. Minor detail, it does a good job too, without too much work.

Deb -- I posted the little caviar shovel, stumbled on it on an antique silver website & remembered your post. I don't have all the experience in the world, but I've never seen a shovel-shaped salt spoon. If you think about it, you need to be able to sprinkle the salt off the spoon onto your food & a shovel shape wouldn't do that efficiently. Almost all the time, the little spoons for salt dishes get lost; they're so tiny. Vintage silver shops usually find spoons that fit the size & match them up. If yours were vintage & not bought new, chances are the spoons & dish weren't born together. Caviar dishes were bigger than a salt dish. Silver ones did have glass liners & in the early 20th century they were often 3 pieces, with a bottom container for crushed ice, into which sat the bowl w/the caviar, then a lid. They were also made of fine porcelain. Re: the "Tiffany style" listing, I googled Tiff salt spoons & over 2 pages, every listing was for a round bowl, except this one:

Audubon pattern (my fave), marked 1871, listed as "rare." (Aren't they all?) But though rectangular, it still has a bowl shape rather than shovel. Labeling an item "tiffany style" makes it more posh, but I stopped counting the number of people who came into the store I worked at with "Tiffany style" things, wanting more info, that the company never had anything to do with. Sorry to ramble -- just ranting on in enthusiasm. Companies today may be making them in new shapes for variety, too.

Delivery men nowadays are wimps! Scared just because of a 150 pound black dog jumping up on my fence to greet them!

Sheesh, what has the world come to? People are afraid of EVERYTHING!

I guess the ladies who made all those beautiful linens would never believe how we spend our spare time these days! I have a few things made by my great grandmother, but it is sad that those days are just gone. I am so glad you posted some pictures!

Thank you, DS. And yes, wouldn't they be surprised at our modern ideas of what to do with our time. Probably disgusted too -- instead of cleaning our pantries or baking pies, we sit down & text somebody! How great you have your gr-grandmother's stuff -- like what? I'd love to see pics. I have some really beautiful lace made by my gr-grandmother -- one is a baby cap & after Mom died I discovered a photo of her at about 1 yr old, wearing it, so cool to have. Also several petticoats w/her lace, and another grandmother's black sequined flapper dress. Sigh, I have not taken very good care of them. Textiles are so hard to preserve & I haven't tried hard, to my discredit.

If I mixed you two up, I apologize. I did realize whose dining room was whose -- may have been typing too fast. I'm envious of both!

--- Laurie

 

[AGBF]

Laurie,

After reading your posting about salt cellars and caviar dishes I am more confused than ever! I will simply have to find the darned dishes and photograph them (at some point). They were not vintage when they were given to me; they were new. However, since they were given to me for my wedding almost 36 years ago, they are now on their way to becoming antiques! (Isn't 50 years the age at which something becomes an official antique?)

About my dining room: it is really lovely, but I don't reside with it. I live in a different state in a tiny house with no dining room. I have to see one of my doctors in Virginia next week, so I will be visiting my dining room then. I could take photos of china or crystal then in preparation for upcoming threads, I guess. I don't know when I shall be visiting it again, so if I don't take pictures I probably won't have any to contribute when you all do china and crystal threads!

Deb

 

[JewelFreak]

You probably have salt dishes, Deb. I can't say I've exactly hung around caviar-eating folks much in my life, but my impression is that there are one or 2 dishes on the table & you put a little pile on your plate from them. I've never heard of individual-place caviars -- which doesn't mean much, given my caviar-deprived life. It could be your spoons are the maker's idea of variety for salts. And, um... now I'm confused, about your dining room(s). I know there's a story there, if you want to tell it. If not, just ignore me.

Would love to see pics of your china & all, too!

--- Laurie

Oh, P.S. -- 50 yrs is what I've heard to become an antique, too. That means I'm getting more valuable all the time!

 

[isaku5]

We had collected quite a few pieces of Victorian silver and I display many. These need cleaning once a year and I had not had any problems using Hagerty products over the years. One by one they have been discontinued and the last jar of cleaner I bought just does not do a good job at all.

I would appreciate some suggestions if anyone has a favourite.

Laurie posted the name of her favorite. I looked through this thread and didn't see it. I will go look through her thread. I may have missed it in this thread, though. I believe she said it was blue and came in a jar. I remembered that because I had always used a pink polish that came in a jar.

Got it. Laurie had it in her own thread on silver. She had written:

"I used Never Dull polish. Have tried a zillion brands over years & I love this. Comes in blue tin cans -- it's treated cotton-y stuff that you rip little pieces off of. One reason I like it is that you can get it into little crevices. I use it on silver jewelry too. Some hardware stores carry it."

Deb

Thanks to Laurie and Deb! I will go looking for it

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Laurie...I think you seem to have a lovely traditional DR, too! And do you collect antique prints? I only have a few but they are my most prized art works! Maybe there is a 4th thread idea!

Deb...by all means go ahead and take pics of things when you are at the house! I was just asking to postpone the threads until after the holidays because I didn't want to have to drag out the china at this busy time of year! Although, I should take out the Spode so we can use it! This month is flying by!

 

[JewelFreak]

Yike, flying by is the word, DS! I just realized I'd better get my presents in the mail fast. Drag out the decorations.

Deb, if you have time, please do take pics of your china, etc. Would love to see it.

My husband has collected old prints, DS, and maps. He has some fascinating antique maps, a lot of Spy political cartoons, and prints of birds. He used to spend hours rummaging through musty bins in book & print shops in London, one of the few places where they were available by the hundreds & not (then) overpriced as they were here. Between the 2 of us, we've run out of wall space & in this, the biggest house we've owned, have extras stacked here & there. Definitely will need to thin them out before the next move!

I have a couple of original paintings that I love, & a bunch of prints that remind me of northern NY state where I grew up, or of England, where I also feel at home. They really do give lasting pleasure. What are yours?

--- Laurie

 

[Jambalaya]

Here's some of my silver items. Thin Tiffany bangle. Never thought I'd wear it but I do. And some no-name sterling silver snowflake drop earrings.

 

[Jambalaya]

Continued.

 

[Jambalaya]

Brand new Tiffany purse mirror, old Tiffany linked oval necklace (think I bougth it in the early 2000's) and no-name flower pendant.

 

[Jambalaya]

Continued.

 

[AGBF]

Jambalaya, your earrings are charming and the sudden appearance of this thread was wonderfully timely! Perhaps because you are enjoying winter yourself? It has made me think of snowflakes and silver bells and Christmas. I may just put in an order for a Reed and Barton sterling silver bell, which is a tradition I have kept up since I was married. [There were a couple of years in there when we were too poor to afford sterling; those years I bought the Reed and Barton silver plated bell, though. I had always hoped to leave the bells to my child(ren).]

At any rate, thank you for reviving this thread. I'd love to see the earrings on your ears!

Deb

 

[AGBF]

At any rate, thank you for reviving this thread. I'd love to see the earrings on your ears!

And there they are! They look lovely on you!!!

Deb

 

[Jambalaya]

Thank you AGBF. Yes, I am looking forward to Christmas. The silver bell is a really lovely idea.

Here is a sterling silver leaf brooch bought by my great-auntt (who died in the Eighties.)