Arrgh! and Other Comments on Old Silverplate

Photo courtesy Flickr

Solid, aka sterling, silver will have a hallmark on the back of the handle. Find out what you have on line at Replacements, Ltd. We as a culture have been so wealthy we have been able to consider discarding noble metal. The nineteenth-century silver strike in Virginia City, Nevada was the source of the American tabletop avalanche. Mark Twain reported it from the local newspaper

Plate is a frank fake, designed to handle like sterling. Patterns were, and are, often produced both in sterling and plate. Plate wears through on the backs of forks and spoons, exposing base metal that may leach lead into food. Put worn pieces aside to scrap or have re-plated. A fresh layer of silver renews a piece but obscures the details of a monogram that may be more skillfully rendered than what it identifies.

Managing old plate for resale can use up more time than the goods are worth. Replating it may be throwing good money after bad. That said, other factors determine the future of old flatware. The main thing is whether you like it or not.

There’s a subtle aesthetic in silver: new is not necessarily most desirable, since tabletop amenities reflect the history of the family. Old flatware handles more elegantly than contemporary designs, and anything that fosters fine motor skills is an asset.

The futurist Bucky Fuller would ask how much something, like a building, weighed. Considering weight, which is really considering the carbon cost of an item, sterling or decent stainless flatware is a better value than plate. On the other hand, the Shaker principle of using up what one already owns supports getting the most out of old furnishings.

A woman once sneered at Great Aunt Beth’s grape patterned plate, remarking that she used it at her cabin. This morning, as I looked over two recently inherited sets of silver, I realized that Aunt Beth’s sweet, old-fashioned flatware was a country choice and well worth respecting for what it is. It’s fun to serve down home food with it.

As we downsize in place, every cubic inch of inventory is an issue. I am editing tabletop furnishings into a core collection of hardworking elements that give back every day. Replacements’ secondary market and the design community’s respect for every period mean that I can realistically consider keeping only, say, a set of dessert forks from one pattern to use with another.

Deciding about dessert forks is a privilege, not a hassle.

-30-