There was a time when even prominent large houses like Gorham and Tiffany understood silver plating to be another option to sterling, and not as perceived today, as something lesser. It might have been that plate better served the design process or the metals involved were more easily manipulated than sterling, or myriad other reasons it was employed...

Marked on the blade "1847 Rogers" (International) and with "Meriden Conn." in a circle, this master butter knife measures 7 1/2" long and has a blade twisted at a right angle to the handle. The pattern is "Arcadian," which is one of the few silver-plated designs that rival comparable sterling pieces. The pattern features classical figures offered much in the manner of Gorham's "Versailles" or Tiffany's "Olympian" and dates from the same 1880's period...