Catalog: Silver: Sterling: Flatware

Designed by Antoine Heller, renowned for his Beaux Arts figural patterns such as Versailles, Fontainebleau and Mythologique, equally commanding St. Cloud is by contrast non-figural.

Its leaf and anthemion subject, with tight, circular, elements reminiscent of fern fronds suggests Aesthetic influences, which is in keeping with its 1885 date of introduction.

This item is a 6" long, just under 1.0 T. oz. (30 grams), ice cream spoon...

Issued in 1900, Alvin's Majestic is a multi floral pattern that features one of eight different flowers on each piece.

This example is the larger of two sizes of sugar tongs available in the line. It measures 5" long and weighs a robust 1.3 T. oz.

The flower is iris, which appears at the top and mid portions of the handle, and impressively, on the talon form grips...

This 6 3/8" long, just over 1.0 T. oz. (32 grams), sugar spoon was hand made by Old Newbury Crafters, whose "ONC" mark and the word "Sterling" appear on the backside. It likely dates prior to 1955, the time when ONC began the practice of including individual craftsmen's symbols alongside other identifiers.

The pattern is Panel Antique or possibly the similar Moulton...

Measuring 4 7/8" long and weighing just under 1.0 T. oz., this sardine fork has a 2 1/2" by 1 1/2", seven tine serving end with a pierced heel.

The pattern is Nuremburg, issued by Alvin in 1903.

The design incorporates the face of a horned, devil-like, figure masked in the detail of the overall pattern. This image is presumably meant to suggest the grotesque medieval gargoyles for which the German city of Nuremberg in known...

A stand out Renaissance Revival design, Gorham's Raphael dates from 1874.

It features a dense arabesque background surrounding a central bird with upraised wings. There is a shield-shaped reserve area, which in this instance is engraved with an Old English "H" monogram.

This example is a lengthy, 9 5/16", and weighty at 3.34 T. oz., berry or other serving spoon, such as casserole in contemporary usage or a rice spoon in Southern custom...

Gorham issued a little known, often unrecognized and often unmarked, design named Imperial in coin silver in the 1850s and then re-employed the name for a different pattern in 1891, as found on this listing.

The later design incorporates a double lined border handle with a knob top. The central portion of the handle has a raised feature that appears to be, appropriate to the line name, a fleur de lis or the feathers in the Prince of Wales's badge...

Around the turn of the 20th century, Gorham produced an array of specialty silver stand alone items grouped together in what is known as H series pieces.

This 5 1/8" long, .45 T. oz., is model number "H239" from that series.

A lemon fork, it has the requisite three, narrow and splayed, tines that define its function...

Issued in 1910, Buckingham bears a strong resemblance to Gorham's companion and immensely successful Chantilly line that was introduced fifteen years earlier.

It could be argued the two patterns are variants of the same design, with the former incorporating English style detail and the latter French, as intimated by their respective names. Buckingham is also more robust, i.e. generally heavier weight, than Chantilly, and often has more elaborated serving ends...

Measuring 5 3/4" long each, and weighing 4.6 T. oz...

One of the last American companies to produce fully hand worked silver, "Old Newbury Crafters" items show the skill of the individual maker in every piece.

That is the case with this 8 1/2" long, 2.6 T. oz., solid silver, serving serving spoon in the company's 1939 Oak Leaf pattern.

Modernist/Deco in style, the handle has straight, tapered edges, with a tip that is surmounted by a representational oak leaf flanked by what are presumably two acorns.

The front of the ...

A not readily found pattern, Frank Smith's 1912 George VI aka Ridgefield is, appropriately, a regal looking design that features a variety of raised acanthus leaves and scrolls set on a shaped handle with double lined margins.

The handle backside is less elaborate than the front, but still quite detailed.

This example is a 7 5/8" long, 1.77 T. oz., cold meat fork.

The serving end has four, slender and splayed, tines with scrolled bases, all joined to a deep, ...

One of Gorham's earliest full line patterns, patented in 1868 as stamped in the reverse of this 6 1/4" long, .6 T. oz., sugar spoon, Ivy has a tubular stem and broad, convex handle end that features an intricately rendered portraiture of ivy leaves and berries set against a stippled ground.

The handle reverse is engraved with a delicately inscribed, feathered "HC" monogram.

Additional marks include the company's "lion, anchor, G" emblem, the word "Sterling," and the name of the reta...

One of William B. Durgin's earliest patterns, dating circa 1870, and commonly identified as Spray, this design features a bouquet of woodland flowers and grasses tied by a bow.

This motif appears in the top center of the handle, and is repeated on the lower front and backside heel of the join with the blade of this 6 3/4" long, 1.0 T. oz., master butter knife.

There is a script letter "R" monogram on the handle front.

The blade has a scalloped upper edge, upswept and pointed tip,...

An early line pattern, Gorham's Louis XIV, is Greek Revival in style in spite of carrying a French name.

The main feature is an anthemion leaf, with additional detailing reminiscent of Gorham's also Greek Revival Corinthian design of the same period.

This example is a lengthy 5 1/4", .9 T. oz., pair of sugar tongs with gold washed claw or talon grips and columnar legs.

In superb condition, this pair have never been monogrammed on either the reserve shields on the ar...

Finely crafted, this 8 5/8" long, 1.74 T. oz., serving spoon has an Old English, i.e. rounded end with tipt back, handle.

The plain front typical of earlier Old English design has been embellished on this. It has a feathered edge introduced in the 1770s and bright cut work characteristic of the 1780s.

In addition, the reserve at the handle end is engraved with a very fancy, feathered line script, "RL" monogram that is of a style consistent with these dates.

T...

Stamped "Sterling" and with the "H&S" emblem of Hotchkiss & Schreuder, Syracuse NY, and retailed by "Austin & Prescott," Batavia NY, this piece measures 8 3/4" long and weighs 1.7 T. oz.

The pattern is Longfellow, which clearly follows after the Moorish and Egyptian Revival trends popular in its 1870s period.

It features a repeating series of palm fronds, palmettes, rosettes and ivy leaves along a shaped handle with a pyramid end.

There is a central reserve area on the handle fro...

A 7" long, 1.1 T. oz., preserve or jelly spoon, this piece has a generously sized, 2 1/2" by 1 5/8", shell shaped bowl with a scalloped edge and slightly pointed tip.

Made by John Wendt in his Medallion pattern, it is stamped with his characteristic "Patent" and "925," along with the name of the retailer, Boston's "Bigelow Bros. & Kennard."

One of the most impressive of the myriad Medallion figures offered by American manufacturers in the 1860s, the line featured a variety of...

Designed for a very specific purpose, claret ladles are necessarily lengthy, and this solid silver example is especially so at 13 1/4". It weighs a substantial 2.4 T. oz.

Made by Gorham, it is stamped with the company's "lion, anchor, G" emblem, "Sterling," and model number "912."

While the handle is rendered in Gorham's beaded-with-tipt-end Newcastle pattern, the fact that it is numbered indicates it was a specialty piece independent of the flatware line per se.

The central sec...