Kalhoun’s thread about dishes made me think about silverware.
I’m 48, the youngest of six kids. Growing up, we had the “every day” silver (this, which was the “girl” silver and this, which was the “boy” silver – i.e., there wasn’t enough of either pattern to go around when we set the table.)
Then there was the good stuff, used only at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
My family was by no means wealthy. I think the “girl” silver was my grandmother’s, and the good silver was Mom & Dad’s wedding silver. I don’t know where the “boy” silver came from.
I got married in 1978. A friend of my husband’s family had promised him her sterling so we registered for that pattern. Between what we received as wedding gifts and what we received when she died, we have service for 18!
So, who has silver to go with the good dishes? I’m really kind of astonished that I do. Given ever other aspect of my life, it seems quite out of place. But I like having it and enjoy trotting it out for grand occasions.
I have my mother’s Queen Anne silverplate flatware, my grandmother’s silverplate flatware the name of which currently escapes me, and the Fleur de Luce silverplate flatware I chose for myself and which I use for everday. It can all be used to nice effect with the inherited Royal Bayreuth “The Rosalie” china for 12, the Kutani set my father brought back from Japan when he was in the Merchant Marines, and about 500 pieces of Phoenix/Flying Turkey I inherited from a brother after he had inherited it from someone else.
It’s a pity I have avoidant personality disorder and thus do not entertain.
The other problem with all this (not to mention the sterling which I eBayed away years ago) is that none of it can go in the dishwasher!
My grandmother recently offered to buy me “good silver” for this past Christmas and my birthday combined. But when I priced it, I just couldn’t ask for real sterling, or even silver plate. I mean, estate sales at over $1000 for four luncheon place settings?! This is DISCOUNT pricing?!
I asked my sister-in-law, who’s the Queen of Housewares (and very well off financially, to boot), and she said no young couple gets real silver anymore, and there’s no stigma against stainless as your “special” set. I’m not sure if she was patronizing me or not, but I did decide to go with 16 place settings of the Royal Albert Old Country Roses to go with my great-great grandmother’s china. Both the flatware and the dishes are a little more frou-frou than is my preference, but I thought the intricate china needed equally floral flatware. Unfortunately, mine didn’t come with that awesome wooden chest that I now see available!
I have my mother’s wedding silver. They were not wealthy, but middle-class. They were married in 1948. Her shower gift books indicate that people often bought very small quantities of things (“two juice glasses”, “1 pierced spoon”), etc.
Her silver is still in production - “Prelude” by International:
The fun part of using it is the “passe” stuff - oyster forks, fish forks, ice cream forks, etc. I’ve added to the collection slowly over the years. I also have a silverplate set of hers, but I don’t know the name or manufacturer.
In case we get onto “Do you have fine crystal” - here ya go - “Cherokee Rose” by Tiffin!
I have my mother’s wedding silver. They were not wealthy, but middle-class. They were married in 1948. Her shower gift books indicate that people often bought very small quantities of things (“two juice glasses”, “1 pierced spoon”), etc.
Her silver is still in production - “Prelude” by International:
The fun part of using it is the “passe” stuff - oyster forks, fish forks, ice cream forks, etc. I’ve added to the collection slowly over the years. I also have a silverplate set of hers, but I don’t know the name or manufacturer.
In case we get onto “Do you have fine crystal” - here ya go - “Cherokee Rose” by Tiffin!
Oh, sure, rub it in!
At least no one saddled me with any crystal. Most of my stemware (another oversized collection for a person whose main drink is milk and Kahlua in a Pepsi glass) is machine washable.
I have a service for 12. I cannot recall the pattern at present, but it’s Towle 1710(?). I love it–I got it for our wedding–I used it fairly often. I wish I could change out my good china, but there is no $$ for that. I also have crystal-Waterford, Ballyshannon pattern.
I like being able to switch to a more formal way of dining every now and again.
Actually, the spoons and forks can go in the dishwasher, as long as you position them so they don’t come in contact with stainless. The hollow-handled knives can’t.
I don’t like how silver tastes, so we don’t have silverware. Also, we have dishes. Our only “good” dishes are some nice dessert plates and demitasse cups. We normally use basic ceramic dishes and hand-thrown bowls. Flatware by IKEA.
My mother had planned to have complete sets of sterling flatware for each of her four daughters. I’m the youngest and always got th job of polishing the silver, both flatware and serving dishes, coffee and tea services, etc. Then this year she looked at all her daughters and realized the only one who would care about having sterling, or use it, was my eldest sister. Mother’s sold some to Replacements, Ltd., a company that specializes in finding piece for china, silver and glassware and selling individual pieces. (Note about the company - if you’re employed there, even in the warehouse, you’re allowed to bring your dogs to work with you) She still has enough fine china, silver, stemware and linens to choke a horse.
When we got married, we didn’t register for silver. The stores where we registered didn’t sell it, and I’m not sure if we would have registered for it even if they had. Imagine my shock when my husband’s boss gave us six place settings (dinner fork, salad fork, teaspoon, dinner knife) of Tiffany sterling flatware as a wedding gift. The pattern is Audubon, which is one of their oldest. It’s gorgeous.
I inherited this from my aunt, along with her china. Had I not inherited them, I doubt I’d have wound up with real silver flatware or finer china; we had a small wedding due to family opposition, so never did any of the “bridal registry” stuff.
People do still register for silver, and I’ve been known to give a single piece as a gift. I think it’s expected that you’d build up your set of it over a period of many years.
My mother had a set of silver flatware that was brought out for special occasions. She also had a set that we used every day, that was actually silverplate (apparently much more common back in the 1950s, supposedly stainless flatware was very uncommon). Eventually that stuff got pretty grody looking as the silver wore off, and she did get stainless stuff.
Dishwasher: I’ve heard it’s fine to machine wash as long as you don’t have any stainless in the same cycle. It takes just a few minutes to wash by hand so I play it safe and do it that way.
I have my great-aunt Latisha’s second best set. It’s silver plate (I assume the best set was sterling) It’s the only flatware I have and it still looks pretty good after years of daily use. I have service for 12 and all the serving pieces.
It had been passed around in the family and finally ended up packed away at my parents house. When I got my first off-campus apartment it was the least expensive choice for flatware. I used silver because I couldn’t afford stainless!
We have one set of gold electroplate that goes with the china we got for our wedding, plus I’ve got my grandmother’s Rose Point sterling, which I’ve never used since I don’t have any floral china to go with it (it’d go great with your dishes, WhyNot). My dad also picked up a cheap set of silver flatware in Japan in the late '40s, which has never been used. It sits in its case in our sideboard.
I don’t have either silver or good dishes. I gave the good dishes to Goodwill after the divorce because they were my ex’s choice.
I’m a chrome and glass fan and I absolutely prefer clear glass plates. I don’t like any china.
As for silver, Mom had some she tried to foist on me but I wouldn’t take it.
Too much fuss. And once you polish it, it seems like it would taste of chemicals. I always wanted to re-wash them after she buffed them with her silver cloth.
My flatware is the kind with clear plastic handles, which remind me of the old 20’s era picnic basket service.
