Antique Sterling Silver Flatware
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The Polyamorous Christian Socialist Utopia That Made Silverware for Proper Americans
By Lisa Hix — The first time you heard the word “Oneida,” it was probably in the context of silverware. Perhaps it was before a Christmas dinner, when your mom or grandmother instructed you get out the “good silver” made by Oneida Limited. Even though it was only silverplate rather than sterling, your family probably stored it in a velvet-lined wooden case. Or maybe you saw an ad depicting an elegant table set with Oneida flatware while flipping through the pages of “Good Housekeeping” or “Better Homes...
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Saving Vermont History, One Silver Spoon At a Time
By Ben Marks and Joanna Mangan — Compared to their Colonial neighbors, Vermont silversmiths got a late start. That’s because the first permanent non-Native American settlement in Vermont (Bennington) was not established until 1761, about 140 years after Europeans settled the surrounding areas. Prior to the founding of Bennington, Vermont was the home and hunting ground of the Abenaki, as well as a buffer zone between the French in Canada to the north and the English governing their Colonies to the south. Despite this...
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Janine Skerry Shows Off the Silver Collection at Colonial Williamsburg
By Maribeth Keane and Brad Quinn — My interest in silver started when I was a child. One of my earliest memories was opening either my mother or father’s jewelry box and using a magnifying glass to look at all the little marks on the pieces inside. There were also a few pieces of metalwork in our family: a copper coffeepot and a small silver saucepan. My great, great, great grandfather in Sweden made the coffeepot, and my grandfather made the little silver saucepan. He passed away when I was 7. It intrigued me that people...
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William Faris (1728-1804): Annapolis Silversmith
By Lockwood Barr — The most picturesque figure among the 18th century Maryland silversmiths was William Faris of Annapolis, watch maker, clockmaker, silversmith, designer, portrait painter, cabinetmaker, mirror maker, tulip grower, tavern keeper, dentist, diarist, and gossip par excellence. He arrests and deserves attention… Thus runs the account of Faris in Maryland Silversmiths, 1715-1830, by J. Hall Pleasants and Howard Sill (Balt. 1930). There is no doubt that even in his own day and age William...
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Silver Spoons
By Richmond Huntley — From the Middle Ages down, the silver spoon has been a symbol of a certain standard of living. "Born with a silver spoon in his mouth" indicated a person who began life well shielded against the harsh winds of poverty. Silver spoons were the first investments made by the English yeoman or by the early American colonist as they struggled up from meager beginnings. Gifts of silver spoons also marked such important events as births, weddings, and deaths. "Come, come, my lord, you'd spare...
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How Silver Spoons Were Made
By Thomas Hamilton Ormsbee — Under the patient probe of research, our silversmiths have emerged as definite personalities. They were men of many interests, prominent in their communities, and the number of them who played important civic or patriotic roles is impressive. In fact, we frequently become so engrossed in their diversity of achievement that we tend to overlook what lies back of the term silversmith. The man who earned the right to that trade designation might later become as wealthy as the mintmaster,...
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The Kalo Shop, a Mecca for Arts and Crafts Sterling Silver
By Maribeth Keane — How did I get started collecting Arts and Crafts silver? My wife and I had been collecting Arts and Crafts items as far back as I can remember, mostly furniture and tiles. One day many years ago I got bit by the silver bug. We lived in California and I’d visit antique dealers and one of them showed me a silver serving spoon by Chicago silver maker Falick Novick. It was beautifully made, the shape was great and it had little marks all over it, which I soon learned are called planishing or...