When considering the grand flatware

This superior set of 24 Regency silver gilt teaspoons is the work of renowned English silversmith Paul Storr.
When considering the grand flatware
services of the 19th and early 20th
century, created by makers such as
Tiffany & Co. and Gorham, it is often
incredible to think that such magnificent
utensils had such humble origins. The spoon, knife and
fork came into the world at different periods of
human history and in very different ways, but in their own
way, they played a large part in advancing civilization, and
often made an important statement about personal wealth
and status. Whether commonly used or the subjects of
the strictest etiquette, it is difficult to imagine life without
Spoon by American patriot and silversmith by Paul Revere.
these simple tools. Once sacrilegious and controversial,
the knife, fork and spoon are among the most important
inventions in the history of Western culture.
The oldest eating utensil, after our fingers, is the
modest spoon, but there is nothing modest about its role
in human development. First formed of shells, which were
later attached to sticks, the first spoons were used by our
earliest ancestors. As human beings learned to work with
different materials, they fashioned the spoon accordingly,
carving them from wood and horn, and eventually working
metals like silver and iron into spoon-shaped utensils
from the earliest days of metalcraft. These first metal
implements often wore out very quickly, however, and only
gained resilience with the development of copper alloys.
The shape of the spoon remained relatively unchanged
until the introduction of the fork. In fact, Etruscan spoons,
dating from 700 B.C., are quite similar to those found
today. But it is believed that with the introduction of the
fork, implements designed to use with particular types
of food began to appear, and the simple spoon became
tablespoons, teaspoons, ladles and soup spoons, to name
a few.
The knife, like the spoon, was one of the first tools in
the hands of modern humans. In the beginning, they were
nothing more than pieces of chipped obsidian or flint,
but they gradually evolved into handled blades. Warfare
was one of the more obvious uses for these new tools,
but knives for eating were being made as early as 1200
in Sheffield, England. The more prosperous members of
society used knives crafted of silver or gold, sometimes
with gem-encrusted handles.
Blade instruments were also subject to some of the
strictest rules of the table. Ever cognizant of the blades’
more lethal use, King Louis XIV of France declared the
carrying of pointed knives illegal in 1669. This law was
preceded by Cardinal Richelieu, however, who in 1637, his
sensibilities wounded more than anything else, made a rule
that guests should not pick their teeth with their hunting
knives at the dinner table, and that all knives used at table
should be blunted. Thus, the dinner knife was born.
Forks were the last tools to be added to this
gastronomic arsenal. The early Greeks were known to use
forks, and one was carried to Italy by a Greek princess
Though it was frowned upon by the Church, King Charles I of
England declared the fork “decent to use” in 1633.
in 1071. There is some disagreement about when tined
instruments first appeared in inventories on the continent.
Many credit Catherine de Medici with bringing them from
Italy to France in 1553 upon her marriage to the future King
Henry II, but gold and silver forks, used only for eating
Apostle spoons first appeared during the 16th century, and were traditionally given as baptismal gifts from godparents in very
wealthy families (thus, the saying, “Born with a silver spoon in the mouth”).
PAGE 2
mulberries and other foods that stain the fingers, are listed
in the inventory of Charles V of France (1338-1380).
Nevertheless, by the 1600s, fork usage had spread
all the way to England, where a gentleman traveler by
the name of George Coryat credits himself with the
momentous introduction. This may have been a bit of a
boast, as Queen Elizabeth I counted them in her inventory.
Even so, forks were not readily adopted in England. The
Church had frowned on them, ruling that they took glory
from God who gave us fingers to eat with, and were seen
as effeminate in many corners. However, King Charles I of
England declared them “decent to use” in 1633, and the
fork slowly but surely gained acceptance at the table.
It was another century before the large flatware services
we know today began to appear on sophisticated tables.
In fact, the first flatware sets were personal items, owned
and carried by their owners when dining out. The earliest
sets date to the 14th century and were comprised of a
fork, used for serving, with a matched set of knives for
eating with the fingers. By the 17th century, these sets
were very popular and consisted of a fork, knife and
spoon, and soon they were made to be folded to protect
the blade and tines when traveling. These sets were
termed cutlery sets, from the Old French word “coutel,”
meaning “knife.”
It was during the beginning years of the Industrial
Revolution that houses began to keep great sets of
flatware on hand. This was the Georgian period in England
and dining reached theatrical levels. Courses were staged
like acts in a play and utensils were created for specific
types of food. The style of these pieces began to change,
as well, becoming more ornate, with decorations such
as leaves and scrollwork. Patterns emerged, such as
the Old English pattern of the late 18th century, and
inspiration was taken from interior design and architecture.
Knives, most of which had a pistol-grip handle since the
17th century, soon acquired a straight handle, and were
decorated to match the forks and spoons.
It is interesting to note that forks and spoons were
made by silversmiths, while knives were made by cutlers.
This is because the blade and handle were usually not
made of the same material. Again, a non-alloyed metal
like silver or gold was much too soft to use as a blade,
and often wore down. To make knives that lasted, steel
sandwiched between sheets of less expensive iron, and
later stainless steel, were used for the blade. Sometimes
silver-plated steel was used for the blades, but the
silver reacted with salt and many types of food, causing
UNDERSTANDING
HALLMARKS
For collectors of English sterling, knowledge of
the different types of British hallmarks is essential.
There are five types of marks found on English sterling
silver items: the maker’s mark, assay office/town mark,
date mark, assay or sterling mark and the duty mark
(used on works from 1784-1890).
• Typically, the maker’s mark bears the initials of the
silversmith or silver manufacturing company.
• The assay office or town mark indicates where the
silver was tested for compliance with the stringent
British silver standards. During the 14th century, there
was only one assay office located in London, denoted
by a lion’s head, sometimes with a crown. It wasn’t
until 1363 when representatives, or assay masters,
were elected throughout Great Britain to carry out the
work of the London assay office.
• In 1478, the date mark was introduced to signify the
year the piece was assayed as sterling. A letter of the
alphabet was assigned to each year, predominantly in
alphabetical order.
(The addition of the date mark and the town mark
was significant. These stamps meant that particular
individuals would now be held responsible, should their
testing prove to be inaccurate. Prior to this, officials
had no way of determining when or where a piece of
sterling was actually tested. These two marks added a
new level of accountability.)
• The assay or sterling mark denotes the piece is
sterling, or 92.5% pure silver. Prior to 1544, the assay
mark was a leopard’s head. After 1544, the emblem
changed to a lion and became known as the Lion
Passant. It is the full body of a lion (depending on
the date letter series or assay office, the head faces
straight on or to the left.
• The duty mark is a stamp of the reigning sovereign’s
head. It first appeared in December 1784 when King
George III imposed a special duty on all silver to help
pay for the American War of Independence. This stamp
indicated that taxes had been paid on the piece. The
duty on silver was lifted in 1890 and the stamp was no
longer required.
PAGE 3
By the middle of the 19th century, the humble spoon had given way to dessert spoons, place spoons, soup spoons, broth spoons,
ice cream spoons, egg spoons, demitasse spoons and citrus spoons, to name just a few!
the blade to become damaged, or simply worn out
from cleaning. More modest homes made do with less
expensive materials, of course, such as pewter for forks
and spoons, and knife handles of wood or bone.
With the Industrial Revolution came the ability to make
many pieces of silverware, quickly and uniformly. Add
to this the discovery of vast amounts of silver from the
Comstock Silver Mine beginning in 1859, which made
silver much more affordable and available, and the great
silver services of the Victorian era and Gilded Age were
an inevitable outcome. During this illustrious period, just
as a century earlier, dining and entertaining became an
art, and all of the accoutrements had to create a picture
of luxury. Lavish dinner parties were de rigueur, and
hostesses did their best to impress with both the size and
the quality of their services. In fact, during the 18th and
19th centuries, owning the most up-to-date pattern was
of the utmost importance, and having sets remodeled was
not uncommon.
Tiffany was the most sought-after maker in terms of
exclusivity, and its designers created both patterns, such
as the widely coveted Chrysanthemum, and new types of
utensils. The humble spoon gave way to dessert spoons,
place spoons, soup spoons, both clear and cream, spoons
for ice cream, sorbet and parfait, plus bouillon, citrus,
egg, confection, claret and demitasse spoons. Knives
PAGE 4
evolved into luncheon knives, steak knives, fish knives,
butter spreaders, knives for fruit, and more specifically,
for oranges. And forks were created, large and small, for
salads, fish, pastry, pie, pickles, oysters, bird, lettuce,
shrimp cocktail, terrapin, ramekin puddings, strawberries
Tiffany’s Chrysanthemum pattern was, and remains, one of the
company’s most popular patterns, even though it was one of the
most expensive to produce.
and shellfish, to name but a few.
In these grand services, the place pieces, or utensils
placed at each setting, were not limited to the various
types of knives, forks and spoons. A wide range of
specialized pieces, such as asparagus tongs, sardine
forks, jelly knives and potato chip servers, came into
being during this time. One could also count escargot
tongs, corn holders, scrapers and butterers, paté
spreaders, squab holders, lobster crackers and nut picks
to an almost interminable list of new tools. And if one was
to be worth one’s salt spoon, one had better know how to
use all of them.
Dining etiquette has been around since the time of the
Egyptians, when the first written code of etiquette was
introduced in The Instruction of Ptahhotep which was
written during the reign of Pharaoh DjedkareIsesi in 2414-
of the middle or merchant class. This new social stratus
impelled the nobility to create strictures on middle class
banquets, just as sumptuary laws governed who could
wear what clothing.
Books of etiquette began to appear as early as 1520,
and the rules contained in many notable tomes such as
The Courtier by Baldassare Castiglione, Isabella Beeton’s
household guides and Mrs. Seely’s Cook-Book (with
Chapters on Domestic Servants, their Rights and Duties)
provided pages of sound advice that still resonate today.
Everything from where to place one’s napkin to how to
hold one’s utensils was proscribed and society held fast to
these elaborate rules.
The renowned Mrs. Beeton said “Animals eat; only
man dines.” The evolution of flatware, from pre-historic
times to modern developments, is the embodiment of this
2375 BC. Romans followed suit, with rules about seating
and beverage placement.
As centuries passed, new rules were adopted with the
introduction of new foods, new utensils and the emergence
philosophy. As man developed, so did our tools, and the
many forms of knives and forks, spoons and servers give
testament to the sublime elegance which we applied to all
of our pleasurable pursuits.
TIFFANY’S MOST POPULAR PATTERNS
Chrysanthemum
Olympian
St. Dunstan
Winthrop
English King
Clinton
PAGE 5