Silverplate Heirlooms, Their Identification and Care

I have a collection of silverplate items that I received as wedding presents, and others that were handed down to me from family members. I have seldom used them although I am thinking about using them more often. What is the point of having them if I don’t use them! Luckily most have a manufacturer’s mark on the bottom and that helps identify and date them. With the help of a book I have on American Silver Manufacturers, and various Internet searches, I have been able to locate information about the manufacturers of these items and sometimes identify when they were made. This small tray belonged to my mother-in-law’s family, it is engraved with the initial S which gives me a clue as to which family it belonged to.

On the bottom of the tray is the name of the manufacturer, Meriden S.P. Co. (Meriden Silver Plate Company), International S. Co. (international Silver Company) and the number 2327 as well as a trademark of the company. The research I did indicated that Meriden became a part of the International Silver Company in 1898 so this tray was made after 1898. Further research revealed that this half circle trademark was first used in 1921 so the tray’s production now moves forward to after 1920. This narrows even further who the tray might have belonged to if I didn’t know before.

This cute little bon bon dish belonged to my mother. It may have been a wedding gift to her in 1938. I love the details along the rim.

The bottom of the dish is marked Community Plate with a number. Research determined that Community Plate was made by Oneida Silversmiths starting in 1902. I was fortunate to find a dish online with the same design and the pattern was called Grosvenor. This pattern was introduced in 1921 so I suspect it was a wedding gift to my mother because my grandmother was married in 1909.

This silverplate compote belonged to either my mother or my grandmother. (All the silverplate shown needs further polishing and some of it has damage from heavy use.)

This mark was difficult to photograph because it is on a curve. The mark says Wallace, E.P.W.M. with the letter V and number 8510. The manufacturer was Wallace. I wasn’t able to date the compote.

These candlesticks have a great deal of wear where the silverplate is gone. My mother inherited them from her mother. I am glad to have them because my grandmother died when I was eight and I have no memories of her. I love having something that belonged to her. I have thought about having them replated. I had a large silver tray replated and it looks absolutely wonderful so I may have these done as well. I had to send the tray across the country but I am really pleased with the result. (There are those who would say that replating these candlesticks would decrease their value but they aren’t worth that much as is anyway.)

The candlesticks are marked Forbes S. P. Co. (Forbes Silver Company) with a hallmark and the number 807. The Forbes Company was formed in 1894. The hallmark is a bird although it is difficult to see. Forbes later became part of the International Silver Company. My grandmother was married in 1909 so these candlesticks may have been a wedding present.

This epergne belonged to my grandmother. When I was a child I remember a shallow white frosted bowl that sat on it. The bowl had a scalloped rim and small delicate hand painted flowers. At some point it must have broken. I have been looking for a replacement for over 50 years! I will know it when I see it. A few years ago I had this epergne repaired because it was broken in a few places. The repairman did a great job and didn’t want to do too much to it except stabilize it. I love the bamboo design arms and all the detail work on it.

The epergne is marked Aurora S. P. Mfg Co. Warranted Triple Plate with the number 747. The Aurora Silver Plate Company was organized in 1869 and was succeeded by Mulholland Bros. in 1919 so this epergne was made between those years. I suspect it may have been a wedding present to my grandmother in 1909. Triple plate meant that the piece was a higher quality than regular silverplate because it was plated three times so it had more silver.

I use a few different products to polish my silver and silverplate. I’m sure others will say that my methods are wrong but they work for me. I start with Goddard’s Silver Dip. It is very strong and abrasive so I don’t leave it on the piece very long. I then use Hagerty’s Silversmith Polish and Spray Polish. I just bought a Hagerty’s Horsehair Silver Brush and I love the way it gets into corners and depressions in the metal. The spray is easy to use but do it outside or with open windows because you don’t want to breath those fumes. I end with Weiman’s Silver Wipes. Sometimes I go back and forth between them all depending on how bad the tarnish is. I never get all the tarnish removed. It takes too long!

The value of silver and silverplate has decreased. It depends on the current price of silver and also the demand for these items. As with many antiques, there isn’t the interest now that there was in these items in past decades. Younger generations have different life styles than our parents and grandparents.

I really enjoy owning these cherished silverplate heirlooms.

California and nearby Scenes in Vintage Souvenir Hankies

I collected hankies for several years including souvenir hankies, mostly from California. I was born in California as were my parents. Souvenir hankies were most popular after World War II with the development and increase of interstate travel. These handkerchiefs featured cities, landmarks and attractions in popular tourist locations, and they were an inexpensive souvenir. With the increase in the use of disposable facial tissues the popularity and use of cloth hankies decreased. I like the bring colors on this hankie as well as the California poppies in the upper right corner, the California State Flower.

There are many different colors and designs for state map hankies, they were often made by Franshaw. I have seen them from many many states.

Some souvenir hankies show more than one state. This hankie includes Nevada and parts of Utah and Arizona as well as California. You can sometimes date a hankie by what is and is not depicted on it. Interstate Highway 5 is not on the California map so this hankie was made before 1964 when Highway 5 opened.

This hankie is called “To please you - a Map of Los Angeles El Pueblo De Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles”. You can date hankies sometimes by what is included on the hankie. This one has “Los Angeles Junior College” shown. The name of that college was changed to Los Angeles City College in 1938 so this hankie design predates that.

This hankie is titled “Presenting a map of Hollywood with All Star Cast”. After researching the various places on this hankie I determined that it was made after 1944 when the Rogers Memorial and Polo Field was established and before 1964 when the Pilgrimage Play closed. The clothing style indicates a date in the late 40’s or early 50’s.

This is a different design for a Hollywood hankie, it has some Art Deco elements. It was created sometime after 1934 when the current Santa Anita Racetrack was built.

This hankie shows a map of Pasadena, California. (Should have ironed it!) It can be dated between 1926 when John Muir Tech started and 1938 when its name was changed to Pasadena Junior College.

This hankie is titled “Famous Southern California Resorts”. The map shows the mainland as well as Catalina Island. It can be dated by the inclusion of the Boy’s School on Catalina Island which started in 1928 and closed in 1943. The bathing suit style indicates a date closer to 1943.

Catalina Harbor and the Casino.

On the bottom, just left of center on this Palm Springs map hankie are the words '“A Foard Print”. Zoe Foard had a distinct style and her hankie designs can be identified even if they are not signed. Some of the previous hankies are clearly her designs. The previous hankie showing the Catalina Harbor with the Casino was also her design. This hankie can be dated by the inclusion of the El Mirador Hotel which was in business from 1928-1942. The style of clothing appears to be the late 30’s or early 40’s.

This hankie shows a map of Northern California. Because Shasta Dam was included it was made sometime after 1945. It appears to be another Foard design.

This hankie is called “A Map of San Francisco, the Oakland Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge”. The Bay Bridge opened in 1936 and the Golden Gate Bridge opened in 1937 so this hankie was made after that. It is clearly another Foard design.

This is another map hankie of the San Francisco area. This one is labeled in the bottom right corner, partly cut off, “A Foard..”. It was made sometime between 1935 and 1945 because of the inclusion of the China Clipper flying boat built for Pam American Airways.

This hankie is called, “Here is Monterey Peninsula, The Playground of California”. This hankie was made sometime before 1942 when the Hotel Del Monte closed.

This is Half Dome in Yosemite, undoubtedly another Foard design, probably made in the late 40’s or early 50’s.

This is Hoover Dam between Nevada and Arizona. It is easy to date because it was renamed Hoover Dam from Boulder Dam in 1947. It probably dates from the late 1940’s to the early 1950’s. It looks like another Foard design.

This Arizona map hankie is signed “A Foard Print”. Because of the inclusion of Boulder Dam, it can be dated from 1935-1947.

While all these examples are from California and the western United States, you can find similar hankies from all over the country. When I was buying them, they were inexpensive however now the prices have increased. Ebay and Etsy are good places to look to educate yourself about their current values on those sites. Always search for sold items, not the listed price.

I have just started a Facebook Group, Vintage Hankies, Handkerchiefs, https://www.facebook.com/groups/897980928627111 to share photos of my hankies. I am hoping that others will join and share their hankies too!

Bits and Pieces of Garden Art

We have been reworking our front and back yards this year after some house remodeling. The yards are small and there are still many patches of dirt. It is a work in progress. But Snaildon (seemed like an appropriate name) is one of my favorite additions. I found him at a local nursery a few years ago but Hubby wasn’t enamoured with him as much as I was. (For one thing he is about 3 feet tall and weights about 500 pounds! He is solid concrete!) I visited him off and on for a year or so continuing to tell Hubby that we needed him. One day after I had given up, Hubby went to the nursery to pick up some flowers for me and came back and told me that Snaildon was on sale and he had bought him! It took a bit of work to get him moved into place but I love him! And every child who comes near climbs on. I just love the expression on his face!

We bought this frog on the Las Vegas Strip many many years ago. He sits near the walkway to the front door.

Can’t remember where I found the turtle, it also sits near the front walkway. A few times people have thought he was real!

I have toured gardens that have signs posted to identify various plants by their special name and I thought I should do the same for my succulent garden.

A garden isn’t complete without a few special touches!

Grandmother's Spoons

I inherited a group of sterling souvenir spoons that my Nana collected on her honeymoon in 1909. A souvenir spoon is a decorative spoon bought as a memento of a place or to display to show that you have visited that location. Collecting these spoons isn’t really popular anymore and they don’t make sterling souvenir spoons like these now. These spoons were passed down to my mother and then to me. I can actually remember us using them a few times when I was growing up. It is amazing that they didn’t suffer damage from teeth! My Nana and Grandfather took a six weeks honeymoon trip across the country by train from California to the East Coast and back in 1909. I found a brief newspaper article that mentioned their journey.

The spoons were in major need of polishing so I recently got them out and gave them some needed attention.

This sterling spoon has the Mormon Temple in the bowl with the words, Temple, Salt Lake City. The handle shows The Tabernacle, Eagle Gate, Maroni, the word Utah, and some flowers.

The back of the spoon has a shield with an eagle and bee hive and 1847 as well as male figures, (one probably Brigham Young) and a group of oxen pulling a cart with another bee hive, and the year 1847 again. All these symbols have significance in the history of the founding of Salt Lake City by members of the Mormon Church. The spoon is labeled sterling with no other mark.

The next sterling spoon has a gold washed bowl. The bowl is engraved with the words, Balanced Rock, Garden of the Gods, near Manitou & Colorado Springs. The handle has a figure of a Native American.

The back of the spoon has a figure of a female Native American and a papoose as well as other Native American elements. It is labeled N S Co Sterling. It was made by the National Silver Company probably between 1900 and 1909.

This sterling spoon from Yellowstone Park has Old Faithful Inn engraved in the bowl. The Inn was built between 1903 and 1904 so this spoon was made between then and 1909 when Nana was there. The handle has a bear, deer, and buffalo and the words Yellowstone Park on the handle.

The back of the spoon has engravings of Great Falls, Golden Gate, and Old Faithful. It is labeled sterling and the mark is an H inside a flag. This is the mark for the Mechanics Sterling Company in Attleboro, Massachusetts. This spoon was probably made between 1896 and 1909.

I love sterling spoons that have detailed bowls like this one does. Nana bought it in Chicago and the bowl is engraved with U.S. Government Building. (The Chicago Federal Building was built between 1898 and 1905 and was demolished in 1965.) The bowl also has the Public Library, Fort Dearborn, and Entrance Union Stock Yards. The word Chicago is on a ribbon in the center. The handle shows the Auditorium, Masonic Temple, and Douglass Monument.

The back of the spoon shows Fort Dearborn again, some ears of corn, the word sterling and an H in a flag, the mark for the Mechanics Sterling Company in Attleboro, Massachusetts. This spoon was probably made between 1896 and 1909.

Nana bought this spoon in New Orleans. The bowl is engraved with an image of the Cabildo building in New Orleans. When my Nana was in New Orleans in 1909, the Cabildo was part of the Louisiana State Museum however it had a long history before that time as an administrative seat of the Spanish Crown and the City of New Orleans. The handle shows the face of Bienville. Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville was a colonist, born in Montreal, New France, and an early, repeated governor of French Louisiana. The handle also shows the Court House, the Cotton Exchange, a cotton plant, and the Lee Monument.

The back of the New Orleans spoon has City Hall, St. Louis Cathedral, Jackson Monument, and Old Gateway and a plant I don’t recognize. The spoon is labeled sterling with an H in a flag, another spoon made by the Mechanics Sterling Company in Attleboro, Massachusetts. This spoon was probably made between 1896 and 1909.

These spoons are some of my most cherished possessions. My Nana died when I was 6 and I have no memories of her. I love knowing that she bought these spoons on her honeymoon and they now belong to me.