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.

A Lighthouse Love Tablescape

Hubby loves lighthouses probably because he has spent his life’s work in navigation and GPS. We live about 10 miles from a lighthouse and we spent a vacation a few years ago visiting a few on the Outer Banks. I saw some lighthouse plates then but I didn’t buy them. When I saw this set, I bought them and started thinking about a lighthouse tablescape. I found the tablecloth on Amazon. Although it is mostly hidden, it has anchors, a chain design, and stripes.

I went back and forth a bit trying to decide what colors to use with these lighthouse plates. I started with a blue tablecloth and was working with green and brown accents from the colors on the plates. You can see how that all went out the window!

These lighthouse salad plates were made by American Atelier at Home. There are four different designs, this one is “Cape Neddick”. This actual lighthouse is in Cape Neddick, Maine near York. I bought the plates on Ebay. I love the colors and the designs around the rim of the plate.

The next plate is part of our every day dishes. It is a scarlet salad plate made by Fiesta. I bought them at Macys when we remodeled the kitchen and it became a red and white kitchen.

I bought these heavy beige melamine dinner plates at HomeGoods a few years ago and some turquoise ones in the same pattern. They were made by Il Mulino New York.

I bought these chargers on Ebay, a few at a time when I could find them. They are called Color Spectrum by Mikasa and the color is Royal Blue. I love these chargers, I bought them in several colors. They are good quality and heavy.

The bottom charger is my Antique Beaded Charger that I bought at Williams Sonoma several years ago. I use this charger constantly on my table settings. If you look back through my blog at my tablescapes, you will see it often.

Can’t remember what company made the red goblet. I bought them on Ebay and I have had them for a long time. If anyone recognizes the pattern, please let me know! I bought the blue goblets on Ebay, you can still find them for sale there. They were made by Libbey in the 1970’s and the pattern is Tulip in Dusky Blue.

The red flatware is Ginkgo LePrix in Milano Red. I have had it for several years but you can still buy it online. I also bought this pattern in a few other colors as well.

I bought the anchor place card holders at Bed, Bath and Beyond a few years ago. They were silver but Hubby painted some black and some white so I can use them more often.

I bought the nautical napkin rings on Ebay a few years ago. The red and beige and white striped napkins came from HomeGoods.

Not sure where I bought the lighthouse tea light candle holders but it was probably HomeGoods. I have had them for a while.

I think I bought these anchor tea light candle holders at HomeGoods.

This centerpiece lighthouse was actually a lamp that Hubby found at a garage sale. He knew I was looking for lighthouses. He took off all the lamp parts and there it was! It is sitting on one of my Pottery Barn Rhodes Drink Dispensers stands to give a it bit more height.

This lighthouse is Cape Hatteras on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks. It is one of the ones we visited a few years ago. The other lighthouses on the plates are West Quoddy Head in Lubec, Maine and Split Rock Lighthouse near Silver Bay, Minnesota (upper left plate in this photo). This table setting makes me want to visit more lighthouses!

To see 200+ other tablescapes that I have created including 20 other Ocean themed tablescapes please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my Tablescape Ideas group! Just click on the Facebook Search box at the top of the page and type in Tablescape Ideas. Don’t miss my Tablescaping How-To section at the top of this blog post (or here) for more tablescaping tips and tricks.

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week so please check back!

A Manners Can Be Fun Tablescape

When I was young we had a book called, “Manners Can Be Fun”. It was first published in 1936 so it wasn’t a new book and it was a bit old-fashioned. When our children were young, a new edition was published and I bought it as well because the book held lots of memories for me. The book is actually still in print. When I saw these napkins, I thought of that book immediately and I knew I had to have them. I created a fairly simple table design around the napkins.

I bought the black tablecloth on Amazon. If you are looking for a simple tablecloth design Amazon has some good ones. Just be sure to always read the reviews before you buy. A black background always makes photo taking a challenge!

The black salad plate is unmarked but I probably bought it at HomeGoods. It is similar to a black Fiesta plate.

I love the silverware design on these dinner plates. As soon as I saw them, I wanted them. I have had them for several years. They were made by Emma Bridgewater in England. The pattern is called “Knives and Forks”.

The charger is my Antique Beaded charger that I bought from Williams-Sonoma several years ago. I use it often because it has a simple design that goes with everything.

I bought these black goblets on Ebay and they were one of the first sets that I bought several years ago. They are Lenox Midnight Mood black glass water goblets and they were made between 1974 and 1982. They are 7 1/4 inches tall. When I started buying goblets I didn’t pay attention to the height but now I like to buy goblets that are at least about 8 inches tall because my table is large and I think they show better. The clear fluted goblet with the black stem is called Octime and and the manufacturer was Luminarc Arcoroc. They were made in the 1980’s. I bought them on Ebay also.

The flatware is our every day stainless. It is made by Gorham and the pattern is Studio. It is still in production.

I found the napkins on Etsy a few years ago while I was looking for some other napkins. I really love the sayings!

The napkin rings were made by French Laundry Home and I bought them on sale online at Horchow several years ago.

I found the acrylic chair place card holders online at Wayfair.

My mother received the cream pottery vase as a wedding present in 1938. I have a second matching one as well. I just set a rose ball in it for this table. I added the small black chairs to match the place card holders and provide a bit more dimension on the table.

I wanted to show the entire set of napkins because they are such fun. Manners can be Fun!

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!