Used Forks and Soup Spoons

Given my love for sterling silver, about a year and a half ago I decided that I wanted to start another sterling silver pattern. Since one of my passions is old sterling (my other blog is Silver Pieces - the Strange and Peculiar ) I knew there was no way I could either choose one pattern or afford to purchase an additional antique pattern at one fell swoop (unless I won the lottery or some unknown benefactor came into the picture, neither of which has come to pass, so far.)

So I came up with the brilliant scheme to start collecting a complete set of sterling flatware, piece by piece, each piece being in a different pattern. Now given there are literally hundreds, if not more than a thousand different sterling patterns, I had many to choose from. This way I would  have a piece of all the lovely patterns I yearn far. So, over that time I have purchased pieces and received pieces as gifts. I look for older pieces, especially those engraved, which I think make them more special and tell a story. For instance the fork I have in Old Orange Blossom is engraved "Birthday Club". Or the lovely spoon in Queen of the Flowers that has says "Bessie" on the terminal. A dinner fork I have in Bridal Rose has the dates, 1892 - 1917 engraved on the back, which I assume refers to someone's 25th anniversary and dates that one piece back 120 years.

Of course one of the joys of silver is using it. I grew up eating all my meals at home with sterling silver. Not that we had a lot of money, but that was how we were raised reared. It is a source of amusement (and as my DH says, perverse entertainment) at each meal to see which piece is at one's place and what initials are on it. My youngest daughter says she finds it creepy to eat on dead people's silver (or used forks as she refers to it.)

I set the table this past Christmas Eve with my eclectic sterling, fine china, and crystal. The first course was clam chowder. My DH picked up his spoon and looked at me. "What is this?" "Hum, I think that is Crescendo by Auther Stuart." "I don't care about the pattern, it looks like a teaspoon." "It is a teaspoon." Always the perfectionist, "Why we are eating soup with a teaspoon?" "Because I don't have any soup spoons yet." "We have 8 stainless soup spoons in that drawer over there that will do nicely." "But, they are not sterling." He finished his soup with the teaspoon and much muttering.

Christmas morning as we were opening gifts, I was elated when I opened the box from my daughter. "Oh, look my first piece of Tiffany." "Please, tell me it is a soup spoon," my DH said as he looked my way. I just ignored him. A day or two later, I commented that I looked into sterling soup spoons and gumbo soup spoons ran any where from $150 to $170 each. "So, it will be a while before I get some soup spoons." "Well, we need them before we eat soup again." "You know, that would make a lovely Valentine's Day gift." "Like I said, the stainless ones will work nicely."