Quadruple Silverplate Salt & Pepper Shaker Sets

The holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza) will be here before you know it. We at Abe Silverman's Antique Silver Shop just listed a fine variety of antique quadruple silverplate salt & pepper shaker sets (also known as condiment casters). We've got traditional, figural and unique Victorian silver salt & pepper shakers ready to sell. Sterling silver salt & pepper shakers, too. See the wide variety we've already listed, and more will be listed this week. Don't wait, as once they're sold, they're gone forever. See them all here: http://www.abesilverman.com/Holloware.html

Collecting Vintage Hotel Silver

Although not as ornate or popular as a collectible, hotel silver is slowing making inroads into the silver collecting market.

Most hotel silver is engraved or marked with the hotel’s name or logo, in addition to the silver or silverplate manufacturer’s name. Hotel silver is very durable, as it received more than normal use and wear. Manufacturers of hotel silver purposely crafted hotel silver to be very durable. Three of the largest manufacturers of commercial hotel silver were International Silver Company, Reed & Barton and Gorham Silver. Bumps, dings and dents are very common and a real part of its charm. You’ll be hard pressed to find hotel silver in pristine condition, but if you do, those are the most valuable. Hotel silver from well-known and prestigious hotels is the most sought after by serious collectors of vintage silver.

Collecting commercial silver is an affordable enterprise. Most hotel silver can be purchased at a very low cost.. Teapots, coffee pots, creamers and water pitchers are the most commonly available hollowware pieces, and therefore, the least expensive to purchase.

Reproductions of older hotel silver have begun appearing at flea markets, online shops and home decorating and kitchen décor shops. Make sure that you’re not purchasing a reproduction.

Antique Quadruple Silverplate Pitchers & Syrup Pitchers

Following the general styles of English milk pots, early silverplate pitchers and syrup cups imitated the same general shapes which evolved over the centuries. Most of the earliest silverplate pitchers distinguished themselves from milk pots by a small drip plate or saucer. Once the patent cut-off was invented for the inside of the pitcher, the need for the drip plate became obsolete.

Some silver manufacturers designed their silver plated syrup pitchers as an additional piece of hollowware to a complete silver tea service.

Until the turn of the last century, numerous designs of silver pitchers were introduced and offered. In the early 1900’s, silver yrup pitchers declined in popularity and few manufacturers even offered them in their catalogs.

Smaller size silverplate pitchers were designed for specialized purposes such as serving milk and cream. Many of these smaller cream pitchers or milk pitchers were an integral part of a complete silver tea service.

Fancy dessert services consisted of a silverplate sugar bowl and creamer that did not consequently match a silver tea service. Larger silverplate dessert services often included a spoon holder (spooner) and more contemporary sets included a bowl for the dessert. Many of the linings of these ornate silverplate hollowware items were made of clear, cranberry, ruby or blue glass.

We carry an extensive line of antique quadruple silverplate syrup pitchers here http://www.abesilverman.com/Holloware3.html

Spooners / Spoon Holders of quadruple silverplate

Today's subject is antique quadruple silver plate spoon holders. These two-handled vessels are also called "spooners" or "spoon goblets". The vase shaped spoon holder is exclusively an American item and invention.

Other types of spoon holders are spoon trays, spoon racks, and combination sugar bowls and spoon racks and even egg cups with spoon racks.

The 1857 Rogers Bros. Mfg. Co. catalog featured one of the earliest known styles of a spoon holder. Years later (1867) the Meriden Britannia Company offered 15 different styles of spoon holders to customers. Most of these were made to match Meriden's tea services.

The earliest spoon holders were usually vase shaped and had two handles. Most spoon holders during this time were pedestal based; only a few had four feet.

Fancier types of spoon holders began to appear in the 1870's. Some had incorporated dinner bells into the design.

It was during this time that many silverplate manufactures began to advertise spoon holders on the same pages as their tea service sets, thus incorporating spooners as an integral part of a complete tea service.

Distinguishing spoon holders of this type from waste (slop) bowls, can be done by their handles and by being slightly taller and more slender in shape and design.

Combination sugar bowls and spoon racks became more prominent around 1874. Middletown Plate Company illustrated 5 styles in 1874. Two of these combinations held only 6 teaspoons while the others held 12. These popular combinations continued to be manufactured well into the early twentieth century.

You can find an exceptional example of a Pairpoint Quadruple Silver Plate Spoon Holder Spooner here http://www.abesilverman.com/A942.html/