Over the past week or so, I've had a chance to see many of my friends posting photos of their Dinner tables as they were set for the American Thanksgiving Holiday. It's been a rather weird year for most, if not all of us and this holiday was no exception.
Many of us who entertained a packed table of family and/or friends saw our tables filled only with those who actually live under our roof. And those who travelled to join family and friends suddenly were faced with creating their own celebratory dinner, either alone or with a reduced gathering of a few at their table. In one case a dinning room was used for the first time in 20 years of living in their house. Those with sterling silver began polishing their pieces preparing for the holiday meal. And for those who do not regularly entertain, this meant pulling out long unused wedding presents for service, or using the daily kitchen service for the celebratory dinner centered typically on turkey.
This made me think about ways in which in this time of new challenges how we can brighten up the dinner table in an otherwise grim time. And I've come up with a interesting idea, one which is not only fairly inexpensive, but also could be considered "green" in its ability to reuse items which have fallen from use. Silver Plate.
Silver plate has existed since the creation of Sheffield plate in 1743, in which layers of silver and copper and fused together. In about 1840 the process of making plate changed with the invention of electroplating. In this method, the one commonly associated with modern silver plate, a thin layer of silver is applied to a base metal, typically copper or nickel silver. Due to the very low silver content, it has no real metal value to be melted down as in the case of sterling silver which is 92.5% silver and has its value closely associated with current silver prices.
Silver plate though is quite affordable, with a recent set selling on eBay for just over $20 and consisting of 12 four-piece place settings and three flatware service pieces. That's less than $0.50 per piece. Even when you look at companies online like Replacements, which tends to sell at premium prices, individual flatware pieces can be found in the area of $5 per piece. Large sets can commonly be found on eBay for around $60.
And the vintage pieces were made in the USA, during a time when quality meant something. The workmanship in the base metal pieces was high quality and unless the pieces are damaged/have lost plate, it would take an trained eye to tell the difference, unless they went to "flip" the pieces. It is on the back you can see the marks and unless it says sterling in the USA or has a sterling makers mark in the UK, it is plate. Other terms such as EPNS indicate silver plate.
Patterns of silver plate are available in a variety of styles, from Victorian, to Edwardian, to Colonial Revival, to Art Deco, and event to Modern pieces designed in the 1950s and 1960s. The sky is the limit for place settings. You can pick anything you want, you can be creative and have different patterns for each place at the table, or mix and match the pieces if you want. Or you can do the "old school" thing and have everything match. The choice is yours!
So if you want to add some sparkle to your table and make the holiday shine a bit more than it might using the kitchen stainless, take a look at vintage silver plate. You might find something you like.
For interest sake, here is a link to a website which has a listing of many different silver plate patterns.
https://centennialantiques.com/pages/silver-plate-pattern-identification-guide
They are a retailer and I don't endorse the site, but it does provide a nice look at the patterns. Be sure to check prices from other sources like eBay, Replacements, Silver Queen, and others before making a purchase.
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