The lustre and mellow colour, characteristic of old silver, which distinguish it from the colder, metallic appearance of new wares, will be enhanced by regular, careful cleaning and polishing. A circular movement, not a backward-and-forward one, should always be adopted when cleaning or drying silver to prevent abrasion. It should also be noted that larger pieces of silver should not be cleaned on a hard surface such as a table-top, but should be held against the body so that hard pressure is not exerted on the piece. (more…)

Few basic changes have been made to the salt cellar since the eighteenth century, and even those produced today in sterling silver or electro-plate are usually exact, or very close, copies of their predecessors. From time to time, of course, designers have endeavoured to break away from

established forms, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, has a superb Art Nouveau specimen in parcel-gilt by C. R. Ashbee which incorporates amber and a small figure, the latter being characteristic of Ashbee’s work, but this ‘salt‘ would be considered too ornate for general use. An interesting example of 1866 by Stephen Smith was of frosted silver with figures of sowers and men carrying baskets of seeds upon their backs. (more…)

Much of the Nailsea stuff, whether it was made at Nailsea or not, was made for sale at country fairs and markets. Among the popular items there were the rolling pins, sometimes solid ones in the early bottle glass, sometimes hollow in clear or opaque glass bearing inscriptions. They seem to have been bought as keepsakes—often they are referred to as “sailors’ charms”—filled with sweets or salt or tea and hung over the mantelpiece until the giver returned home again. This would be a very practical way of using them, for salt and tea cost money in those days, and needed to be kept dry. There was also another practical use, it seems, at any rate for the hollow ones with a stopper at one end. Our ancestors knew that not only is good pastry made with cool hands, but also with a cool rolling pin—which could be done by filling the roller with cold water. Certainly some modern manufacturers think so, for they make very efficient looking ones with extensions for your hands and screw stopper at one end. (more…)