A few years after the turn of the eighteenth century the spoon eventually developed into the utensil which we use today. By 1720 its stem had become gracefully curved and terminated in a flat, rounded end which turned forward or upward and upon which it was rested on the table, so that the back of the bowl was uppermost in the French way. This Hanoverian rat-tail spoon continued in fashion for a few more years, the rat-tail gradually disappearing to be replaced by small droplets, either one or two, at the back of the bowl, or the increasingly fashionable scallop-shell, typical of the rococo period. The stem evolved into a flatter form, terminating by the 1760s in a curve which turned in the opposite direction to its predecessor, ie backward instead of forward, so that the spoon could be placed on the table with the interior of its bowl showing,as is still the custom in England and elsewhere today. This is termed the `Old English’ pattern and has been the basic form for spoons ever since. (more…)

In the twentieth century it is difficult to imagine eating meals without the aid of cutlery, yet it was not until the eighteenth century that it became the general custom to use forks, knives and spoons. The habit spread only gradually. Towards the later years of the seventeenth century a host might be expected to provide cutlery at table and although this tendency increased, many travellers carried with them their own personal set of a fork, knife and spoon, in a case often made of tooled leather, until as late as around the middle of the eighteenth century. (more…)

Although the tea strainer was among the numerous pieces of domestic silver which did not generally make their appearance until the very final years of the eighteenth century and beginning of the nineteenth century, the English tea table was not devoid of a utensil for a similar purpose. The tea strainer bore little resemblance to this predecessor and can in no way be said to be a development of it, unlike so many other items which evolved into utensils which we use today. Its forerunner was an extraordinary little implement called the mote skimmer, which was usually a little longer than a tea spoon. Its bowl was pierced in a simple pattern and its rounded, slender tapering stem ended in a point. (more…)

Candlesticks

Although the primitive method of lighting the home by candles has long been outmoded, candle production thrives today for decorative and ornamental reasons. Thus a continuity of this ancient form of lighting is maintained, and with it the need for the traditional candlestick in silver, Sheffield plate or electro-plate. Candlesticks in precious metals were slow to come into the ordinary home, which is hardly surprising since, although the two guilds of tallow-chandlers and wax-chandlers were incorporated in the later years of the fifteenth century, only from the early eighteenth century did candles brighten the house of the more prosperous working man. Before this they would be found in abundance only in the great houses of the land, or for ecclesiastical use the pricket candlestick was adopted since it took the form of a conical spike which would support any type of candle. Variations of these were sometimes made for certain domestic uses, although not usually in silver. (more…)