From approximately the earlier years of the 1770s separate parts of a vessel such as spouts or lids were stamped out using a drop-hammer. The piece of Sheffield plate would be placed upon a striking block which had a die sunk with a model of the required shape. Then the hammer, the face of which was raised with the same shape as the sunken die, was manipulated from above by a rope between two vertical rods and, as it struck the block, the Sheffield plate was stamped into shape. The parts would then be soldered to the vessel. The introduction of harder steels made possible more sharply-defined pieces and during the Regency period entire units were produced in this manner. Die-stamping was a very important technique, advances in it contributing greatly to mass-production methods in both silver and Sheffield plate. By the last decade of the eighteenth century larger, flat pieces such as trays were being produced in this manner, suitably ornamented as already described. (more…)

Remains now to take a look at some of the oddments around the room, which you might call furnishing accessories. The two odd-looking objects are knife boxes or cases. They date from times when silver cutlery was highly expensive in relation to servants’ wages and no householder would have dreamed of allowing the staff to take the silver out into the kitchen for washing. So after every meal the footmen were made to wash the cutlery in the dining-room, under the eagle eye of the butler or housekeeper—if not of the hostess herself. Water for this purpose was usually provided in one of the pedestal cupboards at either end of the sideboard. The idea of arranging the holes for the knives in rows was that by running an eye over the serried ranks of handles you could see at once if any were missing; if all were in order, the case could be locked and the key firmly kept by someone in authority, probably on the housekeeper’s jangling reticule. (more…)