Sugar Shells

Among the basic serving pieces in a standard pattern there is a sugar spoon and the fancier Sugar Shell which gets its name (obviously) from the shape of the bowl. As with most sterling designs, the more distinctive and ornate the pattern, the more ornate the sugar shell. Here are some examples.


 Indian by Whiting







Lily of the Valley by Whiting





Alhambra by Whiting





Fiorito by Shiebler





Medallion-E by Shiebler





Orange Blossom Old by Alvin







Lily by Whiting 

Pompadour by Whiting

I have seen references to this pattern being introduced in 1895 and 1989. Either year, Pompadour, is a lovely pattern with an ornate design. I personally own a piece of this and feel that photographs do not do it justice.

.

Place Soup Spoon



Cold Meat Fork (7 1/2 inches)



Demitasse Spoon (3 7/8 inches)





Small Berry/Casserole Spoon (8 7/8 inches)





Small Solid Fish Serving Knife (01 1/4 inches)







Long Handle Olive Fork (8 7/8 inches)





Solid Waffle Server (8 1/8 inches)

Buffet Fork

The Buffet Fork is serving piece designed (obviously) for the buffet.Very similar to the Cold Meat fork but just a bit larger. For example in the Durgin Chrysanthemum pattern the Cold Meat fork is 9 1/4 inches, while the Buffet fork is 9 3/8. The Repousse Cold Meat fork is both smaller and more "scooped" in design that the Buffet fork, so they are separate pieces.


Chrysanthemum by Durgin 9 3/8 inches



Athene/Crescendo by Frank Whiting (9 1/8  inches)





Provence by Lunt (8 1/18 inches)





Repousse by Kirk (10 1/4 inches)

Crumb Knife (Part 2)

More lovely Crumb Knives or Crumbers. The retail values of some of these pieces can be as much as $3,000. Because the pieces are so large, the designers had room for engraving and special work to further the pattern detail, more so than they could on place pieces. For the true artisan, the crumb knife could be their large canvas.

Italian by Tiffany (12 3/8 inches)



Lady Washington by Gorham (13 inches)




Lily by Gorham (10 3/4 inches)




Luxembourg by Gorham (11 3/4 inches)



Medallion by Gorham (13 inches)



Monroe by Wendt (13 inches)



Saint Cloud by Gorham (12 1/2 inches)

Daphne by Paye and Baker

An Art Nouveau pattern, Daphne, was introduced by Paye and Baker in 1900. The design is of a woman's face with flowing hair and floral decorations. It is fairly hard to find, as most Pay and Baker pieces are - a beautiful pattern.

(Cocktail Fork 6 inches)

(Fruit Orange Spoon 5 3/4 inches)

(Old Style Pickle Fork  5 1/2 inches)

Place Forks

Several months ago, I did a piece on all the place knives available. Here are all the Place Forks available. And, like I stated earlier, one would most likely never use all these pieces at one time (according the Amy Vanderbilt a formal setting should never have more than 3 forks. Should more be required then the staff will replace the ones from the earlier courses with the proper ones for the following courses.)

Dinner Fork (Cromwell by Durgin) (7 5/8 inches)

Regular Fork (Bridal Rose By Alvin) (7 inches)

Salad Fork (Lily (aka "88") by Gorham) (5 1/2 inches)

Fish Forks -with fancy shells (New Queens by Durgin) (7 3/4 inches)

Dessert fork (Chrysanthemum by Durgin) ( 6 1/8 inches)



Pie Fork (Lily of the Valley by Whiting) (6 1/4 inches)



Pickle Fork (Acorn by Jensen) (6 5/8 inches)

Ice Cream Fork (Della Robbia by Alvin) (5 5/8 inches)

Fruit Fork (Eglantine by Gorham) (6 1/8 inches)



Cocktail Fork (Du Barry by Durgin) (7 1/2 inches)



Terrapin Fork (Iris by Durgin-Gorham) (5 1/2 inches)



Ramekin Forks (Hepplewhite Chased by Reed and Barton) (4 7/8 inches)

Strawberry Fork (Marechal Niel by Durgin) (5 inches)

Narcissus - in Several Patterns

Like Roses, Narcissus is a popular theme for patterns. I could find seven manufacturers with references to patterns with this name. The designs vary from highly ornate floral like Fessenden and Durgin to a repousse type by National. While Lunt and Oxford are fairly similar. They are all lovely patterns.


Unger -





                 Unger Dinner Fork (7 5/8 inches)





Lunt - which was introduced in 1903





                  Lunt Teaspoon (6 inches)





National introduced in 1936





                National Cocktail Fork (5 inches)





Oxford introduced in 1908





Fessenden introduced in 1905


                (Jelly Server)





Frank Whiting introduced in 1886

Saint Cloud by Gorham

This pattern was credited to Walter Wilkinson when introduced in 1885  by Gorham. However, there is some belief that credit should go to F. Antoine Heller. It is heavily engraved and very ornate. 


Salad Serving Fork (11 3/8  inches)






Salad Serving Spoon  (11 3/8 inches)






Fish Serving Knife (11 3/4 inches)








Fish Fork  (7 inches)