Tea at Trianon: Silverplate is Underappreciated

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Silverplate is Underappreciated

From Desert Sun:

Silverplate is underrated. There, I said it. In today's era of precious metal covetousness, it's a sad thing that beautiful examples of silverplate flatware and decorative items wind up at thrift stores while anything made of sterling silver is highly sought. I know, I know: pure silver is selling around $22.50/ounce as I write this, making your standard sterling teaspoon with its 92.5% silver content worth about $20 in metal alone. All the same, many larger sterling pieces are selling for way over melt value while equally lovely silverplate objects languish unsold even at peanut prices. Thus, consider the following an admonition to dust off granny's tea set and return it to a place of pride, no matter its content.
First, some background. As it happens, silverplate has its own storied history, dating back to 1742 when a careless British flatware maker dumped a mess of molten silver onto a copper knife handle. The silver adhered to the copper, and silverplate was born. Even then, silver was significantly more valuable than copper, so it quickly became apparent that silverplating copper or another base metal might be a way to extend the beauty of silver to a less affluent market. (Read more.)