Thursday, January 26, 2012

A Surprising Little Treasure

One of my favorite items to collect and sell is antique and vintage silver. Just about every piece I find is tarnished. My friend Denise of My Vintage Gardens got me hooked on tarnished silver, so I never hesitate to pick up a piece that only a few years ago I would have passed up as dingy and worn.

While Denise still prefers a tarnished piece, I’ve really enjoyed seeing what lies beneath the patina that has accumulated over time. I occasionally find unfortunate scratches or silver loss, but sometimes I find a well-hidden monogram or design. That is always a thrill!

I love to research the pattern names and design dates. That information makes a piece even more interesting. And a pattern name certainly helps to get a piece to an owner who is looking for extras to go with grandma’s silver set!

In a recent hunt to identify a serving fork, I found a surprising little treasure ~ the advertisements that were placed over a hundred years ago for this gorgeous Astoria pattern by R. Wallace! Imagine a bride in 1899 looking over catalogs to choose her silver pattern just like brides do today. The ads with their beautifully detailed designs and information are a treasure themselves! What they do for our imaginations is a little gift for any collector!

Antique R Wallace Astoria Cold Meat Serving Fork



For tips on how to get your silver from shabby to shiny, visit the How To Easily Clean Your Silver page at The Pink Rose Cottage

3 comments:

  1. Wow! what a great find!It must have been exciting cleaning it and finding what you had. Congratulations!

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  2. How great! I rarely even look at the silver when I am at thrift stores. You have opened my eyes to a whole new treasure. Darn, one more thing to collect. lol!
    Hugs,
    Jann
    p.s. I am now a new follower.

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