posted 01-22-2000 12:45 AM            

Tiffany has always stood for supreme quality. The older (1850's) pieces made for them by Polhamus can be recognized easily by feel, they are twice the weight of contemporary competitors. We have several Tiffany patterns and place settings each one being a treasure. Thus one has special meaning because of its age. We were able to locate it virtually in tact from Nathan Horowitz in New York City who is always willing to let us rummage through his sets to pick out place settings. The Knife bares the inscription "V crown R" (for Victoria Regina) Joseph Rogers and Sons Cutlers to her Majesty, verifying it's genuine Victorian age.

This was apparently the style back in the late 1890s to use English blades as the 1896 Whiting Catalog ( 4) shows similar blades for their knives of the era. As carbon steel is not a precious metal, many knives of this era have rusted which makes them the key to the set. While it is possible today to replace the blades with very genuine looking old blunt blades for a moderate price, a true verifiable 100 year old virgin knife is a real prize. The "T" mark on all the place pieces verifies also that the setting was produced during the period 1891-1902, as shown in Rainwater (9) . A great bonus for Tiffany collecting is the ability to distinguish the true antiques from the modern.

Again, since real flatware collecting is in it's infancy, we paid no more for these verified antique treasures than we would have for more common modern pieces.

Dating
Tiffany dating has been well documented and a complete guide can be found on the SMP home page. These pieces are marked "T" which indicates 1891-1902.

Pieces Shown
Item..................Length......Our Cost
Flat Butter...........6"................$45
Teaspoon..............6"................$50
Oval Soup.............7"................$75
Dinner Knife..........10 1/2"...........$100
Dinner Fork ..........7 1/2"........... $75
Luncheon Fork.........7 ".............. $50
Salad Fork............6 5/8"........... $75
Demi Tasse............4 1/4"........... $25

Photo:

Key Pieces
A genuine Victorian knife with an English blade

Comments
It is a characteristic of this stage of the hobby than one can obtain genuine antique quality at ordinary tableware prices.