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Looking for Info on Manchester Pieces

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Author	Topic: Looking for Info on Manchester Pieces
chase33 Posts: 362 Registered: Feb 2008	posted 01-10-2010 10:02 PM Hi all, I inherited my grandparents' set of wedding silver in the Gadroonette pattern by Manchester. The set consists of a service for eight in knives, forks, salad forks, teaspoons and iced teaspoons. There were also six spoons that measure 8" in length. I thought they were the soup spoons but the big replacement site lists them as "tablespoon (serving spoon)". So are these the soup spoons or the serving spoons? Does anyone have any catalogues or info from Manchester that would help me decide? It just seems odd to have six serving spoons in a service for eight! Thanks Robert IP: Logged
doc Posts: 728 Registered: Jul 2003	posted 01-11-2010 08:41 AM A photo of one of the spoons would definitely help. IP: Logged
Dale Posts: 2132 Registered: Nov 2002	posted 01-11-2010 02:47 PM Pre WW1 sets of silverplate came with one serving spoon per place setting. The standard used by both Oneida and IS was a set with 6 dinner forks, 6 oval soups, 6 teaspoons, 6 flathandled knives and 6 tablespoons with a butter knife and sugar shell. In the 20's the Hoover Committee reduced the number of tablespoons to 2. Gadroonette was introduced in 1938 but has tablespoons in a much older configuration. Needing 6 tablespoons is really quite believable. I had many customers who built up to several dozen tablespoons. If you host a potluck for 12 people, that can easily result in over 20 separate dishes. One truism of the silver trade is that nobody ever has enough tablespoons. IP: Logged
chase33 Posts: 362 Registered: Feb 2008	posted 01-11-2010 09:10 PM Here is a picture. Its 8" long: IP: Logged
chase33 Posts: 362 Registered: Feb 2008	posted 01-11-2010 11:10 PM BTW, has anyone found a copy of the Hoover committee/policy/recommendation? I know this has been discussed before, but I can't find any of the details as to which pieces were allowed to remain. I think this is the post that started this topic: Unusual Silver question ...true or Urban Legend? IP: Logged
jersey Posts: 1203 Registered: Feb 2005	posted 01-11-2010 11:12 PM Hello Robert, Perhaps a desert spoon, are you sure it's 8" and not a tad smaller? Either way it's a beautiful pattern , I hope you will enjoy it & put it to good use ! I could always use another serving spoon or fork! Jersey IP: Logged
chase33 Posts: 362 Registered: Feb 2008	posted 01-12-2010 12:11 AM Hey Yeah they are 8". I thought it was a little big for soup but since there weren't any soup spoons, I thought they must be the soup spoons. I need to add a few more pieces so that I can use it for a full service. I do like this pattern and since it has the gadroon border it works well with the few small bowls and compotes with the same border I already had been given/purchased. Now to find a set of china salad plates that I can use with my Lenox Eternal that will also coordinate with this pattern. (Sorry, its late and I know I am rambling!) Thanks for the info/input/comments Robert IP: Logged
taloncrest Posts: 169 Registered: Jun 2004	posted 01-12-2010 12:12 AM I always thought that a tablespoon was used as a soup spoon in older sets, especially if the fork and knife were dinner sized. I read years ago that if your china came with soup plates, the tablespoon was the proper spoon to use with them. I do have a Manchester brochure somewhere, I've just got to find where it got off to... IP: Logged
agphile Posts: 798 Registered: Apr 2008	posted 01-18-2010 12:57 PM This may wander a little off topic as it concerns English rather than American silver but I thought it might be relevant and of mild interest. In the 19th century table spoons could be soup or serving spoons. Specialized, round-bowled soup spoons only appeared somewhere around 1900, the fashion imported from America. Below is an extract from a spoonmaker's workbook of c. 1900. It records the weight of silver needed for the various items and reveals the range of hand wrought flatware items that were on offer then, mostly in dozens because that was a standard number of place settings for a service. In the last half of the 20th century I am told that C J Vanders made table spoons in two sizes: 8 3/8 inches and 9 inches. In some patterns the smaller size was sometimes still ordered for use as soup spoons in preference to the round bowled type, though personally I find spoons of 8 inches or longer a touch large for comfort when eating soup. In case it helps clarify whether English and American terminology matches, here is a picture of some pieces in Mappin and Webb's Athenian pattern. Across the top is a large serving spoon (Gravy spoon). Then from left to right, dessert fork, dessert spoon, small soup spoon, large soup spoon, table fork and table (serving) spoon. IP: Logged
chase33 Posts: 362 Registered: Feb 2008	posted 01-18-2010 11:14 PM Thanks everyone for your input. I guess either two of the spoons were lost or my grandparents never had them in the first place! Robert PS Taloncrest, if you ever find that Manchester brouchure, I would love to know what is in it. IP: Logged
taloncrest Posts: 169 Registered: Jun 2004	posted 01-19-2010 08:51 PM Well, I've found my Manchester brochure. Unfortunately, I don't have a way of scanning it; I hope to be able to soon. It doesn't have pictures of the different pieces. It's dated June 1, 1955, and illustrates eleven patterns, one of which is Gadroonette. It lists bouillon spoons, dessert spoons in two weights, large round bowl soup spoons in two weights, tablespoons in two weights, and cream soup spoons in two weights. In the place setting listings cream soups and the large round soup spoons are what are included. IP: Logged
chase33 Posts: 362 Registered: Feb 2008	posted 01-20-2010 12:10 AM Thanks Taloncrest. If you get a chance to scan it, I would love to get a copy. BTW is there anyplace on here where we can share scans/pdf files of old brochures/booklets? I have some from Gorham and Wallace that I wouldn't mind sharing. Most are from the 30's-50's and are very entertaining to read. Just a thought Robert IP: Logged
Scott Martin Forum Master Posts: 11520 Registered: Apr 93	posted 01-20-2010 08:36 AM You may post pdf docs of catalogs, etc. in the Silver Ephemera & Documentation Forum like WEV has in his post Towle's Ben Franklin pattern. For example: quote: I was cleaning up the shelves and ran across this 1905 Towle brochure Along with a biography of the old rascal, there is a complete showing of the pieces produced. For those interested in seeing all various implements, I made up a pdf file of the pages: Towle Benjamin Franklin flatware It is 3.8 megs in size, so may take a bit to open. IP: Logged
taloncrest Posts: 169 Registered: Jun 2004	posted 01-23-2010 05:03 PM I'm sorry to have taken so long, but I've posted photos of the brochure at Manchester brochure, 1955 IP: Logged

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