posted 09-13-2007 10:29 AM            

Hello all,

Here is an item from Reed & Barton that is a bit of a mystery to me. Reed & Barton was at the forefront of modern flatware design among American manufacturers during the 1950s and 60's. However, this piece seem to predate the 50s. The only decoration is the chased (not engraved or stamped) arches on the handle tip. The piece has the old R&B trademark which seems to have been dropped sometime shortly after WW II. It also has a retailer's stamp from Grogan of Pittsburgh. Retailer's stamps seem to have gone out of favor before the war. Anyway, I'm thinking this is more an Art Deco piece than one of the modern styles that came after the war.

I have been unable to find a name for the pattern, I have never seen another piece of it, and I'm not sure what it was for. It is probably half of a salad serving set, but could be a tomato server as well.

Does anyone have any thoughts / insights?

posted 09-13-2007 10:14 PM            

It is not abnormally heavy, but it has pretty good weight. Most R&B flatware tends to be pretty heavy, especially in relation to, say, International.

As I said before, Reed & Barton were really on the cutting edge of modern flatware in the 1950s and 60's. If you look at their few patterns from the 30s and 40s, though, they are pretty uninspired. On the other hand, R&B did some great Art Deco / Streamline silverplate hollow ware in the 30s, some of which I have shared here. Jewel Stern's MODERNISM... book shows a number of fine examples. So, maybe someone from the hollow ware department was fooling around in flatware!

Regardless, I think it is a pretty interesting item. It is always fun to find a surprise.

Brent