In the beginning of our years together there used to be a nice gift list put out by “somebody”. The first anniversary is the paper anniversary, the second one is… and so on but eventually the years begin being skipped and go into survival mode so that only the “BIG” anniversaries have a traditional gift… IF you survive that long without a divorce or dying. And so we were left to our own creative devices. Rather than piddling the money away on each other we decided to make one larger purchase that we agreed on that we wouldn’t ordinarily get or have the money for otherwise. One year we bought a Kitchen Aid food mill, another some outdoor furniture. Another year we bought a heavy duty fruit and vegetable peeler (to save us when we make tons and tons of applesauce every year). I think another year we even bought a whole bunch of oats which we are still eating today. But we agreed on a need or a want and fulfilled the wish by putting “gift money” together. This year we hemmed and hawed and thought of the possibilities. In the end we decided that it would be nice to have something tangible and beautiful to remember our 18th anniversary combined with something we thought we could really use for a couple of years now. Silverware!
We have a set of stainless steel. Up until our 5th wedding anniversary we ate with a hodge podge mix of silverware. In 1999 when our second baby was not even a month old we drove up to the Pfalzgraff store back when they still had actual stores to walk into and we bought the “Tea Rose” stainless steel service for 8 thinking we would get more of it when we could afford it and needed it more. A few years later I went to make a purchase of another service for four and discovered that it was a limited production that wasn’t selling any longer; now a collector’s item. I’ve since located a company that sells this silverware and you can find pieces on e-bay but to purchase a service for 4 would now cost me hundreds of dollars. Because of it being a limited edition it is now a collector’s item. Playing with this idea for several years I’ve had a hard time deciding whether to spend hundreds (and rising each year) on 4 place settings, which didn’t really seem like a good idea, or spend hundreds on a new service for 12. The anniversary set has sentimental value to me too though I guess I could make a small fortune by selling it off. But I just couldn’t justify spending so much money. Lately, as my kids are now older and there are only one or two of them using what’s left of the children’s silverware we keep running out leaving us not having enough silverware for everyone to eat with. And the last time we had my in-laws to dinner my mother-in-law got a pink plastic spoon we washed from the ice cream parlor and use for school lunches to use. We decided to re-think our “need” for silverware and a new route for obtaining it came to me. I got onto e-bay for the first time. What an adventure in bidding (and not “betting” as our 10 year old was worried we were doing). EVENTUALLY we figured out how bidding on e-bay works and after several disappointments we won a bid in the last 5 seconds of cut-throat price warring on a chest of vintage silver plated flatware at a fraction of the cost of anything else we could have bought. An additional service for 8 should help us out ensuring that everyone has their needed silverware and it is a beautiful set besides.
Arriving in the mail from Connecticut was a wooden chest containing a vintage daffodil pattern of 1847 Rogers Bros. service for 8 plus hostess set, each piece carefully and individually wrapped.
Placing this next to our everyday flatware the silver looks extraordinary. I also got a hold of a set of baby and youth place settings. This set looks as if it’s been thrown in a box in somebodies attic to spend the years. Tarnished badly I’m sure that they will clean up with a little polish but because of this it was MUCH cheaper than the other similar pieces I found. I decided to purchase these because family and children are at the top of my priority list and the set didn’t feel complete without them. Nathan and Kaitlyn can still use the youth set and the toddler spoon is apparently really awesome to eat with, so I’ve been told.
I looked up 1847 Rogers Bros. and found a very interesting history lesson. The company is known for their quality. Here is an up close shot of the daffodils. I love them. They are beautiful, out of the ordinary and have history. We have them now to use when we need them or simply want to add something special to the table. While we did wash them in the dishwasher the first time as we were told we could do we will treat them with the extra care of hand washing them from this point forward whenever they are used.
One really interesting thing we found was behind the label where the original owner wrote in the date that these were new and given lovingly as a gift; December 25th, 1956. Given a new life, we hope to enjoy this set of special silverware for many years ourselves. Original advertisements from the early 1950's for this set are also selling on e-bay showing this set, depending on the number of place settings, selling for between $80 –$100 without the additional pieces. It is interesting to think how expensive that would have been in those days. Another interesting realization; this silverware is 56 years old. My house was also 56 years old when we bought it! I guess I have a “thing” for older things. I love and appreciate the craftsmanship that newer products seem lacking in. “Vintage”… loving it!
No comments:
Post a Comment