December, 1917 
23 
day sought no silver substitutes, and that on 
the tables of the middle class such things as 
epergnes, bread-baskets and cake-baskets were 
hardly to be found before 1750, while coffee¬ 
pots and milk jugs were rare even in silver, 
and tea-kettles and tea-urns even more so. As 
these various articles came into more extended 
use in silver form, they suggested to the im¬ 
mediate followers of Bobover and Hancock 
the greater commercial field that would open 
to their manufacture in copper rolled plate. 
Still the old Tudor and Leader firm, founded 
in 1758 by Dr. Sherburn and lasting till 1814, 
a firm advertising “the best wrought silver 
plate,” devoted most of its attention to the 
making of buttons and snuff-boxes. 
Authorities generally assign to about 1760 
the earliest table pieces, except those (and they 
were very few) which Hancock produced. 
After this time the copper rolled plate, which 
Balsover and Hancock found less remunera¬ 
tive than the metal rolling business they 
entered, developed rapidly and by 1774 there 
were some sixteen firms engaged in the hollow- 
ware making in Sheffield alone, and Boulton 
had established a factor}' for copper rolled 
plate in Birmingham. 
We may assume that Sheffield plate, as the 
ware came to be called then, met with wide¬ 
spread encouragement, for Ashworth, Ellis, 
Wilson and Hawksly opened branches away 
from Sheffield—in Baris and in Dublin. There 
were, of course, many improvements in Shef¬ 
field plate, such as the method of preparing 
for and applying the ornamental silver edges 
under the patents of Mr. Roberts of Roberts 
& Cadman in 1824. 
The Discovery of Electroplating 
To another discovery we may credit the de¬ 
cline of the fine copper rolled plate after 1840. 
It seems that a medical student, Wright by 
name, studying with Dr. Shearman of Rother¬ 
ham, near Sheffield, discovered a process of 
depositing silver on copper by electro-decom¬ 
position. He sold his discovery to Messrs. 
Elkington in Birmingham, who took out pat¬ 
ents March 25, 1840. Those who have not 
studied the matter usually rest under the im¬ 
pression that Sheffield plate, as collectors know 
it, is an electro-plated ware. On the contrary, 
although many of the beautiful original Shef¬ 
field plate forms have been imitated in electro¬ 
plated articles, it is not the latter that hold 
a collector’s interest. Moreover, the true 
Sheffield plate so treasured today has the silver 
rolled on copper and not on nickel or white 
metal. I suppose tons of machine-made copper 
articles, electro-plated, pass today with the un¬ 
knowing as true Sheffield plate. Such of these 
as imitate the fine old forms that have been 
surpassed are certainly preferable to other 
modern wares that lack the beauty of form 
and the traditions of design. However, the 
electro-plated wares should pass as such, and 
should not be fabricated to deceive. 
Another point is that the cost of making 
copper rolled plate is twice the cost of making 
electro-plate. It is, I think, better for the 
home furnisher to pay twice as much for a 
few excellent things than to have twice as 
many inferior things at the same price. Mod¬ 
ern Sheffield plate, that is to say, the rolled 
plate of today, is nearly all worth having. 
The old Sheffield pattern books and many of 
the dies for the forms survived the capricious 
fortune that for so many years led the older 
art to give way to the commercial aspect of 
electro-plate. Now, electro-plating does not 
wear well unless it is done on nickel, a hard 
(Continued on page 72) 
Vegetable dish and tray, reproduc¬ 
tions of Queen Anne patterns. With 
pieces below, courtesy of Sheffield 
Silver Shop 
Noteworthy modern Sheffield plating 
is seen in this Roman fruit bowl and 
the candlesticks of Georgian design 
Tivo-branch candelabra of the period 
about 1800 and French style fruit 
basket of the same date 
To left, an old Sheffield tray of 
French design. This and pieces 
above by courtesy of Crichton 
