The Seductions of Old Silver 
always been accepted as the emblem of hospitality; 
while the primrose pattern about base and body is 
neat and tasteful. The lines in these designs are less 
severely simple than in some, but are excellent, never¬ 
theless. 
Another favorite style of this same period is shown 
in the graceful little pitcher whose sole ornament is 
the rosette where the handle joins the body. Rosettes 
were high in favor in the early part of the nineteenth 
century, and were shown in the furniture of that day 
as well as in the silverware. 
The charming little pitcher which stands upon 
three legs is a veritable prize, literally as well as 
figuratively. During the war of 1812, our Salem 
privateers seized many a valuable cargo. Among the 
confiscated treasures was this dainty little silver 
pitcher, handsomely engraved, and bearing the coat- 
of-arms of a prominent English family. In the 
division of the confiscated goods, this article fell to an 
ancestor of Mrs. W. D. Northend, of Salem, who has 
received it by inheritance. 
The cruet stand belongs to the same period. 
Fifty years ago, these were in common use upon the 
tables of our ancestors. Fashion Fas relegated them 
to the sideboard or to the top shelf, where the old- 
fashioned high silver cake-basket keeps them com¬ 
pany in exile. 
To the,same 
era belong 
the teapot 
with its rosette bowl and mushroom-shaped finial, 
which was among the bride’s presents at a wedding in 
1804. The sugar and creamer, which are shown, 
belong to a later date, as they were bridal presents 
received in 1867. The beauty of the lines in these 
two specimens falls far short of the standard set by 
American manufacturers of Colonial times. 
The tall sugar bowl, mounted upon a standard, is 
more than one hundred years old, as are the tongs 
beside it, with their delicate acorn-cup pattern. In 
the larger piece, the rings which form the handles 
pass through the mouth of a dog’s head, upon each 
side. The feet which support the standard suggest 
the work done in the furniture of that day by Chip¬ 
pendale, Sheraton, and their followers. To the latter 
days of the eighteenth century belong an endless yet 
interesting variety of patterns of pouringers, salvers, 
sugar bowls, perforated baskets for loaf sugar, tea 
and coffee pots and innumerable table utensils. 
Another article which is now found but rarely is 
the nutmeg-holder or spice-box. The interior of the 
lid was roughed for use as a grater, and few were the 
“night-caps” but had a final touch added through its 
use. While the usefulness of the spice-box and the 
snuff-box has long since passed away, yet they are 
treasured because of the pictures they bring to the 
mind’s eye of the old days 
of the Georges. No product ' 
of the present dav can outvie 
the charms of siicli old sil\er. 
WW-’V’’ * 
wm 
I 
- 
I. Silver cream pitcher owned by Mrs. W. D. Northend, Salem, Mass. 2. Bowls for loaf sugar, and a caudle spoon, 
belonging to the Revolutionary period. 3. Caudle bowl and caudle cup of the same period, and in private collection. 
4. Two Apostle spoons, and a rat-tail spoon, all dating back to the eighteenth century, from a private collection 
169 
