The Joy of Silver

I feel as though I just got married.  No, not really.  But my generous aunt gifted me with my grandmother’s sterling silver flatware recently.  Delightfully, it’s a full set and then some.

Many years ago, I tore an ad from Glamour Magazine of a housewife holding a placesetting along with a perfect rose behind her back.  Her fingers were crossed because the ad implied that she was about to spring it on her new husband that she had made a significant purchase (behind his back).  The ad was so charming, I kept it.

The sterling setting the model clutched was Towle Old Master, a well-known traditional pattern.  I hadn’t seen my grandmother’s silver for some time but I was convinced Old Master was her pattern too.  It was designed in 1942 for wartime brides.  Elegant yet ornate, it foretold of after-the-war dinner parties and baby showers and brides were advised not to stop asking for silver as part of their wedding trousseau’s.  The silverware represented the collective heartfelt hope that one day, the country would return to its beloved heritage of family dinners, after-theater coffees, and Sunday afternoon teas, replete with china, crystal, and sterling…

Old Master has always been on my Third Act radar and I noticed the prices had dropped on eBay for complete sets.  To get the ball rolling, my good friend Karen sent me one perfect teaspoon of the pattern and I have used it since to stir my daily mug of tea.

Maybe you can imagine my joy when my aunt handed me my grandmother’s silver set this summer.  I carried the blue velvet tray of shiny sterling like a wedding cake to my car and as soon as I got home, I polished every piece within an inch of its life.  Then I called some friends over for dinner.

But as I set the table, I noticed that my silver was not marked with the well-known Towle stamp.  Instead, I discovered I now own International Silver Heritage sterling.  My silver looks nearly identical to Towle’s Old Master except for two additional delicate roses etched on the handles.  After some research, it all made sense because the Heritage silver was designed in 1953 which was about the time I was told my grandmother started buying her set, piece by piece by piece.  I feel so blessed to have it and remember well learning to set my grandmother’s holiday tables with it.  She took the time to also warn me to never immerse the hollow knife handles when washing up.  Because of her, I garnered pride in things that are everlasting and in the case of her silver, hard-won as well.

The other day, I let my little granddaughter peek inside the wooden box that impressively holds my bountiful collection.  I told her how special the placesettings are and let her lift the spoons from the box and touch the petite roses with her small fingers.  I told her I would teach her how to set a pretty table and that her great great grandmother bought the silver because she loved fine things too.  And then I told her, it would be hers one day.  Without complete understanding but with her young face still over the box, I caught her innocent joy at the thought of it.