This section is intended to help you decide on how to buy or build a canteen of antique silver cutlery and flatware.
Click here for a range of hallmarked silver canteens for sale.
Click here for a selection of silver serving items available
Click here for information on late 19th & 20th Century canteen makers
What is a canteen?
A full canteen consists of twelve place settings.
A half-canteen consists of six place settings.
A double canteen consists of twenty-four place settings etc.
The components of a canteen vary according to particular tastes and desires. Standard components are table and dessert forks, table (or soup) and dessert spoons, and usually teaspoons. Knives may or may not be included. Further items can include other eating implements such as fish eaters and serving items such as ladles.
Canteens of silver can be supplied loose, in cutlery rolls or within a fitted box.
Canteens of cutlery can be made from stainless steel, silver plate or hallmarked silver. The latter is also known as Sterling silver and this page informs about English flatware services made from that material.
Types Of Canteen
A straight canteen effectively means that all components are the same pattern, by the same maker, and generally of the same date.
A mixed canteen means all components are the same pattern, but not necessarily by the same maker and date.
An eclectic canteen is exactly that – anything goes – usually the main course eaters match each other, and probably the dessert eaters, but servers can be mixed.
Within these main categories are sub-categories, for example a "made-up straight canteen" is all the same maker, but the dates can vary, a canteen such as this may have differing proportions throughout – the more exact it is the more valuable it becomes.
Within the mixed canteen heading are two main sub-headings of canteen building; matching sets of 6 (i.e. same date, same maker) or one-offs (i.e. the pattern is constant throughout – but the hallmarks differ).
The relevancy of all these differing types of canteen is the effect on both the pocket and the table! Basically the greater the consistency of the canteen in terms of size and proportions of each piece, the more expensive it will be too.
Choosing A Pattern
With such a large choice available it can appear quite daunting which pattern to choose. However, answering the following questions can drastically narrow the field down: -
1. Plain or decorative?
2. How much do you want to spend?
3. If you are building a canteen – how much time are you willing to spend?
A scarce, decorative pattern, such as Stag Hunt Pattern, will take a long time to build and be very expensive, whereas a plain pattern, such as Old English, is much more readily available and will be a fraction of the cost. Generally speaking the scarcity of a pattern is proportional to the price and the time it would take to build a set. The following is a list of the more commonly found patterns where building a canteen should prove relatively straightforward. Click the patterns that interest you for details of flatware and cutlery services available with further illustrations.
Plain silver flatware patterns: Old English, Fiddle, Hanoverian Rat-tail, Sandringham
Plain silver flatware patterns with limited decoration: Fiddle & Thread, Bead, Old English Thread.
Decorative silver flatware patterns: King’s, Fiddle, Thread & Shell (F/T/S), Queen’s.
Old English pattern
King's pattern
Fiddle & Thread pattern
New or Old?
If you have in mind a contemporary pattern for your canteen, then you have very little choice than to buy new. On the other hand if you are looking for a traditional pattern you have a choice; new will be pristine and you can have the quantity and type of pieces of your choice "off the shelf", whereas second-hand or antique will be far less expensive & have some history. Remember this simple truth: if you are buying new, the value of your canteen will go down from the moment you buy it and will only begin to increase again once you have passed away - old will continue to appreciate in value from the moment you buy it!
Cost of a Canteen
There are many criteria involved in valuing a canteen, here are some of the main ones: -
1. Straight or mixed. The "straighter" a canteen the more it is worth.
2. Abundance of the pattern. The commonly found patterns are much less expensive than rare patterns.
3. Quality. Silver flatware can either have been hand-wrought or machine made. Lots of time and skill was involved in making flatware by hand. These items were made to be long lasting and are subsequently more durable than machine made pieces. The decoration on patterns such as King's, is much crisper and in greater relief and tis therefore more appealing than on mass-produced stamped out items where dies may wear and lose the desirable clarity of decoration. Certain canteen makers are well known for the quality of their products, e.g. Chawner & Co. (George Adams), Jackson & Fullerton, William Eaton, Eley & Fearn & Francis Higgins, these items will therefore command a premium.
4. Weight. With high metal prices the overall weight of the canteen is a significant factor in determining value due to the intrinsic value of the metal.
5. Condition. This relates to the length of tines on forks, the shape of spoon bowls, the sharpness of decoration and the presence of engraved initials or crests. The presence of engraved crests can be desirable to some, but not to others. All our items are supplied in first class condition and should not be compared with the majority of those found in auction salerooms or internet auctions. Please see below for more information regarding condition.
6. Age. The older the canteen of cutlery and flatware the more expensive it will become.
7. Loose or cased. A good fitted box will add value.
8. The presence or absence of servers. These can usually be bought at a later date.
Click here for a range of silver canteens for sale.
Useful Information
Here are the answers to a few of the queries that we are regular asked.
1. Soup Spoons: Today’s familiar form of round bowl soup spoon did not exist pre-1900. The much larger, oval-bowled table spoon was the standard spoon for Victorian and earlier soup diners. Early 20th Century round-bowl soup spoons in certain patterns can afford very high prices, for example they are extremely rare in Fiddle pattern.
2. Knives: Pre-1900, knives were not generally supplied with the rest of the canteen. Cutlers produced knives, whereas spoon-makers or silversmiths made spoons. Generally bone or ivory handled knives were used. However silver-handled examples did exist, but did not necessarily follow the same design as the rest of the canteen, for example pistol-handled knives were usually used in conjunction with either Rattail or Old English Patterns. For decorative patterns, such as King’s, old knives can be found, but they have their own problems! See below. Certain patterns, such as Fiddle, did not have matching silver handled knives and square bone/ivory handles were the standard accompaniment.
Nowadays knives can be supplied new in virtually all patterns, including Fiddle. Blades appear in four main forms: straight (traditional shape), taper (aka finger point), slipper (popular 20th Century blade), and pistol (generally only used with pistol handles). Blades come with either a matt or polished finish.
Knife blades: 1. "Straight", 2. "Pistol" 3. "Slipper" & 4. "Taper" or "Finger Point".
Pistol handled Table & Dessert knives
3. Serving items: The most commonly found servers with canteens of cutlery are soup ladles, sauce ladles, basting spoons, condiment spoons (salt & mustard), butter knives and the more or less redundant sugar tongs. Other popular servers include fish servers, asparagus/serving tongs, sugar sifter spoons, jam spoons, stilton scoops, skewers etc. For more information and other possible serving options please look at our types of spoon section.
4. Carving Sets: The majority of cased silver canteens include a carving set. These are generally three piece (carving knife, fork and sharpening steel) or five piece (meat and poultry carving knives, meat and poultry carving forks and sharpening steel). Occasionally bread knives are an addition. Silver handled examples can be found, but bone handles are more usual.
5. Makers of canteens. Please click here for information on and sample marks of the most well known silver canteen makers of the late 19th & 20th centuries.
Condition
Spoons – the area most prone to wear is the tip of the bowl. This wear is due to the constant scraping of the spoon whilst being used. The first signs of a heavily used spoon is the curling up at the tip of the spoon, this can usually be felt with the finger as a sharp obstacle when you run your finger along the end of the bowl. A badly worn bowl becomes more evident with the loss of shape to the bowl tip. Spoons made from a good gauge of silver are much less likely to wear compared to inferior quality spoons. A sign of a quality spoon in first class condition is a flat tip to the bowl with no loss of shape. Bruises (a.k.a dents/dings) can often be found within the deep of the bowl caused by heavy-handed table contact. To ensure first class spoons in good condition we recommend buying from a reputable dealer.
Forks – will show wear with the reduction in length of the tines (prongs). The earliest stage is the left-handtine being slightly shorter at the tip (this is caused by the scraping of the fork over time by a right-handed person). Over years the other tines will become shorter too, giving an uneven appearance. These forks are occasionally "enhanced" by being trimmed to make the tips all equal lengths, excessive wear or trimming leaves a very stunted appearance. We highly recommend buying forks with full length tines, if wear is already showing the chances are that they will become more pronounced with future use. A specialist dealer will be able to supply the appropriate quality forks.
Remember with both spoons and forks the excessive wear shown is a result of many generations of use, and if you buy a canteen in good condition it is unlikely that this sort of wear will result within your lifetime.
Knife blades – the earliest knives (pre – 1900) are fitted with steel blades. These blades are invariably discoloured, and often rusted and worn, making them unsightly and impracticable. There are however ways to still have usable antique knives – buy them with replacement stainless steel blades. These replacements may be old in themselves (up to 100 years) or be brand new (we sometimes have them re-bladed).
Stainless steel blades tend to be much more durable and longer lasting; very occasionally they have some pitting or minor discolouration.
Knife handles (hafts) - before the advent of stainless steel blades in the early 20th Century, silver-handled knives were constructed by soldering the two halves of the handle together (lengthways from hilt to terminal), the handle filled with molten pitch and the tang of a steel blade inserted in to it. Three major problems arise; the gauge of silver used was generally very thin therefore the handles are prone to bruising and splitting along the seams, the steel blades will rust, discolour and become worn through use (see above) and the pitch can melt or deteriorate and thus release it’s grip on the blade.
Stainless steel blades have solved all these problems. At one stage silver handles were soldered directly to stainless steel blades, however issues arose where the heat involved caused pitting to the blade. Nowadays the silver handles are cemented to the blade, this resolves all the previous difficulties and also makes them dish-washer proof.
Engraved Inscriptions - spoons that are to be used (as against collectors items) with engraved initials or monograms are generally less saleable/desirable than those that are without, they are therefore deemed less valuable. These engravings can be erased (but not easily on decorative patterns such as King's) and the saleability and inevitably the value will go up accordingly. BUT it must be done properly – badly erased inscriptions will decrease the value further (the potential has been lost!).
The presence of engravings on the decorative patterns is more acceptable, than they are on say Old English or Fiddle Patterns. The majority of pieces would originally have been engraved and the successful removal of such engravings is very difficult. Furthermore, the engravings on King's and Queen's Patterns tends to be more discreet as the field in which crests or initials can be placed is relatively small. Please click here for more information about engravings to be found on silver flatware.
Items without inscriptions will match up to each other far better than a multitude of different engravings, plus many people do not want somebody else’s initials on their flatware. Remember, the vast majority of flatware before about 1850 would originally have been adorned with personal engraving, so an item that is without today, has likely had a removed inscription at some stage – yesterday, 10 years or 100 years ago!
Many people are happy with engraved crests – depending upon what is depicted, they can sometimes increase interest and value.
We are able to offer an engraving service. Crests and initials can be added to all flatware purchased from us. Each item is carefully hand-engraved in the traditional manner, by one of the UK's leading engravers. Faithful copies of family crests can be achieved and advice on engraving styles for monograms or initials is provided. Complete silver canteens can be engraved to your requirements. Items can be supplied to augment current services or replacements found for missing pieces, with appropriate engravings added to match. Quotes are available on request - you might be pleasantly surprised!
Click here for a range of hallmarked silver canteens for sale.