111-piece Albany Canteen of Silver Cutlery, London 1885

111-piece Canteen of Silver Albany Pattern Cutlery for 12 People, London 1885 by Frederick Elkington

The Service

We are pleased to be offering an excellent late Victorian silver 12 place settings canteen in the popular Albany Pattern. The service provides for eight pieces per 12 place settings with a good array of additional serving items and is in superb condition.

All the spoons, forks and servers were hand-wrought in the traditional manner in one of London’s premier workshops and bear the makers mark “FE” for Frederick Elkington. Work by this silversmithing company is always of the highest standard and so much sought after. The fact that this is a straight, original service that has survived intact together for almost 140 years is quite remarkable (although 2 teaspoons and 2 coffee spoons are not original and have been added to complete the service).

The spoons and forks all have a good hefty weight and ooze the highest quality. Each piece is engraved to the reverse side with a tiny, discreet crest. The serving items include an amazing soup ladle and 12” long basting spoon which are real stunners and sure to impress when used at the table. The presence of both tea and coffee spoons provides great flexibility and at almost 6” long, the teaspoons are good large examples and could equally well be used for desserts such as creme brulee, ice cream and mousse.

The knives are top quality new accompaniments because antique knives rarely survive in practicable condition. These knives are fitted with stainless steel blades and are stamped with Sheffield hallmarks for 2023.

Albany Pattern

Albany Pattern first appeared in the 1880’s and proved a popular alternative to the plain Old English , Rattail and Fiddle patterns and the very fancy King’s pattern family of flatware designs. Not only did it strike the middle ground in terms of decoration, but also in terms of weight it is heavier than the plainer patterns too and so has a satisfying feel in the hand.

Components

This 111-piece service consists of the following:

·         12 Table/Soup Spoons      22.3cm

·         12 Table Knives                24.5cm

·         12 Table/dinner Forks       21.5cm

·         12 Dessert Knives            22cm

·         12 Dessert Forks             18.1cm

·         12 Dessert Spoons          18.2cm

·         12 Teaspoons                  14.7cm

·         12 Coffee Spoons            12.8cm

·         4 Egg Spoons                  12cm

·         4 Salt  Spoons                 12cm

·         Mustard Spoon                13.5cm

·         Butter Knife                      20.5cm

·         Sugar Sifter Spoon          15.7cm

·         Pair Sauce Ladles           17cm

·         Soup Ladle                      35cm

·         Basting Spoon                 32cm

Total weight of weighable silver  5270 grams (169.5 troy ounces) + 24 silver handled knives.

Condition

Excellent polished condition throughout with full and even length fork tines and unworn spoon bowls – thick tips still present! The service has had little use, but has been polished to remove tarnish and is in superb condition.

Presentation

This canteen is presented within new anti-tarnish cutlery rolls. The small servers have their own roll, the soup ladle and basting spoon are within a drawstring bag and the sauce ladles, sifter spoon and butter knife in a zipped bag.

All our canteens are offered with a full money-back guarantee. We are also happy to send a sample place setting for approval, on receipt of a fully refundable surety payment - just phone or email your preferences. Alternatively, in-person viewings are welcome by appointment or via Zoom.