135 piece OE Canteen, 1863 by GA

135-piece Silver Old English Pattern Canteen, London 1863 by George Adams

The Service

We are proud to be offering a comprehensive straight 18 place settings cutlery service in Old English Pattern. The service provides for seven pieces per 18 place settings with an array of large serving pieces.

All the spoons and forks were hand-wrought by the most important flatware maker of the Victorian period and bear the same hallmark throughout for London 1863 by George Adams of Chawner & Company. This is known as “a straight service” – i.e. all the pieces are of the same date/maker and original to each other – and this is rare for an antique service where generally sets have been split up, pieces lost and others added over time. All these pieces also bear an excellent engraved crest of a hand holding a laurel wreath to the front terminal.

The mix and quantity of pieces available, gives plenty of opportunities to cater for every need. The coffee/egg spoons could double up as teaspoons if required and the teaspoons are a good length so that they could be used for sorbet should the need arise.

Antique knives tend not to last the rigours of time and so we have opted for 36 modern silver handled knives with stainless steel blades as the most practical knives to complement this canteen.

Old English Pattern

Old English Pattern was first introduced circa 1770 and has always been a very favoured pattern due to its elegant and simple form. It has been produced continually to the present day with a resurgence of popularity in the early 20^th Century.

The Maker.

Chawner & Company was founded in 1815 by William Chawner, on the solid grounding of an apprenticeship and later partnership within the most important line of specialist spoon and forks makers dating back to the mid-18^th century.

Chawner & Company became the largest and most important specialist silver flatware makers of the 19^th Century. In 1840, George W Adams took over the business from his mother-in-law Mary Chawner and developed the company even further using his “GA” maker’s mark. They introduced new flatware patterns and fashioned silver for important private clients and high end retailers.

The company was prolific in their output and always produced the best quality silver flatware available. The spoons and forks were hand forged to ensure balance and durability, and were made from a good gauge of silver to give them a nice hefty weight in the hand. The reputation of Chawner & Company endures to this day and a canteen wrought by them will give full satisfaction.

Components

This 135-piece service consists of the following:

Total weight of weighable silver 4760 grams (153 troy ounces).

Optional Extras

Same date and maker (part of the same original service):-

• 6 Soup Spoons (could be used for serving)
• 6 Table Forks
• Sugar Tongs

Plus

• Soup Ladle, London 1793 by Smith & Fearn and bearing the same crest

Furthermore, we have a large range of Old English Pattern by George Adams in stock and can add to the above with dining pieces or other serving pieces – n.b. they will be a different date and not bear the crest.

Condition

Excellent condition with full length tines and unworn spoon bowls.

Presentation

This canteen is offered loose. We can supply anti-tarnish cutlery rolls on request. These navy blue rolls have individual pockets to hold 12 items per roll and are available for £15 each.

As with all the canteens available from our web-site, we are happy to send a sample place setting for approval, on receipt of a fully refundable surety payment, prior to purchasing this canteen.