169 piece Laurel Canteen, 1906 Elkington

169 Piece Silver Canteen of Laurel Pattern Cutlery,

Birmingham 1906 by Elkington & Company

We are pleased to be offering an extensive, Edwardian period silver 12 place settings canteen of cutlery in the beautiful Laurel Pattern.  

This is the first service we have ever come across in Laurel pattern and to have it complete with all pieces bearing the same hallmark is quite a coup. It is a beautiful pattern, with a stylish leaf design to the front and reverse sides of the handle terminal and a further motif just above the bowl on both sides. Each piece has a good hefty feel and the whole service has a wonderful feeling of high quality.

The Service

This service provides for thirteen pieces per 12 place settings with an assortment of serving pieces. There are ample pieces to suit any dining occasion with some scarce pieces also included in the set.

The fish course is catered for with two dozen beautifully engraved knives and forks fitted with good quality, hollow silver handles (suitable for use in dishwashers). The large pair of fish servers just ooze high quality.

The modern round bowled soup spoon was not introduced until the early 20^th century, and so the traditional oval bowled table spoons (used by supping from the side of the bowl) are present within this canteen. These spoons have the bonus of being dual purpose and can be used as serving spoons should the need arise.

A standard table knife (with stainless steel blade) and fork are available for the main course, the smaller knife with stainless steel blade is generally termed as a “dessert knife” but in this instance it could be used as a side knife or for the later cheese course. The five piece carving set, with stainless steel fittings, will add ceremony to proceedings and the sauce ladles, salt and mustard spoons add elegance.

A standard knife, fork and spoon are available for the dessert course, but the presence of the beautifully engraved specialist fruit knife and fork (with hollow handles) and the rare ice cream spades means that there are plenty of options available – for example they could be used with a starter course. A choice of spoons for after-dinner tea or coffee completes this fine dining suite.

The Makers

The service was made by Elkington & Co. who one of the most important British silversmithing companies. They made prestigious civic and royal pieces and were the inventors of electo-plating. Their work is always highly regarded and this canteen is testament to their reputation.

Components

This 169-piece service consists of the following:

Total weight of weighable silver  8240grams (265 troy ounces). Plus 24 silver handled knives and a five piece carving set.

Condition

Excellent polished condition with full and equal length fork tines and unworn spoon bowls. Fabulous!

Presentation

This canteen is supplied within 13 new Royal blue anti-tarnish cutlery rolls, with the serving pieces supplied loose.

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.