www.925-1000.com

This was probably used in a store that sold Holmes & Edwards inlaid silver for demonstration or was it? Those are actual small blocks of sterling silver on it.


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I would suggest that the sterling inlays were for engraving after the piece was plated.

Paul
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I think they are wear buffers, they are located at the reverse's two points of resting contact, the first candidates for bleeding.
Prior to this post, I had always thought "Inlaid" was just a marketing ploy by International to avoid saying "Plated".
Regards, Tom
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Reed and Barton held a patent for this process (Patent number: 606183; Filing date: Sept. 20, 1897) as well. I have seen several of these pieces and always assumed they were store demonstration/sales models.
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Hello, a similiar process was used by German BSF on silberplated cutlery. They called it "platura". As Tom noted, it was meant as buffers. Best wishes, Bahner
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Holmes & Edwards ad from 1893.



Trev.

This one is from 1908, after they had been taken over by International Silver Co. in 1898.



Trev.

Holmes & Edwards - Bridgeport Conn. - 1890

Trev.

Holmes & Edwards - Bridgeport Conn. - 1894

Trev.

Hehe, have several of those charming anthropomorphic Holmes & Edwards ads tucked away somewhere in my files. Interestingly, I have an 1870s Holmes, Booth & Haydens spoon with a nasty scar on the heel from the loss of the solid silver piece. It has plating-loss at the wear point on the back of the handle and doesn't appear to have an inlay there - perhaps an earlier attempt at the technique?

~Cheryl

Holmes & Edwards - Bridgeport Conn. - 1921

Trev.