Two hundred and fifty years ago, Sheffield Plate offered consumers a more
affordable alternative to sterling silver. Today, these early works of silver
plate often command as high or sometimes higher prices than their sterling
counterparts.
Remarkably, the process of creating this high quality silver plate happened
quite by accident, but it was an accident that would eventually allow people
outside of the ruling classes and aristocracy to enjoy the grandeur of fine
silver. From the 18th through 19th centuries, Sheffield Plate pieces were in
great demand and were being manufactured not only in Sheffield, but also in
Birmingham as well as in France and Russia. Almost all silver plate produced
during this time is known as Old Sheffield Plate. In subsequent years it became
known simply as Sheffield Plate. Unfortunately, Sheffield Plate, born of this
revolution of manufacturing, also fell victim to it a short time later, when
cheaper and quicker electroplating was introduced early in the 19th century.
| The Discovery and Evolution of Sheffield Silver
Plate
|
The Industrial Revolution of the late 18th century forever changed the framework
of the world's economy, culture and technology. More and more people moved from
the agricultural-based rural communities to industrial-based cities where both
men and women found work in factories. These jobs allowed the average person to
earn a wage that provided for them beyond the essentials of living. The lines
between the wealthy and the poor became blurred, giving rise to what quickly
became known as the middle class.
Many industries soon became interested in catering to the pocket books of
these average, working citizens including the silver industry. For centuries,
silversmiths had experimented, and often succeeded, in passing off pieces made
of base metals plated in silver to deceive buyers. During the mid 1700s, it was
discovered that there was a real market for these imitations, which had the
appearance of sterling silver but at a fraction of the price. Oddly enough,
then, it can be speculated that many of Sheffield Plate's first customers were
royals and aristocrats since many of the earliest pieces bear crests and
coats-of-arms of the ruling classes.
In 1743, Sheffield cutler Thomas Boulsover (1705-1788) discovered that silver
and copper could be heated, fused and formed into a sheet that could be
fashioned into objects that had the appearance of sterling. In this state, the
two metals acted as one, expanding in total unison.
In the manufacturing process, a sheet of silver about 1/8 inch thick was
pressed on top of an ingot of copper to ensure debris, oil and air were not
trapped inside this metal sandwich. A lump of iron was then placed on top to
make certain the silver was not marred and was used to hammer the silver and
copper until it fused. The ingot was then placed inside a coke-fired furnace
where it was heated until the silver would "weep" small droplets down
the sides of the copper ingot. Once this was complete, the ingot was allowed to
cool. After cooling, it was cleaned with acid and scoured with sand and water.
The copper and silver were then ready to be flattened into a sheet of workable
metal.
From its creation, Sheffield pieces were often decorated using the die
stamping process, which allowed decorative details to be stamped into the metal
using a steel die, or tool used to impart a desired shape into a material. With
the creation of double-sided plating on Sheffield in the late 1760s, pierced
decoration became a plausible form of decoration. From the 1780s, chasing was
used to hammer designs into Sheffield Plate, giving the piece the effect of a
relief pattern. This technique was often used to create decorative borders on
hollowware and on some flatware pieces.
The final process in the creation of Sheffield pieces is known as
burnishing. This process gave the piece a highly polished look and aided in the
concealment of impurities. A piece was first cleaned and smeared with soft soap
before the process began. A mixture of white Calais sand and water were rubbed
into the piece to remove any grease and dirt. An agate burnisher was used to
rapidly move back and forth over the metal to remove scratches. The pores of the
silver were closed by using a steel burnisher, which gave the piece a bright
surface. Final burnishing was done with bloodstone, which produced a surface
that was difficult to tarnish. A mirror-like finish was then rubbed into the
piece using wet rouge and dried with soft, old linen.
abstracted from
http://www.rauantiques.com
also see Old Sheffield Plate,
Shire Publications, Annere Bambery