Check museums and historical societies in and around the area where Colonel Taylor worked to see if their collections include examples of his work. Harry cannot provide personal answers. Once you have polished a piece, wash it in warm soapy water to make certain all the polish is off. The Society of American Silversmiths advises that the best way to preserve your silver plate is to prevent tarnish and corrosion. We opted to lay the silver tray down before adding the other ingredients to minimize splashing.
Not only will it save you money, but cleaning silver this way is much less labor intensive. It is important that the aluminum is present.
Get DIY project ideas and easy-to-follow crafts to help you spruce up your space. Dear J.P.: The Homer Laughlin China Company produced a wide range of wares, including dinnerware (Fiesta is among its best known patterns), hotel ware, and utilitarian household china. If you are happy with the finished product, stop.
This is common on older pieces where the silver plating has been worn down over time by polishing.
Some leave only a portion of the tarnish intact to show character. Manasa Reddigari, 8 Things You Never See on the Dining Table Anymore. STEP 1 Determine whether your silver-plated item is lacquered (sealed with a clear protective coating) or non-lacquered by pressing the tip of a fingernail into an inconspicuous location. Before you clean silver, evaluate the basic characteristics of the item. Some people think polishing causes damage and reduces the value, while others want the item to look as new as possible.
Let the paste sit on the silver for, again, about 30 minutes. Dear Harry: I own a Homer Laughlin wash pitcher and bowl set that belonged to my father's grandmother.
While some people aren’t as fond of this method, others swear by ketchup.
Most American silver made after 1860 was marked. Half this value should provide you with a responsible value for the desk you own. Hand-wash quadruple silver plate in warm, soapy water rather than putting it in the dishwasher. There are things you can do to slow this process down, but ultimately the item will need to be restored if you want it back to looking like new. You can also use a soft bristle toothbrush to clean tarnish out of crevices. Here's how we at Abe Silverman's Antique Silver Shop take care of our silver, both at home and for the shop: #1 -Rinse each silver piece in warm/hot water to remove dust and dirt. How much is it worth? Introducing "One Thing": A New Video Series, The Spruce Gardening & Plant Care Review Board, The Spruce Renovations and Repair Review Board. But what do you do when these silver trays get tarnished? (Hot water can strip the lacquer.) Silver trays can look gorgeous. All you need is a tablespoon of baking soda, a tablespoon of salt, a sheet of aluminum foil, and two cups boiling water. Use a fine, not a coarse, dish cloth. Jo Cunningham's "Homer Laughlin: A Giant Among Dishes, 1873-1939" (Schiffer Publishing, 1998; 202 pp., $29.95) includes a full chapter on toilet sets.
STEP 3 Add to the water half teaspoon of acid-free liquid dish soap (check the ingredient list, avoiding soaps with “citric extracts” or citric acid, a common ingredient in citrus-scented dish soaps that can have a mild corrosive effect on silver plate). You can also Call Us On 727-656-2504 or Contact Us to fix an appointment. If not, buy a high quality silver polish. If no base metal exposure is evident, the set can be polished. Is it solid silver or silver plate? For trays that are heavily tarnished, you can leave the ketchup on for about 15 minutes. If your pieces feature an elaborate repousse decoration, take an old, soft tooth brush and use it to remove the polish from areas where your wash cloth cannot reach. In heavy repousse or or deep carvings, we may have to resort to using a baby's soft bristle toothbrush to GENTLY brush to loosen the dirt. Unfortunately, few toilet sets survive intact. The survival of the wash pitcher and bowl is the highest, followed by the covered chamber pot. A very large amount, if not all, of the tarnish will have transferred from the tray to the aluminum foil! You can let your trays sit in a bowl of this soda for about an hour. You may be able to remove some light tarnish simply by dipping the tray into warm (not hot) water combined with standard dish soap. You can let your trays sit in a bowl of this soda for about an hour. The wash pitcher has a scalloped top edge, elaborately molded "C" scroll handle, and ribbed motif on its body. Wash pitcher and bowl sets enjoyed a period of strong collectibility in the 1970s and early '80s. The first step is to determine whether or not your silver tea serving pieces retain enough silver to take a polish. Then remove the tray and rinse it clean. How much is it worth? Some people let their silver sit for just a minute or two.
Read the instructions on the jar or bottle. There are many commercial products on the market, but before you buy a silver polish, try out this natural method with items from your pantry.
Bring water to a boil and carefully pour it into the container. MATERIALS AND TOOLS Available on Amazon – Plain water – Acidfree liquid dish soap – Gloves – Soft cloth or sponge. If the item is lacquered, wait until the water is warm to the touch before pouring it over the silver-plated item (hot water can strip the lacquer). If you inherited antique silver, check with a local antique dealer to determine its value. Dear D.B.
Add a quarter cup of baking soda to the saucepan while the water inside is still hot.
Place a few sheets of aluminum foil on the bottom of your container and make sure that the shiny side is facing up. The baking soda will immediately begin to chemically react with the silver sulfide.
Send your questions to: Rinker on Collectibles, 5093 Vera Cruz Road, Emmaus, PA 18049. This term was often used in the 19th and early 20th century with the idea of selling quality silver plate. In 2014, she joined Dotdash as an expert writer, focused on fine jewelry topics. We actually have copies of paperwork that show Colonel Taylor, who lived in New Jersey and made furniture as a hobby, made this desk and other pieces around 1938.
How can we get an idea of what it is worth? After you have polished your pieces, the goal is not to have to polish them again. Use this procedure for cleaning silver plate to get rid of the dirt and grime that accumulates from regular use. STEP 2 Rinse the item under warm tap water to wash away excess polish, then dry the item immediately with a clean soft cloth; air-drying can lead to unsightly water marks. Today we designate the mouth ewer as the "pitcher.". Restoring silver is a hotly debated topic in the antique market. STEP 4 Submerge the silver-plated item in the soap bath completely.
As you'll find in the following pictorial price guide, however, antique silver plate is not void of value although it rarely sells for as much as comparably styled and weighted antiques fashioned of sterling silver . Photos and other material submitted cannot be returned. If you do this, be sure to use tongs to lower it into the bucket.
You can upload a maximum of 5 images and the total size of all attachments should not exceed 15 MB. Be aware that some darker spots might be the base metal showing through the silver plating. Mix in the baking soda, salt, and hot water. According to Lois Lehner's Lehner's "Encyclopedia of U.S. Marks on Pottery, Porcelain & Clay" (Collector Books, 1988; 634 pp. Because the silver plate coating is delicate, it requires uniquely gentle cleaning (unlike its solid sibling, which can actually stand up to mild abrasives like toothpaste). Mix a little cornstarch with water to create a paste.
How to Care for Quadruple Silver Plate Step 1. Use the polish sparingly. Some people even avoid purchasing silver-plated trays and other items because of how time-consuming they are to polish. STEP 6 Rinse the item under warm tap water to wash off lingering debris, then wipe it down with a soft, dry cloth. The bowl is 16-inches-wide and 4-inches-high. You agree that BobVila.com may process your data in the manner described by our Privacy Policy. The pitcher measures 12-inches-high and 9-inches-wide.
STEP 1 After donning gloves, squeeze a dot of silver polish onto a soft, clean, dry cloth. If some tarnish is being stubborn, add more salt, baking soda, or water.
Use an old toothbrush for detailed etchings and carvings. : You need to proceed cautiously. That is hard to say when you are looking at 100 year old silver, but in comparison, most new silverplate is cheaply made and not quality. Then dip your tray in, pull it out, and dry it off with a soft cloth. STEP 2 Boil four cups of plain water in a saucepan, then move the saucepan of water from the heat to an empty sink. You'll need roughly 1 cup of salt and 1 cup of baking soda for every gallon of water used. If you are storing rather than displaying them, obtain tarnish-proof storage bags from your local jeweler.
Some people wait to add the silver until after the water has been added. Quadruple plate, a marketing term that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and first quarter of the 20th century, was meant to imply the plating on the piece was thicker than that found on lesser quality pieces.
Rinse the tray off with warm water and dry with a soft cloth once you’ve got the tarnish off.