More Crescent Side Plate Etiquette

 A “steel bladed bird knife and bird fork” paired with a typical 19th Century “game plate” and a crescent shaped “bone plate.” –  From What Have We Here? The Etiquette and Essentials of Lives Once Lived, from the Georgian Era through the Gilded Age and Beyond...

The “game course” was once a staple of fine dining and expensive sets of “game plates” were purchased by fastidious hosts and hostesses, to serve the game on to each of their dinner guests. The game sets featured a usual dozen plates, each with a different motif. 

In Gilded Age dining, after the roast course, the game course was next in order (if it was included, as it generally was in an elaborate dinner). Celery was the appropriate accompaniment of the game course, as it was eaten with the fingers. Salads as accompaniments were not recommended. The steel fork tines and knife blades were known to taint the flavor of salads and their dressings.

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia