Silver in 1947 America

   

This advertisement not only is for the silver, but for “The Unusual Etiquette Book,” “Every-day service and the etiquette of entertaining,” by Diana Beningfield. It was promoted and published by Wallace Silver, as were several other etiquette and entertaining books over the years.

Silver and You

Today, the average American enjoys silver possessions that would have been virtually unknown to all but royalty and aristocracy in days gone by. The magnificence of the silver pieces, available to women in our country, would have stirred the wonder and envy of queens. Nowhere in the world, not even in Europe, is silver so attainable to so wide a number of people.

In a land, therefore, that has enabled silver to become the property of all who love beauty, it is particularly important that your silver have the individuality and character that keep it in the realm of rare and precious things. Its mood must be your mood-vivacity or serenity, simplicity or grandeur. Your silver pattern must be created to give this mood its fullest, most radiant expression.

The subtle desire to achieve this reflection of your own personality, colors everything you buy. One of the nicest compliments friends can bestow as they visit you in your home is to say: "What a delightful background your home creates for you." The work, the patience, the time you put into decoration and the acquiring of choice possessions are now more than repaid, for you know you have succeeded in giving expression to your love of beauty by investing your surroundings with the aura of your individuality. This is true of clothes, too. How often have you been urged to stop in at a little hat shop, or dress salon, to view a model on display because "it looks just like you."

The definite association which the character of your loveliness has impressed upon people's minds is perhaps most vividly exemplified in the silver you select. Though you may vary the decorative scheme of your home, and even discard the hat or frock, your silver is a lifetime possession. More than anything else, it says to all who cross your threshold, "This is the beauty that is an indelible part of my life, for it will give lasting satisfaction to my deeper aesthetic nature." 

When you pour the morning coffee, or reign as hostess at a dinner party, your silver is a reflection of you, of the value you place in quality, of the beauty you cherish and live by, of the romance that colors each of your days. That's why your silver pattern must be selected with care and affection. It must embody the mood and the meaning of your personality. And it must be sterling. So the choosing of your sterling pattern becomes an exciting adventure in your pursuit of happiness.– From Wallace Beauty Moods in Silver, by William Warren, 1947

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