Gilded Age Dining Requisites Revealed

What Have We Here? — I’m routinely sent photos of utensils via DM on Instagram, asking for their intended purpose. I’m happy to share the information. Here is a small selection from my personal collection appearing on the back of my latest book— A gilded age, souvenir spoon from Baltimore, featuring a turtle, or terrapin design, is on the far left of this assortment. Next, from left to right, are a gilded orange spoon; a multi-tined, gilded sardine fork; a gilded and pierced, nut scoop or bon bon scoop; a gilded, heart-shaped bon bon server; a gilded sugar sifter or confectioner spoon; a gilded, spiderweb design, lettuce serving fork; a gilded jelly (aspic) server or jelly roll cake server; and a gilded and pierced bon bon server. The gilding was applied to protect the silver from tarnishing due to salt, citric acid, and other harmful ingredients commonly found in foods.

The Gilded Age table often required numerous utensils for dining and serving. A souvenir spoon from Baltimore, featuring a turtle, or terrapin, is on the far left of this assortment. Each utensil was designed with at least one food —or purpose— in mind, yet many suited several foods, or even evolved to suit new foods which were considered delicacies, when the foods they were originally designed for, became less important when entertaining.  - The fancy for collecting “souvenir” spoons, one at a time, suggests a way to secure a valuable lot of spoons with out feeling the burden of the expense. Yet, on the other hand, these spoons are much more expensive than equally good plain silver, the extra price being paid other hand, these spoons are much more expensive than equally good plain silver, the extra price being paid for the “idea;” but the expenditure is worth while to those who value historical associations.— Agnes H. Morton. 1899

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

Gilded Age Specialty Utensils

Etiquette class students of mine have always been terribly confused as to why everyday fruits and vegetables, like tomatoes and cucumbers, would have utensils made specifically for them. I have to explain that these were perishable and without refrigeration, would spoil quickly. Perishable vegetables and fruits were also quite expensive. Showing them off by using beautiful utensils to serve them was another way of gilded age “one-upmanship” and showing off one’s wealth. The photo and the information below, is from the book, “What Have We Here?: The Etiquette and Essentials of Lives Once Lived, from the Georgian Era through the Gilded Age and Beyond...” from Etiquipedia Site Editor, Maura J. Graber

What have we here?

Gilded Age, sterling cucumber and tomato servers. The smaller, cucumber servers (and in some patterns these were sold as “cheese servers”), have little “teeth” that tomato servers normally don’t have. These servers fell out of fashion as refrigerators became more common in people’s homes. Perishable foods were no longer a tremendous concern. The round servers which once served up tomato slices were found to be perfect, however, for serving slices of canned, jellied cranberry sauce at holiday dinners, and soon they were being marketed as “cranberry servers.” — From What Have We Here?: The Etiquette and Essentials of Lives Once Lived, from the Georgian Era through the Gilded Age and Beyond..., 2021

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