Q: I am looking for information on Meriden silver plate. I have two large goblets and a 1-quart flagon. Company" inside. A: Before the late s, the only methods of creating relatively inexpensive "silver-plated" objects was either to fuse a thin sheet of sterling silver to a thicker sheet of copper using heat called "Sheffield plate" or to hammer a thin layer of silver over a base metal and then secure it with solder called "close plating". Electroplating did not start until the mids and is the process of depositing a thin layer of precious metal - generally silver or gold - onto a base metal using electricity passed through a conductive liquid containing potassium cyanide. The base-metal object is immersed in the solution, which also contains suspended ions of precious metal, and the electric current causes the silver or gold to adhere to the surface of the base-metal object. The perfection of this process is usually credited to the Elkingtons of Birmingham, England, who received several patents for the process between and
Meriden Silver Plate Co. design catalogues and historical information
Antique silver hallmarks have been used to control the quality of goods made of silver since the 14th century and the organisation that regulates the craft, Goldsmiths Hall, gave the world the term hallmark. This is to ensure it is of the required sterling silver standard and, provided it conforms to a standard, a series of symbols are stamped into each part of the item. Today and for the past few centuries, this stamp or silver hallmark has shown the place and year of manufacture of the assayed silver item, as well as the silversmith who made or sponsored the item. The laws governing silver hallmarking are very strict and if an item does not comply with a standard the item will not be hallmarked and will probably be destroyed. A false silver hallmark has always been treated with the utmost severity by the law and in the past a silversmith was pilloried for their first offence, where they would be pelted with rotten fruit and vegetables.
Above, selected designs on catalogue page 64 of the Meriden Silver Plate Co. For more information, see the entries listed below. Organized in , the company was acquired by H. Wilcox, President of [Meriden Britannia Co.