Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Long before the manufacture of silver tableware, most metal spoons were made of pewter, an alloy of tin with copper and sometimes lead. Pewter spoons were soft and had to be melted down and re-cast often. It was also too soft to take a bright polish. As early as 1804, it began to be superseded by a white alloy called Brittania metal. Which statement about Brittania metal is wrong?
2. In 1840, a process for electroplating silver onto a base of copper, bronze, or white-metal alloy was patented in Birmingham, England. American Britannia manufacturers, notably John Mead, the Rogers brothers, and John Gorham, moved their production to silver-plated wares. Competition was just as ruthless as it is today! Which was NOT one of the special features advertised as an improvement?
3. In 1859, some gold miners in Nevada noticed that their equipment was clogging up with a sticky gray sludge. This proved to be a remarkably rich silver ore which poured over $400 million into the United States' economy. What very important result did this have on the manufacturers of silverware?
4. As Victorian etiquette blossomed, it was not unusual for a dinner to have seventeen courses, each consisting of two or more different foods. Naturally, it was necessary to invent a new utensil shape for each dish. After all, a standard place setting in the 1840s had only two forks and two spoons! Which of the following dishes did not have a new fork designed for it?
5. R. Wallace and Son calculated and announced in an advertisement about 1900 that a certain percentage of American babies were "born with a silver spoon in their mouths." What was their estimate?
6. The Aesthetic Movement in the 1870s included a preoccupation with Japanese styles and techniques. Inspired by Japanese metalwork, Tiffany successfully created a "mokume" (mo-koo-may) style. What was the defining feature of mokume?
7. Gorham resolved to become the American masters of the Art Nouveau style in the 1890s. Their Martele (mar-te-lay) creations, exhibited at the Paris world's fair in 1900, included a full-size dressing table with stool and mirror! Parisian critics acclaimed Gorham's creations. Gorham planned to market a number of Martele pieces on the strength of this great success. What was the literal meaning of Martele?
8. At the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Gorham displayed a life-size statue of Christopher Columbus designed by the internationally celebrated sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. What statement about this creation is true?
9. As the number of specialized serving and eating utensils were created, a "full service" of a pattern came to include how many pieces?
10. By 1926, the number of pieces produced in each pattern dropped to 57! Why on earth ...?
Source: Author
ragiel
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor
bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.