REED & BARTON PEWTER Silver-plated 8” Mid-Century Vintage Antique Lot Of 4

Description

VINTAGE REED and BARTON Mid-Century? Silver-plate, a Lot of 4. This company is known worldwide, been around since 1824 in Taunton Massachusetts when they acquired the business from Isaac Babbitt. They specialize in Silver, Sterling silver-plate, Pewter flatware. They were producers of weapons for Union Army during the Civil war.
The “P” on the P240 is Pewter Silver Plated, which probably means combination of Silver and Pewter metal or Britannia metal. Also called britannium or Britannia ware. More specifically a type of pewter alloy, because of its silvery appearance and smooth surface. It is said that the composition of Pewter by weight is typically about 92% tin, 6% antimony, and 2% copper. Wikipedia
However, I am unable to determine if this is pure silver. But based on two test. The first one is magnet. This plate did not stick to the magnet therefore magnetism is non existent. The second test is Ice melting. The ice melted faster than normal. Because of these two tests there might be some properties of silver.
In any case, this is really a nice old-school plate that has surface scratches and dents from utensil marks because pewter are commonly soft. These plates were routinely used in the days before paper plates were invented sometime around 1904. I cannot purely identify if this particular plate was used by the end of the 19th century or early 20th century or mid century. But these plates were seen in the military days in the barracks and/or mess halls during the civil war. Reed and Barton COMPANY were around in these era of that time. Also from 1928-1957, each year of silver or silver -plated Pewter has a stamped or engraved a different symbol, or hallmark, on their items, in addition to the words of their company name. Which this one DOES NOT have any stamp markings of any kind. So presumably, based on this, it’s probably older than 1928.
In spite of everything this is a fantastic historical plates that can be displayed in civil war room or just a perfect collectible for someone who loves nostalgic plates. Also these plates weren’t adorn with intricate metal works but was used just to feed the mass army. So these plates might not be pretty, but they are pretty-useful in the time of war and what’s a better way to calm and soothe a man’s heart is to his stomach.
*DISCLAIMER*
The items we list on eBay are used and may be considered vintage and highly collectible; therefore normal signs of wear can be expected. We do our best to give accurate and detailed photos and descriptions. NORMAL VINTAGE WEAR CAN INCLUDE A SCUFF, SMUDGE, SPECK, FLECK, MARK, RUB, MINOR DING, OR SCRATCH, SOME NORMAL AGE PITTING AND MINOR SURFACE DIRT/DUST/LINT, ALL SIMPLY DUE TO NORMAL VINTAGE USE/WEAR OVER THE YEARS. BUT OVERALL CONDITION IS EXCELLENT AND WE TRY NOT TO CLEAN THEM TO PRESERVE THEIR ORIGINALITY! AND SOLD-AS-IS. You may clean them once it is in your possession.
As a COURTESY NOTE, we would like to ask and remind you to be sure that you READ up on eBays TERMS and CONDITIONS before you purchase! And you are FULLY AWARE and UNDERSTAND these rules. We do all our transactions exclusively through eBay. INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING RULES and REGULATION do apply. I do charge a shipping handling fee, please remember: tape, boxes packing material cost something. Many of my packages must also be custom created for the various odd dimensional profiles of the items I sell.
Also PLEASE SEE ALL PICTURES for full details as they are integral part of the sale and this is exactly what you will be receiving. If you have any questions or concerns and before you make a final purchase, please feel free to email us and we will respond within 24 hours or sooner.
Once again we APPRECIATE your INTEREST and THANK YOU for looking. We hope to serve you soon!