Sir Christopher by Wallace, Circa 1936
102 piece set of fine Sterling Flatware

Wallace - Sir Christopher
Sterling Flatware Service for 12

12 knives
12 forks
10 salad forks
23 teaspoons
13 round soup spoons
11 flat butter knives
7 cocktail forks
2 iced tea spoons
1 gravy ladle
1 sauce ladle
1 slotted spoon
1 cold meat fork
1 cake/pie server
2 large table spoons
3 medium serving spoons, slightly larger than round soup spoons, with more ornate bowls
1 carving set
Miscellaneous pieces including silverplate pasta server, bottle openers
Original wooden box

UP TO 6 MONTH LAYAWAY
EQUAL MONTHLY PAYMENTS
0% interest

ABOUT STERLING & ABOUT THIS PATTERN:

STERLING SILVER FLATWARE was developed in the 1400s in England and formal dining had evolved into a high art by the 17th century. Royalty used full sets of flatware in the 1600s, and European aristocrats quickly followed suit. More silverware was manufactured in Britain during the Victorian period than ever before or after. It was during the 19th century that the middle classes first reveled in their new-found wealth and the British Empire was at its height. Hosts and hostesses entertained with elaborate sets of fine sterling, effectively albeit discretely making a statement regarding their wealth and social position. American manufacturers were quick to recognize a positive trend and flatware manufacturing soared in the mid-1800s when vast silver reserves were discovered in Nevada mines. From the mine to the table, it takes more than 30 steps to turn pure silver into a sterling silver dining utensil

HISTORY/BACKGROUND:

Robert Wallace, born in Prospect, Connecticut, was the son of Scottish immigrant and silversmith James Wallace, who, along with his wife Irene (Williams) Wallace, immigrated to America in the late 18th century. Their son Robert was born on November 13, 1815.

At the age of 16, after having completed his basic education, young Robert Wallace was apprenticed to Captain William Mix, a renowned spoon maker for the Meriden Britannia Co. The Meriden Britannia company was the most successful flatware and hollow-ware producing firm in the American Northeast, thus this type of apprenticeship was most desirable and highly sought after.

A quick study with an entrepreneurial streak, by the time he was 18, Wallace had already mastered the craft. He left his apprenticeship, purchased a dilapidated gristmill, and began to produce his own flatware. And so it was that by 1833, Wallace’s small shop was up and running. Since Wallace had been trained in the art of spoon making, his only product was spoons.

One day, on a trip to New York, Wallace had the good luck to come upon a piece of flatware made of a nickel and copper alloy called German silver produced by an English manufacturer. This metal contains no actual silver but closely mimics both the look and the feel of silver. Wallace was sufficiently impressed with the potential of this metal to spend the unheard of sum of $20 to purchase the metal formula. He would later also acquire the recipe for the specific production method.

Wallace's early commercial successes were not derived from manufacturing sterling silver flatware, which remained largely unaffordable to the country's middle and lower-middle classes, but from the results of his new investment. Wallace compounded the first German silver made in America and pioneered the new industry. Wallace had realized the importance of diversifying his business and he now began producing a complete range of flatware . Wallace moved his factory from Cheshire, Connecticut to a point on the Quinnipiac River in Wallingford, Connecticut.

For the next five decades, Wallace, doing business as R. Wallace and Co.. did contract work, producing flatware for a number of firms throughout the world. Wallace's customers included his old employer, Meriden Brittania. Wallace would sign a contract with a flatware manufacturer and produce a given piece for a set number of years. Generally, these manufacturing contracts lasted about 10 years.

Later, Wallace would partner with a group of managers with the Meriden Britannia Co under the name Wallace, Simpson, and Co., and by 1865, the business was worth $100,000. By 1871, Wallace had purchased the balance of his partner’s shares, brought in two of his sons, expanded his manufacturing line and renamed the growing company R. Wallace and Sons Mfg. Co. At the same time Wallace formed a second company in partnership with his sons-in-law, which he named Wallace Brothers. This company manufactured silver plated flatware over a base of stainless steel. In 1875, Wallace began producing sterling silver flatware. The two companies merged in 1879. Wallace and Sons Mfg. Co. invested heavily in new machinery and skilled artisans and the company, along with its reputation for quality, continued to grow.

Robert Wallace died on June 1, 1892, leaving his capable descendants to continue the business he founded. R. Wallace Mfg. Co. grew into the largest manufacturer of flat tableware in the world.
The 1930s were spent perfecting R. Wallace Mfg. Co.’s mass production techniques.

Following the company’s aggressive expansion, Wallace released a series of six fine sterling silver flatware patterns, created by designer William S. Warren - called the Third Dimension Beauty collection - which would prove to be its most popular. These patterns combined timeless elegance with the quality craft for which Wallace is known.

Among those six designs was the English Renaissance-style silver pattern Sir Christopher which was introduced in 1936.

This pattern was so named in honor of the world reknowned British architect, Sir Christopher Wren. Wren's intellect was legend, and perhaps what was most remarkable about the years Wren spent at Oxford University was the breadth of his interests. Wren was a scientist, physicist, mathematician, inventor, astronomer, surveyor, architect and engineer. He also studied anatomy. His inventions included a blood transfusion method, an instrument to measure angles, instruments for surveying, machines to lift water, ways to find longitude and distance at sea, military devices for defending cities, and the means for fortifying ports, to name a few. His scientific work was highly regarded by Sir Isaac Newton and Blaise Pascal.

As an architect, Sir Christopher Wren was hugely successful in the 17th and 18th centuries, and he was involved in such projects as St Paul’s Cathedral, the magnificent Windsor Guildhall, and the Royal Observatory. Wren's interest in architecture developed from his study of physics and engineering. After the great fire of London Wren designed 53 new city churches and in 1669 Wren was appointed Surveyor of the Royal Works which effectively gave him control of all government building in the country. His father was the Dean of Windsor and Wren himself enjoyed the trust and friendship of the Prince of Wales. He was knighted in 1673.

Wren's architectural designs were strongly influenced by French and Italian baroque. As an homage to Wren's own design preferences, Wallace's exquisite Sir Christopher sterling pattern features a seashell at the center of each piece, representing the eternal ocean; there are grape clusters on the knives, fruits on the forks and on the spoons, there is a rose, which symbolizes earth's bounty.

This is a consignment item. It comes from the home of a politically and socially prominant, well traveled Washington DC family. The estate, which encompassed multiple homes, contained additional sets of sterling flatware, including two separate 12 piece place settings of the Wallace Sir Christopher pattern.

A descendant of the family has chosen to retain the second set of Wallace, Sir Christopher pattern sterling flatware.

This set is in excellent condition. The two piece carving set, which represented a spare, has, according to our jeweler, never even been used. He did direct our attention to very small dark spot, located at the very base of the blade of the carving knife, which, he explained, originated during the original manufacturing process..

SOLD

Additional items from this estate, including particularly unique pieces of Daum crystal will also become available.

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