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Frontenac Sterling Flatware

Posted by antiquesilver (My Page) on
Thu, Feb 4, 10 at 15:23

Since this concerns silver more than cooking, I'm posting photos here rather than continuing in the cooking forum, for anyone interested in the various pieces in a place setting of 100 years ago.

The 1903 pattern is Frontenac by Simpson, Hall, & Miller & these are the place pieces, minus 15-20 that I don't have.
FORKS
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L-R oyster(cocktail), child's(breakfast), pastry(may not be an old piece), salad, fish, dessert(luncheon), dinner.

KNIVES
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L-R dinner, luncheon, orange(serrated top edge), fruit, butter.

SPOONS
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L-R chocolate, demitasse, 5 o'clock(pm), teaspoon, dessert(oval soup or place spoon), gumbo.


Follow-Up Postings:

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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

Gorgeous!
What a lovely pattern, and to have such a variety...

I'd frame them!


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

But then I couldn't use them!


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

Just beautiful! It impresses me no end that not only do you know the purpose of each but that you USE them. I know, I know - there's no reason NOT to use them, but in my house it just doesn't happen - I reach for the stainless :-/

Now I want to pull out the pieces I haven't identified and get some input.


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

Beautiful pattern....and you have been very diligent to find so many pieces!
But no boullion spoons?
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Thesea re the spoons I have bought in the pattern I am collecting for my grand daughter...it's Gorham Wreath. There are also smaller spoons...larger than demi tasse....but I haven't bought any.
Linda c


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

I have bouillons in other patterns but, for whatever reason, I've never found any in Frontenac at a great price. All Frontenac place spoons tend to be on the light side -no idea why since forks were made in 2 or 3 weights - so they don't appeal to me that much.

dlm - pull out those pieces. We've shown you ours, now we want to see yours!


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

OMG! You have a wonderful collection! I need to get busy looking in every antique shop I can find! I just love the pattern...I am happy with the few pieces I have...too bad it is so pricey compared to other sterling patterns!


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

That is a beautiful pattern! I read your posting on The Cooking Forum and had to check the pattern on EBAY - I might just have to start a collection.....


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

Competition, Marigene! Look out!! =)

I really like the Alvin "Orange Blossom" which is a similar style (and there is a special place in my heart for citrus flowers--the perfect plant for looks, produce, and SMELL). Maybe I should pick up a butter knife or some serving piece. Those old patterns are too expensive to not use, but they're also too darn nice to put in the dishwasher, so if I had a set I don't know if I could use it. Let my inlaws touch it? Nevah!!!


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

I've done my job as an enabler - prior to this, my SIL was my only victim, LOL!

Most of this was bought on ebay over the last 10 years but beware - most of the sellers on ebay having multiple pieces of Frontenac & other old patterns are replacement services selling new pieces. The finishing is poor & they have no oxidation so they're ultra shiny & flat looking. Most of the newer serving pieces have knife handles with stainless findings (the business end) & there are a lot of spoons that have been sacrificed to become 'condiment' whatevers. If you look at Replacements, all items marked HC are these 'handcrafted' pieces. I try to buy monogrammed pieces because there's a better chance that they're old (& I like the engraving).

Marigene & Boston, if I get a chance this weekend, I'll photograph the serving pieces although by no means do I have everything. You'll be wiping drool off your keyboard!

Fori, Orange Blossom is another old pattern that's been manufactured recently & there's a lot of new stuff out there so the above warning applies just like Frontenac.

I'm still competition, too. I know there are all-silver fish knives out there somewhere, just waiting for my bid!


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

Oh I wouldn't consider myself competition for antiquesilver ;) - I'm mainly interested compiling the basic place settings (famous last words!), I don't do a lot of entertaining, but I MUST have some of these pieces!

I'd love to see your other pieces antiquesilver - I'm drooling in anticipation!


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

As promised, here are the serving pieces although there are quite a few more that I don't have.
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SERVING FORKS
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L-R Beef, Cold Meat, Vegetable?(may not be old production), Asparagus

SERVING SPOONS
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Berry, Preserve, Jelly, Sugar, & a Tablespoon in front

FLAT SERVERS
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Cucumber, Jellycake, Master Butter Knife, Cake Knife w/plated blade

LADLES - sorry, no soup or punch ladles!
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Cream-old style, Cream, Gravy

FISH FORK & SLICE
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SHORT HANDLED OLIVE SET
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PICKLE & BUTTER FORKS
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SUGAR & BONBON (tete-a-tete) TONGS
Photobucket


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

Photobucket


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

OMG - those are lovely pieces!


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

WOWOWOWOWOW...those are gorgeous!! Thank you so much for posting!


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

Glad y'all enjoyed the show. Old catalogs in the pattern are almost non-exsistent so if you don't see a private collection, you may never see some of the really rare pieces, or even know they're out there.

Slightly off topic, but apparently this thread somehow offended one GW member because I received an email - with the subject 'Frontenac'- containing nothing but a link to a long, boring video about a female dog. I replied that the link had nothing to do with silver or did I miss something; the response was "Nope - that's it". Soooooo, I guess I'm a b*tch unless there's another way of construing this! Certainly not the first time I've been referred to as such, but on an antiques forum?????? End of Vent.


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

That's odd - I just re-read the whole thread. Can't see what would get anyone's undies in a bunch but I guess ya never know! Was it someone who had contributed to the thread or just a lurker? Well, I enjoyed the show, thats for sure. And you got me to dig out a few things and get them polished up so your good deed was done!!! Which will lead me into my next 'can you help' post after I get some pictures. You know what they say about good deeds ..... ;-)


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

I just re-read all of antiques posts and didn't see anything that could remotely be construed as offensive. What a shame there are people who have to rain on everyone's parade.

Just want to say thank you for all the pictures and info. This has been one of the most informative threads and I'm not even a silver buff. (I let the ex have all the silver in the divorce. I knew I wasn't going to polish it.) Thankfully, there was nothing anywhere near the beauty or value of those shown here.


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

Yeah....email snarking is definitly not nice...
She impressed me so much with all that lovely shiny stuff...I went and bought 2 yards of silver cloth!!
AND a storage box for some of the seldom used stuff!
Linda C


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

Thanks for the support & dlm, I look forward to your thread!


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

This is a fascinating and informative thread indeed. Surprising what one can learn from these posts. To the person that sent you the nasty email...."why don't you go sit in a corner all by yourself and have a pity party to celebrate your unhappiness".


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

All I can think is that someone's jealous...
Of course, looking at that gorgeous silverware, that's not hard to imagine! ;-)


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

I wonder if the fruit knife is a place setting's bread and butter knife for use with the bread plate.


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

I guess the fruit knives were for the fruit & cheese course for paring anything other than citrus. The individual butter spreader is normally used with the bread plate & I've seen photos of a hollow handle version with a plated blade (a very blunt, rounded end) that was also made in this pattern.


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

Wow, what a fantastic collection! I just "won" a berry spoon on eBay for a fairly good price. How many place setting do you have? I also have 4 of the bouillon spoons, but am thinking they may be the chocolate spoons, instead. Whatever, they are going to be good with the cream soup bowls I have that go with my china!


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

Marigene, congratulations on the berry spoon; it's a handy size for a lot of things! Your bouillon spoons are probably just that - chocolate spoons are very small (really just a round-bowl version of a demitasse & only slightly larger than a salt spoon) & would be noticeably too small for soup. Lengthwise, a bouillon is a little shorter than the pm spoon.

How many place settings do you have?
I collect 12-15 various patterns & try to make up a full place setting of each of them but Frontenac is my husband's favorite (he's not so keen on the mixed idea) so he's amassed more place settings (for 'formal' occasions, his definition-not mine) than I ever would! Offhand, I know there are at least 8 dinner forks & 6-7 luncheon forks, 16-18 tsp or pm sized spoons, 6 oval soups/desserts, 8 salad forks, 3-4 gumbos, spreaders, citrus knives, & cocktail forks, 6 luncheon knives, 4-6 dinner knives, 6 fruit knives, & 1 fish fork. Oh, & 6 demis & 2 chocolate spoons. So I guess it's averages out to about 6.


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

12-15 patterns, wow! I am impressed! What are some of the patterns? Tell your husband I think he has wonderful taste! He/you have such a wonderful collection of Frontenac! I checked and they are definitely bouillon spoons. I am having a hard time locating affordable salad forks, most of them are enough to break the bank!...I know they will show up sooner or later.


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

Salad forks in any of the Art Nouveau patterns are scarce & expensive but part of the thrill of collecting is getting a good price. I try to keep SF to about $45-50 each; I think I may have paid about $75 for one in Durgin's Iris but that was the exception - & that was a bargain in that pattern.

If it has a floral design, there's an excellent chance that I have at least one piece of it! I like the aesthetic pattern as well but they tend to be way out of my bank book's reach.
Wallace - Carnation, Peony, Eton, Violet
Durgin - Bouquet (a whopping 2 pieces!), Iris
Gorham - Poppy
Simpson, Hall & Miller - Frontenac, Edgewood, Stratford
Sheibler - Fiorito
Alvin - Morning Glory
Reed & Barton - Intaglio, Les Cinq Fleur, La Parisienne
Wendt - Florentine (not a floral)
Wilkens & Sohne (German) - Crocus
JJ Hudson - Yetive
I'm sure I'm forgetting some, but that's a good sampling.


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

Antiquesilver, your pieces are just exquisite!!!!!!


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

Replacements has an ebay buy-it-now auction for the elusive, individual, all-silver fish knife. At that price - or anything close to it - it won't be coming to my house. But they're rarely seen so it's nice to look at, LOL!

Here is a link that might be useful: Fish Knife


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

Gee. You'd think they could throw in free shipping!


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

Well Antiquesilver - you have gone and done it - I don't know whether to curse you or thank you! I am now the proud owner of a sugar spoon, a pickle fork, and 5 teaspoons in the Frontenac pattern and they are the prettiest pieces I have ever seen! I just love the detail of the pattern and the fact that the back is decorated as well! I am on the lookout for some dinner forks and gumbo spoons. The pieces are just gorgeous in your photos but in person,they are knockouts!
Thank you !
Pat


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

Congratulations, Pat, now you have a Frontenac monkey on your back! My job is done - I only wish I got a dealers' cut from all of my junkies!

Did you get the pieces on ebay or at a show? I'm sure it won't be long before you have enough to set a beautfiful table. And the larger serving pieces are even more spectacular than the small ones. BTW, someone told me that they use the sugar spoons for ice cream spoons so if you see others at a good price, it may be a wise investment. Of course, I had 2 & had already sold the extra before I heard this, LOL!


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RE: Frontenac Sterling Flatware

I bought one spoon on EBAY, the others I purchased online from different sellers at prices lower than what I saw on EBAY. I am really drawn to the serving pieces - they are so ornate. I had ice cream last night and it tasted so good with the silver spoon! LOL
I have to tell myself that it will be a hunt to get the pieces I want at a reasonable price, or else I'll be totaly impoverished!


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