Cutlery, sometimes called flatware in the trade, is the collective term for knives, forks and spoons used for eating and serving food. Strictly, cutlery refers to cutting implements such as knives, but in general British usage it embraces the whole canteen of table implements, including serving spoons, ladles, fish slices and dessert sets.
Until the later seventeenth century diners commonly carried their own knife and spoon, and forks were slow to be adopted in England. Matching sets of silver cutlery became usual during the eighteenth century, and familiar patterns such as Old English, Hanoverian, Fiddle, Thread and King's pattern developed over the Georgian period. Sheffield dominated knife-making, and in the nineteenth century electroplated nickel silver made full canteens affordable to middle-class households. Collectors look for clear and matching hallmarks, good weight, crisp pattern detail and the absence of wear to bowls and tines. Original crests or initials are generally acceptable, whereas erased engraving thins the metal. Complete matching services, especially of Georgian silver, are increasingly scarce, and harlequin sets assembled from different makers are a practical and more affordable alternative.
