Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Treasure

My Minneapolis cousin has been sorting through his life.

Recently he sent me our grandmother's book Before the Dawn of Dinosaurs. (We think she probably used it to teach her junior high kids in the Wellston School District. And if my cousin were here, he'd most likely crack wise and say she was teaching in the classroom just minutes after the last Triceratops beat feet out of St. Louis. I wouldn't say that, of course. She was sensitive about her age.)

His further excavations yielded this:



A collection of silver plate that probably belonged to our family. The servers on the right were rumored to come from Germany, the natal home of 98 percent of both sides of my tree. (I'm thinking our grandmother picked them up when she sailed there to "close the estate" of her father, who had died when she was very young and living in Mexico. In writing that, I realize we are more complicated, geographically speaking, than I first realized. I'll stop with the genealogy before I lose too many of you.)

The serving fork is my favorite:


I like a grape cluster when dishing up sole meunière. It's pretty and completely over the top.

The only other pieces that match this one are seafood forks. No spoons or knives, leading me to believe that silver, like land and hearts, is something to be broken up and passed on to family and friends. (Or tossed inadvertently down the incinerator chute in one's New York apartment.)

I've been a bit too busy to polish up the collection to see it in its most extravagant form. When I do, we'll have a show and no tell.

Until then, thanks to John for sharing these treasures. It means a lot. Thank you.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

The pastry server looks pretty, too.
Treasures for sure!

Cuzzin Carolyn

Beth said...

I love this stuff-family mysteries from generations past. Shine it up and ask me over for sole.....

Unknown said...

So cool, I wish I could trace my family roots back more. My mom came here from Germany also... from Germany to Minnesota:-) My dad was in the military but he was from Minnesota so that's where they came back to after I was born. I often wonder how different things would have been had we all stayed there in Germany:-)

Splendid Little Stars said...

a very fancy fork!
It's fun to have family heirlooms.

Jenny said...

That is fun. I just met 16 cousins I have never seen before in Tennessee. Found them through ancestry.com. xo Jenny

Custom Comforts said...

What a beautiful collection of silver and the best part is the family heritage it comes with. How lucky you are to have these family treasures come down to you. Just lovely.
Cindy

anitamombanita said...

wow, that's a fun find. I love the fork!

Rocky Mountain Woman said...

How fun to find those treasures! I have some plates from both grandmothers and I cherish them...

Unknown said...

What a wonderful treasure chest he found!

21 Wits said...

Oh how lucky you are indeed! What a great and wonderful thing for John to have done! My mother was born and raised in Germany and my grandfather dealt with much of that kind of thing....even crystal and all the over the top table settings...and I still have our cloth napkin holders (mine is the coolest of the family) because it's a duck, and the napkin goes through it....all of them had our names engraved on them...I still do sometimes use real napkins on our tables...but funny thing so many guests try not to get them dirty! ha ha

Gayle Page-Robak said...

Fabulous treasures...the old ones are the best ones. That silverware is awesome and unique. TFS. I am now a follower of your blog and look forward to return visits. I invite you to join me as well on my blog at http://atastefultouch.blogspot.com
Hugs, Gayle.

Pondside said...

When our aunt died, my sister did such a wonderful job of dividing up family treasures among we nine cousins. Such a responsibility, but so much appreciated!

Esther Joy said...

Beautiful treasures!

Betty said...

I just had a light bulb moment. In with my mother's silver was some very small forks and spoons that had a twisted handle. I'm wondering if they might have belonged to my grandmother or great grandmother and also from Germany. Enjoy your new find. I love sentimental things.

Cheryl D. said...

What beautiful silver! I love the fact that it actually looks like an antique!

Jenny said...

These are really Neat treasures...

A big Thanks to John for sharing them with you so you could share them with us...

Nifty post for the letter "N"!

Thanks for linking.

A+