Sandra, that's very interesting. I know little about Russian silver (except the '84' mark) & I never considered the actual fineness as an alternative stamp but it is something I'll definitely research. Honestly can't say if I know what Russian style looks like but it's certainly a strong possibility. Briefly, I scanned Tardy's & anything I came up with seemed to be the wrong era, but I'm going to look again under Russia. This is exciting! Linda, the small knob flips back the wick cover & the larger knob raises & lowers the wick; I think the wick has to be round & fitted to work, but I'm not sure. It doesn't work the same as other warmers I have so I have little to compare it to - & the piece is a lot more substantial in size & weight. Definitely, it's made to fit in a ring because it tips over too easily on a flat surface. The pan it heated must have been large.

The thing that is appealing to me about the flat plate racks is that they are so narrow/shallow-- they won't stick out much into the room. My thinking is that this will make the console top more usable and (hopefully) keep the room from feeling claustrophobic. Also given that my dishes are mostly white, it should "lighten up" the space. I do get that I could store more in the vertical slots-- but with the space I have, I should be able to have a plate rack as large as the one I originally displayed-- which is plenty for my dinner plates, lunch plates and the nicer platters. When I remodel, I may look at using shelves or a cabinet style plate rack-- but that's not something I'll undertake this year. Here's an old photo of the kitchen (before we cleared everything out and removed wallpaper). The wall across from the window has nothing on it and is where I'll add some counter height piece-- with the plate rack above running most of the length of the wall. I've been tossing around the idea of cutting off the right arm of the L. My mother is pushing me to remove it--but awkward and dated as it is, it does add some counter space. I do have a vintage china cabinet that I could use in place of a plate rack but I didnt really want to put anything too deep on that wall. The moment I removed my grandmother's china cab, the room opened up and felt brighter. I want to keep that feel. I do like the look of stacked plates on open shelves so I could just consider a long, open shelf that runs the length of the wall. It would give me a place to put the kitchenaid mixer (which I do use frequently) and cookbooks etc. But I guess I thought the plate rack would be a fresher look. I can't undate the kitchen but I am looking to add a little charm-- while solving some of my functional issues. Allison, I hadn't seen Roccocogurl's kitchen-- thanks for sharing. Love her ss countertops!

The site for the Oxford dictionary I used said that pepper pot was the British term for a pepper shaker. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/pepper-pot And the Merriam-Webster I found said the same. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pepper%20pot Wonder if it has to do with the fact that I am in the US and you are in aus....which is British...at least according to Google... Maybe?

One of the things to suggest that it is plate is if you can see a different metal where the worn areas are. Knives are a little different depending on the age as sometimes a harder metal was used for the blade.