I think her silverware goes with the dishes just beautifully!
What is the china? I love it!!
Is her silverware sterling? That type of pattern is very 1930's.....and frankly the dishes look very much of that period to me as well.
Silverware definitely has styles! But only the most classic really endure. The 30's saw lots of low relief patterns.
Linda C

Thanks Linda!

I just thought the silver pattern is so serious and inorganic it didn't go with the informal flowers.

The China is Theo Haviland "Pasadena". I think you're right about it being older--that replacement site lists it as 1958 but that can't be correct. My eBay updates always throw an advertisement from 1941 at me: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1941-Haviland-China-Pasadena-Kenmore-Cambridge-plate-Ad-/400255069024?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0amp;hash=item5d310fab60

and although I'm not sure where they get their date, I'm pretty sure the other patterns are older. So ignore that bit about my 50s china. :) That ad made me laugh though--talks about the translucence of the china. This stuff is THICK! The cups are delicate but the plates are beefy.

Greatgrandma's silver is sterling but pretty lightweight, especially compared to the heavy duty 1960s stuff. Replacements ltd lists it as being produced from 1917-96. I don't think it was around that late but judging from the different sized dinner forks, it was in production a while. It is marked Pat. 1917. It's tasteful but not exciting. The tea set, however, is magnificent. It's featured in this old ad offered on eBay. (I should refine my eBay notifications to only search for salad forks, but I do enjoy the ads!)

I have absolutely no use for another tea set, so it's a good thing I've never seen it offered anywhere, aside from the occasional dented sugar bowl or something.

Here is a link that might be useful: sterling ad currently on ebay

The china is indeed originally from 1958 and as you know, the silver originally made in 1917.
I think they compliment each other very well....your grandmother had good taste.
How many place settings do you have of each? Lucky you!!!
Linda C

I like your grandmother's silver also-and the dishes!

Sterling is always lighter than silverplate which may be what you are referring to when you say heavy duty 1960s stuff. There is little difference in the weight of my grandmother's Pointed Antique service from the late 19th/early20th c, my mother's sterling flatware from the 40s, and my sterling from the 1970s. Also, you may actually have both a dinner setting and a luncheon setting if you have different sized, but equally proportioned forks. That is very nice.

Enjoy all your pieces! Your table will be lovely.

Thanks ladies. :)

I have around 25 place settings of the china, more or less depending on what kind of bowls are needed. (I started off with 12...I have rarely needed more and never 20 but the extra serving dishes are great to have and yes, you DO need at least two gravy boats with my family!)

I have 12 (ish) place settings of the silver. A few forks and knives had been added to the set and they are slightly just a wee bit larger. I'm not sure if it's enough of a difference to be dinner vs luncheon. I bet I could look that up. :)

The middle fork is plate, the other two are sterling. The '60s flatware is really hefty. (That was my mother's wedding silver--she outgrew it and now uses something froufrou.) Grandma's is thin. It may be more the norm. I don't think you can do the blocky MCM in a thin handle.

Funny, I was just glancing at my local craigslist looking for a china cabinet (no reason!) and came across someone trying to get $400 for 75 pieces of my china. He might get half that on eBay if he included free shipping. Nobody wants it. It's great!

Very pretty! I have china that is similar of yours except that it has a scalloped edge. Mine is KPM's Royal Ivory Symphony pattern from the 1930s or 1940s.

Silver plate is NOT always lighter than sterling! Silver is heavier than any base metal they might use.
Some of the earlier sterling patterns ere more massive that some of the later, and some sterling patterns were made in several gradiations of "quality"....that is the higher quality pieces were heavier weight. My daughter's pattern is Towle Old Colonial....and she has a fair amount of new place pieces....but also a lot of old serving pieces and place pieces as well. You can pretty well tell the difference in old and new by weight! But she also has some very light weight teaspoons....
I think I need a new set of old dishes....

Oh Marita, that's gorgeous! Much more like what I'd pick if I were shopping for china which I must not allow myself to do! But in a pinch you could set the table with both and nobody would complain. I think they have very sensible useful colors, and they're bright and cheery which I love. Life is too short to mess with sage green and dusty rose and smokey blue.

I assume if I put thse dishes in the dishwasher, the gold will wear off, right? Yep, that's why I don't use them much.

Linda, you DO need a new set of old dishes, and take pictures so I can live vicariously through you. I don't need more!

(I do however need everyday stainless steel flatware and once again I'm finding the new stuff is junky and overpriced. I wanted to use my mom's sterling as everyday stuff but her cheap wedding guests weren't flush enough to get her enough pieces and now I can't find enough spoons at my price point. I don't think that pattern was around for long and I'm too frugal!)

Use your mother's silver and sub some similar styled stainless....I know I've seen it.
And keep looking for extra spoons....one at a time $60 each isn't too bad.
Or.... use GGamma's silver!...why not?
I hate to spend a dime on stainless! Would much rather spend that on more sterling.

I almost just bought a set of similar stainless--then thought nah I should get something different. I was using the plate for a while but it was showing a little more wear than I liked. I mostly need dessert spoons for my mom's set and I've never seen them for less than $75 and although it wouldn't hurt me to splurge, I have this cheap streak and can't bring myself to do it!

Greatgrandma's silver makes me nervous--just the knives. They are the big old hollow types and the blades are a little floppy and the handles dent easily.

My mom's silver is really the better candidate for daily use. It's unbendable!

I have an old set. Whiting Louis XV....had old knives like that.....and then I found some with "replaced blades"....the purist in me hates that.....the dishwasher in me loves it! And they were replaced with stainless blades....and I still have the old knives!
Keep looking...

I would use either of the two bottom ones with the china.

Lindac, I said the silverplate would be heavier, not lighter, but I think you meant I was wrong and just made a typo. I have never had any sterling that was as heavy as any plate pieces. I have never had plate flatware though, so can't judge by that and probably shouldn't have made such a broad statement. I have some pieces such as gravy boats of both kinds and the plate is definitely heavier. Depends, I suppose, on how ornate the pieces are to some extent. I have a 1840-50 tea service by R&W Wilson of Philadelphia that is sterling and very heavy since the pieces are large and quite ornate. My sterling flatware from all those different generations though are quite similar in weight and lighter than plate, I think.

But Linda! Everyone says not to dishwasher-wash silver with stainless--how does that work with the blades? This is the sort of thing that keeps me up at my naptime!

As far as weight goes--no clue. With these three forks, though, weight is pretty obviously related to bulk. I could work out the density of them but I'd probably learn something disturbing about my sterling. :)

Beautiful china & silver - service for 12, WOW!

Regardless of the ornateness, manufacturers of every generation of sterling prior to the 1950's had heavy weight patterns, light weight patterns, everything in between, & some gave a choice of weights within the same pattern; the quality of the finishing was not affected. It mostly depended on how much the consumer was willing to spend & what the jeweler had in stock.

All the new silver that I've seen recently seems heavier than it should be - maybe trying to compensate for mediocre finishing to justify the price.

I'm not a fan of silver-in-the-d/w but I know people who swear by it with no ill effects but I definitely would NOT put old hollow handle knives in there. You don't want water getting in the handle causing rust on steel parts or melting filler that holds the blade in place. LindaC, do the newer knives & replacements with ss blades have heat/detergent proof filling?

I am only assuming that their filling is as modern as the blades.
Of course I don't put old hollow handle knives in the diswasher nor do I soak them in hot water....but the stuff in my drawer that's been in my house for more than 50 years has been through the dishwasher more times than I care to calculate. No attempt to separate silver from stainless nor paring knives and Stainless spatulas etc from the sterling spoons.
I can only assume that there have been changes in the formulae of the dishwashing detergents.
that said...I used one package of those Cascade pouches with the power stuff liquid... and my silver turned noticably dark....tarnished in one washing. It polished up just fine but I don't use that stuff any more!!

Lindac, my mother had a set of "everyday" sterling that she washed in the dishwasher, too. I have it, but haven't polished it yet to make it usable again. Once I get around to that, I'll be following your lead!

AAH....I am such a snob....I love the concept of "every day sterling"...
Just spend 2 hours and polish it up!...unless you have a 200 piece service....shouldn't take that long!
And how can it really be "un usable"?

AAH....I am such a snob....I love the concept of "every day sterling"...
Just spend 2 hours and polish it up!...unless you have a 200 piece service....shouldn't take that long!
And how can it really be "un usable"?

I think they all go but fancier goes better. However, I have some preferences about the business end of the cutlery too. The middle fork looks like it has a bigger "mouthpiece" which always makes it feel clunky to me, and makes me feel unladylike using it. And the china is so ladylike!

Karin L

Since I don't know the sizes, I'm guessing but I think the middle fork (probably a full size dinner fork) doesn't look as good as the bottom fork (possibly a shorter & more light wt. luncheon/dessert piece?) because it's shown next to a smaller sized luncheon plate instead of the dinner plate.

IMO, the top fork is from a completely different era, style-wise, & doesn't go at all with the china. Just my 2 cents. I may be biased because DH inherited one of the ugliest sets of MCM china on earth (can you tell I'm not fond of MCM????) & I have to constantly explain why I don't use it with my Art Nouveau silver. IF he'd received his Mother's silver, I might concede - occasionally!