Rarely Seen Stieff items
In 1892 when Charles C. Stieff started the company that would become
The Stieff Company, High Victorian fashion was at it’s zenith. The Victorian table had a utensil for every purpose. Ones hands were never to touch the food at any time. This was never any truer than in the Victorian households that used Sterling Silver at the table. This fashion gave us a lot of delightful pieces that today seem quaint and sometimes silly like Grape Scissors, Tomato and Bacon Servers. Over the years as fashions changed those odd ball items fell from grace and have greatly disappeared. When found today, many of them can be quite expensive to purchase.
In no particular order, Here are some pieces from The House of Stieff ...
that are not seen on a regular basis
Pre-Stieff Custom Salad Set
Made by Balt. Sterling Silver Co.
To see more photos of this set click on link below
#53 Poultry Shears
Early Shears were carbon steel and silver plated. Later pieces had Chromium plating and eventually Stainless steel was used. The piece below had the mechanism made in the USA. Some have English steel while others are German made pieces with the Stieff handles added.
Sugar Sifter
Now commonly known as Muffineers
Holds powdered sugar to sprinkle on your muffins!
Above #185, 4 inches Below #187 6 inches
Muffineer open shows the locking device to keep the lid from falling off during use.
Dresser Sets
Once a part of many women’s dresser ensemble, Dresser sets fell out of fashion in the 1930’s as cosmetics became more accessible in “ready to go” forms. Many were given to younger daughters to play “dress up” and became damaged or lost. Brushes when worn out were replaced with new disposable items. (Dresser set photos from ebay)
1916 Hair Brush
1916 Hand Mirror
1916 Dresser Jar with Lid
1916 Mark & Stieff Crown
1916 Hair Receiver with Lid (note the hole in the lid)
Women of the period would save hair from combs and brushes and place it in the receiver, and later fashion it into “ratts” which helped shape the poofy hair in fashion at the turn of the century and up to the early 1920s. By shaping and stuffing your own hair into the hairdoo made the hair style look more natural.
Short hair “bobs” of the mid and later 1920’s was a death notice for hair receivers.
Men’s Military Brushes
Men at the turn of the 20th Century often had oiled and slicked back hair. They often bought a pair of military brushes that would be held in each hand and would brush their hair back in unison. This was a “time saver” as you could groom the hair in twice the time. (yeah right). Others bought just one brush and probably finished just as fast. Great for those “Dagwood” haircuts.
5.5 inches long
This is the hairbrush that I use every day. ++ mark is 1923
Men’s Shaving Mug #450
Sterling, nouveau style with florals and “twig” handle
This example is from 1916
Stieff Sterling Silver Repousse Mustache Cup. This measures 5" across top and sits 3 1/8" tall. Gilt interior. Marked on base: "STIEFF" S in Crown "STERLING" 16 in circle "450." The removable piece is marked: "STERLING." Monogrammed on the base with three initials weighs 8.4 ounces.
Wooden Salad Set
Made in all the Stieff patterns, Wooden Salad sets were a popular wedding gift in the 1950’s 60’s and 70’s Available in both Olive Wood and Teak. However the wood needs to be kept oiled or it dries and cracks. Many of these sets have broken over the years, esp. forks, making intact examples hard to find now.
The Olive Wood sets were introduced in 1939
More rare is the TEAK set shown below. Most sets were Olive Wood.
The wooden utensil sections were made in France
Teak set, (lower photo) from my collection of Stieff Silver
Tea Strainers
This Tea Strainer is in the Chrysanthemum Pattern. This was gilding the
lilly when you had a Sterling Silver Tea Set. Never a big seller, these are fairly fragile and not many have survived. (photo, Imperialhalfbushel.com)
An even more rare square version
Once, Stieff made Parasols & Umbrellas
Several styles are shown below
Many more photos of Canes and Umbrellas are just a click away at: Additional Canes and Umbrellas
including some fantastic custom work.
Stieff Sterling Silver Mechanical Pencil, 1930
The small ring on the top denotes that this is a ladies pen. The star is the 1930 mark
(photo from ebay)
Bonnet Brush
W/ long bristles
(photo ebay)
Often confused as a clothes brush, but these were used to clean ladies bonnets.
Rare to find one with intact long bristles still in the brush.
More common clothes brushes as seen below were more rectangular, some with rounded edges.
This photo, imperialhalfbushel.com
#23 Relish Fork (5 tines)
For those larger pickled items that the pickle fork can not handle.
Sometimes incorrectly called a Sardine Fork or a Pastry Fork
Appears in the late 1920’s catalog, but not in the 1937, a casualty of changing table fashions.
#43 Ice Tongs
Shown above in the Rose pattern and below in Corsage
In years past most ice was chopped or “picked” off large blocks of ice. The flat side of the ice tongs would be more practical back then to pick up odd sized pieces of Ice. Today’s more uniform sized cubes just need the two claw style.
#42 Sugar Tongs w/ Details 4.25 Inches
Tongs themselves are not very rare. Early examples with the “bird claw” highly detailed
are fairly rare. Later pieces lack the great detail of these pieces.
The #41 Bon Bon Tongs are identical except they are
2 and 7/8 inches long
To see other types of tongs, click on photo below
#0600, a 7 Inch Butter Dish from 1949 (Two pieces)
Ice goes in the deep well of the bottom piece to keep the butter above cold
This is a 1920 Coffee & Tea set with the rare tray. Most people did not order the tray and they are very rare today. This set appears to have been “over cleaned” by someone. Most of the patina is gone, but it can be restored.
(For patina restoration, please see the section on this site called OUCH! Silver Restoration)
Anything with the 1928 date mark
Above from a #28 coffee pot, the 28 not denoting the year
The 1928 mark is a Swastika. You rarely see any pieces from 1928. Here it is found below the 12A and just above the leg. As mentioned elsewhere in this site, this has no nazi meanings at all.
Perhaps during WWII people destroyed the swastika marks to avoid conflict or because they
did not know it was a date mark. This is just conjecture on my part.
(This piece from my personal collection)
Larger Hollow Ware
Smaller pieces like this bon bon dish are fairly common. Larger pieces like coffee services, candlesticks, vases and trays are much rarer.
Hand Chased 1917 Oval Bon Bon Dish, 7.25 inches long
This is a 1922 “Flower or Fruit Basket” w/ fixed handled
An example of a #90, 18 inch Meat Platter from 1949
Anything in the Victoria Pattern
The Victoria Pattern is very very rare.
If you have photos of Victoria, please send them to me so that I can
share them with others.
Original Wooden Cases
At one time Stieff Silver could be ordered in custom wooden cases lined in silk. On page 24 of the 1910 Catalog item # 93 is “flatware in Silk Covered Case”
Here is an example of that case.
Even a hundred years later, look how vibrant the color of the silk is.
This photo shows more than the contents that fit in the case.
(from ebay)
Additional examples of Stieff boxed goods can be see at:
The War Years 1942-1945
The salt shaker below shows the H mark for 1943
This is not the H used for Heavy as seen on flatware.
During WWII, the silver supply was controlled by the government. When stockpiles of silver ran out, production stopped. Very few items were made after 1942.
The 1943 H mark below is on a Forget-Me-Not baby cup
The J was the mark for 1944.
This is from a set of 8 Bread Plates made in 1944.
Sterling Silver flatware with
Gold Vermeil
I do not know how much of this product was produced. It had to be expensive. This is just a part of the set.
1987 “Key to Independence Hall”
To see both Sterling and Pewter versions of this key, click below.
Shoe Horns
Easily lost over the years
This piece confuses me. The A stamp for 1936 seems to be over top of what looks like a 2, which does not make sense. Also the Stieff crown was not used on pieces in the mid to later 1930s (as far as I know). Perhaps this was something that in stock in the factory for years, and was later stamped with the A to make it match other pieces that had been ordered in 1936.
(photos from ebay)
WWII era pieces.
During WWII, Stieff produced a lot of war materials and silver production was greatly reduced. It is rare to find items made during the war.
This piece still has it’s original documentation dated October 8, 1942
(from my personal collection)
Religious Objects
The Dinneen Chalice 1936
A One of a Kind Masterpiece
Click on photo for more info
George Jensen style bowl
Marked STERLING STIEFF X
(1956)
Click below for
More Spectacular and rare Stieff Silver
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#9 Individual Butter Spreaders (short)
Butter Spreaders once came in long and a “short” size.
Shown in the Chrysanthemum pattern
Plaques
Presented to Frank S. Given
Reverse: STIEFF STERLING Size is 2 x 3.5
I do not know what the plaque was attached to.
