stieff flatware 1920-1940
stieff flatware 1920-1940
The 1920 Catalog saw the introduction of several new patterns, two of which were to fade quickly from the scene.
Lady Claire Hand Engraved 1920
Luncheon setting, note the ROUND knife handle on the shorter luncheon size
Place setting with FLAT knife handle with a modern blade, dinner size
Steak Knives with modern handle and “straight razor sharp” blades
Photo from the 1967 Stieff Silver pamphlet
1918-late 1990s
The 1996 Lenox Kirk-Stieff catalog still shows Lady Claire
The 1920 Catalog introduces Lady Claire as Stieff’s newest pattern. The 1923 price guide
shows the pattern, and says Lady Claire is one of the newest patterns.
Most silver books show the date as 1925, but this is incorrect.
The Lady Claire pattern is named after
Claire von Marees Stieff
Wife of Stieff President, Gideon Stieff
Clinton 1920
A Plain Colonial Design
(This pattern replaced the prior pattern known as “Plain” in 1920)
Originally produced in three styles, two were quickly dropped
Clinton used the rounded knife handle on both the luncheon and dinner knives
Clinton and Lady Claire are the same pieces, with Lady Claire being hand engraved.
Clinton A & B are also engraved, but in a different pattern
CLINTON
1920-February 1974
Clinton A
Clinton B
Clinton A & B are very short lived.
The April 1923 price guide does not mention Clinton A or B,
nor are they shown in the 1926 Stieff catalog.
The founder of the company was Charles CLINTON Stieff,
hence the name of the CLINTON pattern.
Ladle in Clinton A
As with any storied companies history... there are always things that just
do not add up and make us scratch our heads.
Below is an example of just that. Click on the photo and see
larger photos and what I know about these pieces of silver
Puritan 1923
While first “shown” in 1922, production problems slowed the introduction of Puritan until late 1923 or 1924. It is not listed in the September 1923 price lists and the following is shown rubber stamped into the 1923 Catalog.
(Courtesy of Howard Lotti)
PURITAN
1923*-December 1979
The name PURITAN may have come from Puritan Street located a block
behind the Stieff Bldg. The pattern debuted as Stieff was building the new factory on Wyman Park Driveway, so Gideon Stieff surely would have seen the name PURITAN on any map of the area.
Betsy Patterson 1932
Available both Plain & Hand Engraved
Shown with a bolstered new french knife
Shown with a modern blade knife
Designed by Gideon N. Stieff
1932-December 1979
Elizabeth (Betsy) Patterson Bonaparte was a native of Baltimore, married the brother of Emperor Napoleon, (later divorced) and a socialite in Baltimore society. Her story is well worth googling. Several movies about her life were made in the early 20th century.
Betsy Patterson Bonaparte
Artist: Gilbert Stuart 1804
Corsage 1935
Designed by Gideon N. Stieff and Ellis T. Baker
Note the subtle differences in the dies in the two pieces above, and in the 4 piece set above.
1935-1979
Some sources list 1991 as the last date. I have not yet found evidence to back this up.
Homewood 1938
Designer: Frederick Hoyle
Homewood
Photo, National Park Service Staff
Homewood is the name of the colonial home built by Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Maryland, the last survivor of the 57 signers of the Declaration of Independence.
The Carrollton pattern is named after Mr. Carroll.
A special promotion of Homewood from 1950.
(Please note, that in the 1980s Kirk-Stieff produced this same pattern in SILVER PLATE as
“Classic Flutes” so check carefully on any pieces that you buy for the word STERLING)
1938-December 1979
Williamsburg Queen Anne 1940
Originally introduced as “Raleigh Tavern” but not many American women wanted a pattern named after a “bar” so the name became WILLIAMSBURG.
The name Williamsburg was used in the 1950’s and 1960’s for this pattern. It was not until the Williamsburg Shell pattern was introduced in 1970 that this pattern became known as “Williamsburg Queen Anne”
Introduced in 1940, just in time for production to stop because of the war.
The earliest pieces will have this simple mark
1950s and later will carry the oval mark
Queen Anne carries the Williamsburg Restoration Seal
1940-1999
(Currently made by Reed & Barton)
To see more on this pattern, look for the section on Williamsburg Restoration Silver on this site
For the 1940 introduction catalog click below
To see the Reed & Barton version of Queen Anne click on the picture below
NON-STERLING STIEFF
Queen Anne Pattern
From time to time one of these pieces appears and confuses most of the “experts” as to what it is.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Stieff made plated flatware for use in the Colonial Williamsburg restaurants. This looked like Sterling, felt like sterling and since it was a sterling plate.. today people think it is sterling. (It ain’t sterling)
The silverware was so beautiful that people would steal the silverware from the restaurants and now it shows up in antique stores or on ebay presented as Sterling Silver.
Charles C. Stieff was a champion of the “Sterling Silver” laws and worked very hard to get them passed and enforced. Notice the lack of the works STERLING on this piece. That alone is proof that this is not Sterling. If a piece says STIEFF and does not have Sterling stamped on it.. it will never be sterling*
*A 2011 modification to the above statement
I received two pieces of Kirk-Stieff sterling as a gift in 2010. This is the Kirk-Stieff silver that is now being made in Puerto Rico by Lifetime Sterling, the current owner of the Kirk-Stieff brand. Both were hollow handles... but one was not marked Sterling. Neither of them carried the Kirk-Stieff name. They are both sterling silver, but quality control appears to be lacking. The above Queen Anne pieces are STILL not Sterling.
Post War Patterns are Listed Here:
Stieff Sterling Silver Pattern Footnotes
** Chrysanthemum: Start date and finish dates are undetermined.
It does NOT appear in the 1920 Catalog. Conventional wisdom gives
1904 as the most likely start date.
*Conventional knowledge marks the start of PURITAN as 1922. While the 1923 catalog shows the pattern, it also comments about production delays and the September 1923 price guide leaves Puritan out of the list of
patterns available for purchase.
X Lady Claire, Clinton plus Clinton A & B are all in the 1920 catalog. In
many guides they appear incorrectly as 1925 pieces. All four share the
same basic shape and size but decorated differently.
X Forget-Me-Not first appears in the 1920 catalog. Some silver books incorrectly show the pattern to be 1910. It does not appear in any of the
Stieff price guides prior to 1920. Possibly Late teens, but not 1910.
Although patterns were discontinued, for many years Stieff would make the pieces as special orders. So a single piece of Chrysanthemum or Victoria could have been made up into the 1980’s if someone lost a knife or spoon.
Charles C. Stieff II tells me that while the replacement service was
provided, it might be months or even several years before the piece would
be made as they often waited for several orders to come in before making
a special production run.
The cost of making a special order piece...that is another story.
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