US Civil War Inspiration

[spamel]

Don't clean them, the muck is character!

 

[Mesquite]

I agree with Spamel, leave them as they are

 

[tombear]

Um, I think cleaning is in order as I have certain aversion to cholera, plauge and whatever else they were dropping like flies from back then! It's not chracter, it's neglect. When herselfs lot lost the servents it all went to pot!

OK so I'm a hyperchondriac, humour me!

ATB

Tom ;-{D)

 

[Mesquite]

Um, I think cleaning is in order as I have certain aversion to cholera, plauge and whatever else they were dropping like flies from back then! It's not chracter, it's neglect. When herselfs lot lost the servents it all went to pot!

OK so I'm a hyperchondriac, humour me!

ATB

Tom ;-{D)

I'd disagree with you about it being neglect. Those things are over a hundred years old so they won't look like new. Yes, clean the silver up but leave the ivory handles. The other thing to bear in mind is if the ivory is damaged in the cleaning you'll destroy any value they have.

You've as much chance of catching a disease from your own cutlery when you're out and about as you have from those. But if you want to be sure put the metal heads in some boiling water for a few seconds and they'll be sterilised

 

[tombear]

OK I can live with leaving the scales but in this case the rust is recent neglect. Somebody has lovingly polished the metal work and the rust is relatively recent. If it was age blackening like my great great grandads farriers pocket knife I'd leave it.

Well that and I have a pathalogical aversion to rust! :-{D)

ATB

Tom

 

[British Red]

Tom,

Please have those appraised before you clean them. They are clearly hallmarked and may well have some value. As a minimum any good antique silver seller will be able to say when they were made, by whom, where hallmarked etc.

Over cleaning antiques is rarely a good idea.

Red

 

[tombear]

Oh aye, the last time in Oxford herselfs mother gave here a mustard pot hallmarked for 1871 and it had been polished so much that the raised pattern embossed from the inside had been worn down to holes! They tend to use things rather than preserve them, the longcase clock in the hall they stop in defferance to it keeping me awake all night is dated 1780 something!

ATB

Tom