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Estate
Silver Plated Hollowware featuring Old Sheffield
The use of "sheffield plate" began in 1742 when Thomas Boulsover, a
Sheffield cutler (bladesmith), discovered that a sheet of silver fused to a
piece of copper could then be rolled or hammered out without fracturing the
bond.
This made possible the use of "plated" base metal, which appeared,
outwardly, to be silver, but as the silver "skin" could be only a small
proportion of the gauge of the metal the saving in expense was considerable
and objects made from the product looked exactly like sterling silver,
because the applied 'plate' was indeed sterling.
The use of "sheffield plate" (called also "old
sheffield") declined around 1840, when 'electroplating' was invented. This
is a system which allows to deposit a thin layer of 99.99 per cent pure
silver, obtaining a less expensive but rather less attractive sheen when
polished.
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