Old Sheffield Plate

After its introduction in 1742, Old Sheffield Plate quickly became popular, particularly with the middle classes. When new, its plated surface looked like solid silver, but today many pieces show characteristic tinges of copper where the silver has worn away, revealing the base metal beneath. This book explains what Old Sheffield Plate is and how this method of silver plating differs from other techniques such as electroplate; it describes the manufacturing processes and outlines the history of the trade. The industry eventually spread from Sheffield to other centres, notably Birmingham. One chapter helps the reader to identify Old Sheffield Plate by describing characteristic features and makers' marks and explains how to clean and care for it.