HEAVY SILVER

Heavy silver means really big money. There’s ordinary sterling silverware which is more or less normal and used for dinner parties or small ornamental pieces which are displayed on end tables.

However, heavy silver is very weighty, some pieces are so big it requires two people to carry it and can only be affordable to the extremely wealthy. This kind of silver is usually found in stately English manor homes or drafty old castles, as well as in the homes of very rich commoners. Or in the home of someone who lives in Ohio.

In our small town in Ohio, it was said there were more millionaires per capita then in any other community of its size. We knew several residents suspected of being in that elite group but had never seen their bank statements.

One couple we knew really did fit in that category. We had been to their Victorian home several times and it’s the only house I’ve ever seen that was complete with a real library. As you entered the foyer, to the left was something that is usually seen in old movies. A paneled room with floor to ceiling book shelves, leaded glass windows and furnished with a massive desk and leather chairs.

The living room (another movie set) contained a grand piano because our hostess had studied to be a concert pianist but she refused to play for us because she felt she wasn’t good enough. The piano was draped with fringed scarf on top of which was an enormous floral bouquet. The house had a huge kitchen which is where we all gathered during a party. Just like the regular folks do.

I was also invited, along with four other women, to a luncheon where we ate in their beautiful dining room. We were served from ornate silver serving pieces by their old and beloved family retainer. (really) There were two built-in corner cabinets flanking the room’s French doors which contained an unbelievable display of heavy, heavy silver. Our hostess explained that all their silver came from England when her husband’s family immigrated to the United States. Her husband’s grandfather had been a favored playmate of Queen Victoria’s children. That’s heavy silver!

(Sometime in the future I’ll tell you about the very accomplished husband)