Old Things Considered
Advice and trivia for the do-it-yourselfer
Ghislaine Darden © 2008

What is Silver-plate and how does it differ from Sterling Silver?

Sterling silver represents a product made of nearly pure silver. Silver-plate is the process of coating another metal-based item with silver. The popular plating process was made famous by the 18th-century English Sheffield group, who fused copper and pure silver at very high temperatures.

Pure silver was just too soft to work with. Early silver included anywhere from 900-958 parts per thousand of silver, with an alloy of some type. It wasn’t until 1860 that the industry standard became 925 parts of silver and 75 parts of an alloy. Silver wares made after 1860 are often stamped with the word “sterling” on the back or bottom of the item. Prior to 1860, craftsmen used very individualized “hallmarks” or stamps which identified where and when the product was made and by whom. Learning to identify these early silver and silver-plate hallmarks is fascinating and can be lots of fun.

Did You Know…

. . . that women voted in America long before 1920? Actually, women and men were both afforded the legal right to vote during the earliest years of our history.

Between the years of 1776 and 1807, New Jersey women were the most fortunate. Their sisters living in other colonial states were not so privileged. Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and North Carolina defined their voters as “freeman”; in Vermont, the voter was a “man”; in Georgia, it was “white male inhabitants” and in South Carolina, it was “free white man.”

By 1787, all but one of the confederated states had closed any loopholes that allowed women to slip through to the polls. New Jersey stood alone. The New Jersey Constitution of 1776 specified that voters shall be “adult inhabitants and heads of households.” These terms encompassed white men, black men, widows, and unmarried adult women who were worth fifty pounds. These entitled citizens could vote in state elections and vote for their continental congress representatives. Married women however, could not vote.

By 1807, things got ugly during several elections as either side claimed that the other had unqualified women, coined “petticoat electors,” rigging the vote. The legislature had had enough and passed the New Jersey Act of 1807 to redefine who could be considered an eligible voter. Can you guess who the winner was? All “free, white male citizens, 21 years or older and worth fifty pounds.” By this simple Act of 1807, women and blacks were quickly and effectively disenfranchised. It would be another 113 years before women could legally vote in every state in the nation, with ratification of the 19th Amendment, which guaranteed voting rights for all citizens regardless of their gender.

Though there would be cases here and there where women could legally cast their vote, the men of the West were clearly the most progressive in support of a women’s right to vote during the 19th century. The Wyoming Territorial legislature would grant full voting rights to women in 1869, and the Utah Territorial legislature would follow in 1870. In 1880, the first twenty female voters participated in their school committee elections in Concord, MA. One of these was the author Louisa May Alcott; she wrote Little Women and would later become an advocate for women's issues including woman suffrage.

Ghislaine Darden of Benner Street is an old house enthusiast and a Highland Park resident since 1984. Send her your antique and restoration questions to oldthings@hpmirror.com