Small objects of desire.

Apologies blippers for this very late blip. Work and wonderful grandson no.1, are responsible. By the time everything had settled down, it was dark. Emergency Ward 10, sorry emergency blip no.1. My daughter Sarah bought me a book on silver hallmarks. I love silver, shiny and relatively cheap. I went to see what "trumpery" I could find at the local car-boot, and the first box of treasure I searched through, revealed this little knife thing, that I would hazard a guess is used for mustard, and this worn out "dessert" fork. The mustard knife is hallmarked Birmingham, 1906-1907. The fork is hallmarked Dublin, 1808, and I suspect because of how worn the tines are, is solid silver. Phillistine that I am, I was charged 50p. I know what you're thinking, I must have mug written across this once noble brow. I do. No.1 daughter Kathryn brought me the dessert type spoon, hallmarked London 1931-1932. She was living in Wilmslow at the time, and had to pay MUFC wag prices, 25p. She's a lass after my own heart, and so much like me in many respects, without of course the ugly mug, the 'tache, and the bald head. the last objet, is a teaspoon, stamped proudly on the holding end with the name of the supplier. What a different world, when many people were not only proud of what they made and how they made it, but stamped their name with it. You couldn't imagine buying your cutlery from a jewellers now. I know that these items have no intrinsic value, but they are incredibly valuable to me. When my children were very young, I used to find cutlery in the garden where they had been exploring, looking for worms, beetles and creepy crawlies of every description. I suspect that the dessert fork probably has a similar pedigree. One of my other loves are postcards, items of ephemera that survive where things made of steel and stone are gone. BTW, I haven't found any silver since that first time, but the early bird etc...zz
I have Ceridwen to thank for the marvellous expression "trumpery" It is so apt.