There’s more to setting a truly formal dinner table than meets the eye.
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In addition to the usual three pieces — fork, spoon and knife — seen on most tables, those entertaining in the Victorian Era had much more to worry about.
Correct placement and use of the fish fork and the cake fork, as well as the pea spoon, jelly spoon and myriad other utensils placed on the white tablecloth was considered the highest form of dining etiquette during the post-Civil War Era.
Local historian Cynthia Ogorek discussed such topics during a presentation she called “Romancing the Spoon” at Dyer Town Hall.
“There was an art to setting the proper dinner table,” she said at the event sponsored by the Dyer Historical Society. “There was always a special instrument to assist you (with a variety of foods), and the host/hostess had to know exactly what to do with them.”
More than 75 area residents attended the presentation to learn about the history of silver in the United States and how American families came to revere its use in their homes.
“I always wondered about some of those funny-looking pieces of silverware in my grandmother’s set,” said Jane DeMarco of Calumet City, Ill. “That’s why I came today — to solve that mystery.”
And that she did, as Ogorek set up a formal dinner table, complete with extended place settings, in front of the audience, discussing each item and its use.
The historian has a large collection of her own, but it does not include every piece of silver used at that time. For those, she held up renderings of what the utensils look like.
“That piece looks like one we have in the old family hope chest,” Karalyn Loman of Hammond said as Ogorek held up a picture of an oyster fork.
The Victorian Era (1837-1901) found many people enamored with silver pieces, and the more you owned, the better.
“Possession of fine silver was a sign of achievement,” Ogorek said. “It was a status symbol of your standing in the community. Silver became one of the must-haves for the middle-class family.”
The five top silver patterns made by Gorhman Silver Co., which was established in Rhode Island in 1831, were: Buttercup, Chantilly, Fairfax, Francis 1 and Strasburg.
Strasburg outdid them all, with 156 pieces available. The set included 37 forks, 22 knives, 41 spoons,12 ladles, 19 serving pieces and 25 miscellaneous items.
Relating the economic times of the United States to the use of silver in upper- and middle-class homes began with the expanded food items available for the dining room table.
The post-Civil War Era was the most inventive and most productive time for the United States, according to the historian. And since the focus in most homes was the table where families and guests gathered for socialization, many developments came into play surrounding the food offered there.
Redefining manufacturing processes, electricity, improved food processing methods, improved farming methods, refrigerated train cars and canning processes were integral parts of this progress.
“During this era, households were not limited to what they had locally,” Ogorek said. “You were finding foods not seen before on the table — and different eating utensils to accommodate them came into being.”
By 1900, America had the most diversified food in the world, she said.
Ogorek discussed silver plating and sterling silver types, as well as the four commandments of dinner table etiquette.
Sterling silver means it will not rust, but can collect water spots and has to be cared for, the audience was told. And table etiquette tips were short and straightforward.
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First rule of thumb was to use only your own napkin. Refraining from using fingers to eat was the second, followed by the rule of not serving food with your place setting pieces. And last but not least — no eating with a knife.
The Dyer Historical Society offers events all year and maintains a museum in the lower level of the Town Hall. For more information, call (219) 865-6108.