Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-11-23
FOR WEDDING GIFTS,
Solitaire knives and Forks Are the
Latest FadS.


The difficulty of selecting a wedding pres
ent that shall be unique and yet not too ex-
pensive for the light purse is one that very
often troubles tasteful. generous friends
But this winter solitaire knives and forks
are to be favorite wedding gifts. and. as
anything quaint in this form is considered
desirable there will be charming scope for
individual fancy and moderate means.
This is revival of an antique fashion,
which dates far back in the sixteenth CEN
fury, when forks were considered rather a
superfuous luxury and possessed only by
the excessively fasSidous. They were never
provided then by sets or dozens; fork was
strictly personal utensil, and guests
brought their own when they responded to a
dinner invitation. A case for holding knife
and fork was therefore usually sold with
them, and upon this as much skill was ex-
pended as upon the contents. A very an
Gent one, recently exhibited, might have
been mistaken for modern spectacle case.
1T was of sharkskin, gold mounted. The
kniie ana fork 1t contained had handles of
sold, with ivy vines in green enamel twining
round them, and there were two little figures
In white enamel sitting under a shell-like
canopy on the end
The workmanship displayed on some of
the OLD forks and knives is exquisite, and
there Is an effort now setting in to make
these little implements more interesting
than they have been of late years. The
prevailing mother-of-pearl knife handles are
DAINTY, but conventional and ordinary. A
lew pretty varieties of Dresden china are
seen, and the artistic bronze dagger handles
OF Japan, iniaid with silver and gold have
occasionally been utilized for household
service but aside from these the handles of
knives nave heen stupidity monotonous.
NOW, not only are beauty and variety of
design to have consideration, but the ex-
cellence of grip which we look for in a knife
handle is to have especial attention and the
shape of the blade is to be improved a
KNIFE, to be useful for the miniature carving
on our plates. ought to be sharp at the point,
whereas the manufacturers still continue
10 round the blades at the top as in the days
OF queen Anne, when etiquette permitted
eating with the knife
me bridesmaids that are to oficiate at
one OF the distinguished marriages soon to
be celebrated in New York have each order
ed "a Knife and fork as bridal gift, and
much rivalry has entered into the search for
antiquity and grace of establishment
In one case the handles are Venetian eley-
enth century style, livery and gold set with
turquoise; in another they are of amber ex-
Qulsltely carved, and the fork is shaped as
al forks were until the eighteenth century,
IKE long tuning fork. A set of genuine
antiques are charming ivory carvings, show
ing groups of pretty allegorical creatures of
the Cupid family. Large spreading
branches of pink coral, mounted in gold give
a rosy touch of color to the collection al
though the most attractive Of all, perhaps,
Is design executed in gold-a plump little
BacchLs bestriding barrel and holding a
cup and grapes, the fruit and leaves enam-
eled in colorS
Apparently, the mania for collecting curl
Gus knives and forks is likely to Guido the
souvenir spoon cyclone which swept over
US with such resistless fury few years ago.