Help Requested in Locating Engraved Gorham Buttercup Pieces

A blog reader has asked for assistance in locating some specific pieces. Her great-grandmother gave away some pieces of Gorham Buttercup engraved on the back with "O S Merry". The picture gives an idea of what we're talking about.

If you know of the location of pieces like this, send us an email. We know this is a shot in the dark but we can't locate these pieces if we don't try!

Click on any picture to see a larger version. By clicking on "Comments/Questions" below, you can see posted comments and add your own questions and comments. Or, you can send us an email by clicking on "Email Silver Jim" in the right column.

Tired of Searching on eBay Over & Over?

Are you looking for that elusive piece of sterling flatware on eBay? Are you tired of going to eBay everyday to perform the same search? Why not let eBay do the work for you?

You can set up a "saved search" in eBay and whenever eBay finds a match for your search, it will send you an email. Suppose you are looking for a pickle fork in the Old Maryland Engraved pattern by Kirk-Stieff. I couldn't find one of these in eBay today, so I created a saved search to notify me when one is put up for sale. Here are the steps:

• Click on "Advanced Search"
• Type in your search parameters
• Click the "Search" button
• Click "Save this search"
• In the new little window that pops up, give your search a name and specify how long you want to keep receiving emails related to this search (12 months is the maximum)
• In the little window, click "Save"

Whenever someone places a new listing in eBay that meets your criteria, you'll receive an email. There is no obligation to bid or buy.

Here's what I typed as the search criteria for this pickle fork:

old maryland (pickle, pickel, lemon, olive) fork

Here's why:

• I left off the word "engraved" because some sellers leave it out of the listing title. However, there is a pattern called "Old Maryland" so I may get some incorrect hits.
• Some sellers incorrectly identify pickle forks, calling them lemon or olive forks.
• Some sellers can't spell very well.

Send us a comment or question if you have other suggestions.

Click on any picture to see a larger version. By clicking on "Comments/Questions" below, you can see posted comments and add your own questions and comments. Or, you can send us an email by clicking on "Email Silver Jim" in the right column.

New Google Sterling Search Feature

We have added a Google search capability to our site. We recommend that you use this search tool if you wish to search for pieces of sterling flatware. Just type in some details and click on "Search". We recommend you include at least the following search terms:

• Manufacturer name
• Pattern name
• Specific piece you are looking for

Examples are "Gorham Strasbourg fork", "Wallace Grande Baroque butter knife", etc. We have already embedded additional search criteria to help locate pieces you might be interested in.

When the search results window is opened, there may be advertisements included (top, side and/or bottom of the screen). These also are targeted to what you are looking for so if an ad looks promising, click on it.

Speaking of ads, we have also added advertisement links in the right sidebar and at the bottom of the screen. These are targeted as well so take a look if you are interested. You have to scroll through the ads to see them all. Generally, both sets of ads include:

• Potential sellers of sterling
• Potential buyers of sterling
• Potential sellers of ancillary products such as silver polish

By clicking on "Comments/Questions" below, you can see posted comments and add your own questions and comments. Or, you can send us an email by clicking on "View My Complete Profile" in the right column.

eBay: Searching Tip

If you are buying on eBay, you might want to consider this - sellers often make mistakes in spelling, especially with regard to certain pattern names. A good example is the Wallace pattern, Grande Baroque. Many sellers forget about the "e" at the end of the word, "Grande". To work around this, you might do two searches with these search terms:

• Wallace Grand Baroque sterling


• Wallace Grande Baroque sterling
  

Or, you might take an easier, quicker approach. The following search terms will search for both spellings:

• Wallace (Grand, Grande) Baroque sterling

The eBay search engine will understand that you are looking for the "grand" OR "grande" spellings.

Savvy sellers include both spellings in their listings so that their listing will be found even if the searcher spells it "grand". In our Grande Baroque listings, the word "grand" is included in the item description but it is hidden from view. So, it will not be seen but it will be examined during eBay searches.

Other pattern names often mispelled include Rose Point, ("Rosepoint"), Strasbourg ("Strasburg"), Chantilly ("Chantily"), Buttercup ("Butter Cup") and Versailles (many!).

By clicking on "Comments" below, you can see posted comments and add your own questions/comments.