Vintage Silverplate Orient Line Coffeepot

A stately find from the silver market in northern England, this Vintage Silverplate Orient Line Coffeepot is a handsome memento from one of Britain's most progressive and innovative shipping companies. With roots tracing back to the 18th century during Britain's command of the high seas, The Orient Steam Navigation Company began as a ship-broking business founded by James Thomson in 1797. Operating a small fleet of sailing ships in the early part of the 19th century, by mid-century the firm navigated routes all over the world. 

With a change in ownership and the inauguration of service from England to Australia on the steamship Orient, the company changed its name to The Orient Line of Packets, or more simply, Orient Line. Close ties with another great shipping company, the P&O lines, began at the turn of the 20th century with collaboration on a joint contract for delivery of mail to Australia. In addition to shipping and delivery duties, Orient Line became the premier passenger line between Britain and Australia carrying thousands in its sailing ships and steamers until economics following two world wars and the advent of air travel forced a full merger with P&O.

Produced exclusively for the Orient Line Steamship Company by the premier silversmiths at Mappin & Webb, the gleaming pot is sidestamped with the Orient Line's distinctive crest: a small 'O' and an elongated 'L' on either side of an anchor. With its streamlined silhouette and statuesque presence, this lovely pot from the golden era of steamship travel promises to bring its shimmering glamor and mystique to your table and tea tray for decades to come..

Strictly one-of-a-kind and subject to prior sale. 5.25"H x 6.75" at widest point. In very good vintage condition. 

Once found in Grand Hotels, chic cafés, elegant restaurants as well as luxury steamships and the dining cars of the great locomotives, vintage hotel silver beautifully evokes the Golden Age of Travel.  Handsomely crafted using nickel silver as its base metal along with a thick plating of pure silver, vintage hotel silver is unmistakeable for its simple, classic lines and its pleasing heft.  Often crested with the name of the establishment, the pieces bear the gentle, lovely patina often referred to as a "butler's finish".

Produced by the great silversmiths here in the United States, as well as those in Britain and on the Continent, most hotel silver dates from the 1920s to the 1940s. Prized for its perfect blend of form and function, hotel silver was made to withstand the rigor of use.  Highly collectible, vintage hotel silver is a wonderful addition to any home.

Evoking the days of elegant travel, there are many new ways that hotel silver can be enjoyed.  A milk pitcher makes an elegant vase for flowers or fresh herbs on the kitchen counter.  A collection of oval platters adds sparkle and depth in a hutch when not being called into service for a buffet or dinner party.  A toast rack becomes the perfect way to display photographs, hold fingertip towels in a powder room or organize mail in the office.  Mix and match cutlery brings a relaxed elegance to any tablescape. Whatever the piece, vintage hotel silver is sure to stir memories not only of your own travel, but of exotic destinations and ports of call from parts unknown.