Forks, Knives & Spoons

Book excerpt: From Peri Wolfman and Charles Gold -- authors of the best-selling The Perfect Setting -- comes the book that showcases one of today's favorite collectibles, vintage Forks, Knives & Spoons. Part of the fun in collecting is the search for new and unusual pieces, and Peri and Charley have amassed delicate coin silver tea spoons, bone-handled knives with rusted steel blades, wood-handled forks with decorative rivets, and picnic ware with bright Bakelite handles. They share the history behind the countless unusual serving pieces -- baked-potato forks, bread knives, and olive spoons among them -that date to Victorian times, and they identify the 29 place setting pieces still in manufacture today. The resource section offers advice on the care, cleaning, and storage of silver, steel, Bakelite, bone, and more. There are also names and addresses of some of the best places to shop for old silver and tableware. Charley's photographs capture the matte beauty of old steel, the warm gleam of silver, the glow of bone, and they offer inspiration for table settings. But the book's biggest bonus is the more than 35 recipes that are tasty ideas for putting your old finds to new use. In Forks, Knives & Spoons, Peri Wolfman and Charles Gold have created a book that both collectors and cooks are bound to relish.