During the 19th century, high tea was a daily ritual of many wealthy Americans and a symbol of feminine domesticity and hospitality. At its most lavish, the ritual required not only tea services, but also elaborate tea flatware sets. The innovative pattern (no. 285) of this fork, and the set it belongs to, was available only in specialty flatware.

During the 19th century, high tea was a daily ritual of many wealthy Americans and a symbol of feminine domesticity and hospitality. At its most lavish, the ritual required not only tea services, but also elaborate tea flatware sets. The innovative pattern (no. 285) of this knife, and the set it belongs to, was available only in specialty flatware.

During the 19th century, high tea was a daily ritual of many wealthy Americans and a symbol of feminine domesticity and hospitality. At its most lavish, the ritual required not only tea services, but also elaborate tea flatware sets. The innovative pattern (no. 285) of this spoon, and the set it belongs to, was available only in specialty flatware.

As a result of the desire for order and hierarchy in an increasingly chaotic, industrialized society, 19th-century Americans were extraordinarily fastidious about the consumption of food.