Butter Picks

Some time after the dawn of civilization and before the invention of plastic and Styrofoam, there was a glorious period when human beings ate and drank with utensils made of silver.

Silverware, of course, is still with us. Even in the 21^st Century there are brides who receive the standard sets for their weddings; if they are lucky they might even be given a silver teapot. But it is not really the same as the good old days.

The silver pieces that might have adorned the festive holiday or special occasion dinner table back in our grandmothers' and great-grandmothers' time were something else again. Dazzlingly ornate, frequently ingenious and always beautiful instruments, they made anyone using them feel quite special.

Of course, one had to know how to use them, and what each was used for. A hundred years ago, ''the refined consumption of food was the trial by fire of etiquette.'' Many a young, upwardly mobile Victorian met his Waterloo between the lettuce fork and the butter pick.

Butter picks are generally five inches long (although some can be found as long as eight inches) and were manufactured in silver and sterling silver. Some butter picks have a spiraled end and are used for lifting a pat of butter. Butter picks are most often used with the china piece type known as a butter pat Butter picks matched the other silver pieces in the table place settings. Some times the very wealthy would have each individual butter pick in their inventory monogrammed.  

Two-pronged (tine) butter picks, like their single pronged counterparts, are used for lifting and serving butter from a master butter pat onto an individual butter pat.

These diminutive treasures that were used to spear pats of butter to be placed on butter pat plates at each setting are actively sought by many collectors. Single butter picks from the Victorian through Edwardian era can range in price from $35 to $150 each.

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Mary Dessoie founded the Butter Pat Patter Association for collectors of butter pats. Butter pats are miniature plates that were introduced during the mid-1800's for individual servings of butter. A subscription to The Patter newsletter costs $22 and includes a mint-condition Royal Doulton butter pat and ten issues of The Patter. Sample copies of The Patter are available by sending $4.00 and a LSSAE (59 cents). For those persons who would like to start their subscriptions immediately and receive their Royal Doulton pat by return mail, please send your check or money order, payable to Mary Dessoie, to Butter Pat Patter Association, 265 Eagle Bend Drive, Bigfork, MT 59911-6235.