Tuesday night I was at dinner with Connie Willis, Daniel Abraham and a number of folks from the science fiction community in New Mexico.  Connie had been given a sack of wrapping paper because she collects wrapping paper.  She gave us the fascinating background on why it existed.  Prior to 1920 packages were just wrapped in brown paper or tissue with a ribbon.  It was the crash and resultant depression that led to the creation of wrapping paper.  People didn’t have money for expensive gifts so they wrapped the inexpensive gift in pretty paper to make up for it.  Connie said she could identify the decade by just glancing at the paper.  During the 1960’s it was all psychedelics, then mylar came in and foil, etc. etc.

I collect antique sterling silver flatware.  My pattern is Violet by Wallace.  It’s a lovely art Nouveau pattern, and while I collect because it’s beautiful I collect it because of what it says about the era in which it was made — roughly 1880 to 1910.  It was a culture where you had “staff” to keep it all polished.  Where you had a luncheon place setting and a dinner setting.  Serving pieces for every conceivable kind of food.  I have a lettuce fork, a pickle fork, chocolate spoon, strawberry fork, fish fork, jelly spoon, baked potato server, fish server, etc. etc.  I also have this lovely filagreed piece which was a bonbon server.  It is meant to keep the powdered sugar off your fingers or clothing.

I decided I wanted to use it for Thanksgiving so I made dates stuffed with cream cheese and pecans and dusted with powdered sugar and I will serve them with the bonbon server.