Meriden Britannia - Platter - Silverplated - 1888

Beautiful Victorian butter dish with a removable dome, bearing the rare stamp at the bottom:
WECHSLER & ABRAHAM / 1337
Used to keep butter from melting on the table by placing ice cubes or ice water underneath the butter.
History:
Wechsler & Abraham was the legendary department store on Fulton Street in Brooklyn, New York, founded in 1865 by Abraham Abraham and Joseph Wechsler. In 1893 it was taken over by the Straus family of Macy's and renamed the world-famous Abraham & Straus (later Macy's). Every item with the WECHSLER & ABRAHAM stamp is therefore from before 1893.
Like all big department stores, they had table silver made by top manufacturers. This dome was made by the Meriden Britannia Company (quadruple plate) as a private label for Wechsler & Abraham – model number 1337 from their famous 1889 Christmas catalog.

Details:
• Model: foot with removable dome, remainder for butter knife on the side
• Knob: pineapple / conifer cone – typical of the Aesthetic Movement of the 1880s
• Decoration: hand-engraved flowers and fan motifs
• Stamp: circular stamp WECHSLER & ABRAHAM 1337
• Material: silver-plated / quadruple plate – NOT solid silver
• Dimensions: approx. 15 cm tall x 10 cm diameter base
• Condition: nice antique condition. Wear and scratches on the interior, some tarnish. No glass insert. See photos – sold as found.

Ideal for collectors of American table silver, Brooklyn history, or Victorian kitchen antiques. A nice display piece with a story.