We use forks everyday! Bet you didn’t know the history behind them! Read on! ;]

futurainteriors:

I ripped these pages out of a magazine awhile ago. They were archived in a folder of my favorite things. I think it’s time to share them with you y’all! You know, since Timeline is such a big deal now!

(the history of taste in a single object)

Each of these forks was once the height of taste. How do they look now?

c1650 Ginger fork. The first forks in England had two tines and were used primarily for candied fruits.

c1680 Trifid. Third tine is added to grip a wider variety of food, but the flat base makes balancing the bite a bit tough.

c1720 Hanoverian. Frill-free design with rounded base helps keeps food on the fork.

c1780 Old English. Four-pronged and rounded, this is the first fork as we know it.

c1820 King’s pattern. One of the oldest patterns still in production today.

c1828 Repoussé, KIRK STEIFF. This highly worked floral motif epitomizes the look of Victorian flatware.

1871 Audubon, TIFFANY. With the opening of Japan in 1853, Asian motifs become fashionable.

1895 Chantilly, GORHAM. A venerable pattern that is the official sterling of Air Force One.

1905 Blossom, GEORG JENSEN. Jensen sets the standard for experimental design in silver.

1906 Francis I, REED & BARTON. Replacements Limited says this is their most-replaced pattern.

1924 Hotel Silver, HOTEL SENATOR. Heavier plated silverware is marketed to hotels because it can take more of a beating.

1927 Pyramid, GEORG JENSON. Egyptian motifs come into fashion after the discovery of King Tut’s tomb in 1924.

The form of the fork evolves, and the middle class hunger for decoration grows.

Designs become simpler, while now materials bring color, durability, beauty, and affordability.

1928 Lorain, ONEIDA. Stainless-steel flatware is introduced in the 1920s; an exmaple of an early piece.

1930s Bakelite. Silver starts to look old-fashioned as colorful new plastics become
à la mode.

1935 Model 16, POTT-BESTECKE. The Bauhaus ideals of simplicity and functionalism arrive at the dinner table.

1938 Century, HENRY DREYFUSS. The industrial designer’s streamlined utensil for the Twentieth Century Limited, the poshest trained in the U.S.

1939 Gio Ponti, SAMBONET. Italian design starts to percolate around the creative world and redefine “modern”.

1941 Grand Baroque, WALLACE. One traditional pattern that enjoyed popularity in an increasingly modern market.

1941 Mitra, GEORG JENSEN. In a time of war, silver is an extravagance. Stainless steel becomes the responsible choice.

1955 Variation V, DANSK. Scandinavian modern style prompts the return of the three-tined fork.

1957 Arne Jacobson, GEORG JENSEN. How “modern” was imagined in the 1950s. It was used on the set of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).

1961 Bamboo, TIFFANY. An iconic design by Van Day Truex, one of the leading forces of the 20th-century American style.

1965 Lexan polycarbonate fork. With a plastic that is virtually indestructible, the ultimate picnic for is born.

c1970 KFC spork. The solution to eating their soupy yet salady coleslaw. KFC popularized this utensil in fast food dining.

Modernism is in full effect and traditional ornamentation is virtually cleared off the table.

Modernism endures, but new themes soften its hard edge.

1982 Dry Line, ALESSI. Achille Castiglione’s rectangular bar of steel is as minimal as modern gets.

1990 “1927”, SIECLE. This extreme Josef Hoffman pattern was discontinued in the 1930s but comes back into production.

1991 Equestrian Braid, RALPH LAUREN HOME. A brand that started with fashion develops an entire lifestyle around the clothes.

1991 Twig, MICHAEL ARAM. Design is not just inspired by nature anymore, it mimics it.

1996 Daniela, MATCH, Now combined with stainless steel, the lustrous look of pewter is back without the poisonous effect.

1996 Burton, CALVIN KLEIN. Width and weight make a strong statement of purity.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY FRANCESCO MOSTO | PRODUCED BY SAMATHA EMMERLING AND ANNE E. COLLINS

They are all so lovely and great designs! Which one is your favorite? My personal favorite is the 1991 Twig, MICHAEL ARAM!