Antique Silverplate 1914 White Star Line Service Tray

In 1871, a bright new star appeared on the Liverpool shipping scene. Like a phoenix, the White Star Line grew out of the ashes of a bankrupt sailing ship line to become the fastest-growing and most famous of all shipping companies. With the discovery of gold in Australia, the White Star Line’s initial routes brought fortune seekers Down Under from England.

From those early years, it wasn’t long before the White Star Line ships, flying a now-iconic red swallow-tailed flag with a white star, were found at ports around the globe. Their first transatlantic steamships set a new standard for travel, a standard that was to remain as long as the company existed. Operating between Europe, the USA and Canada, as well as New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, the White Star Line may not have had the fastest ships, but theirs were the biggest and most luxurious in the world.

From the Oceanic of 1871 to the Georgic of 1932, there were many ground-breaking White Star Line ships. The company’s most famous are undoubtedly the Olympic, the Britannic and the ill-fated Titanic, but the other seventy or so ships of the line also helped White Star become the most famous shipping line of all time. White Star would eventually merge with its main competitor Cunard in 1934 and its last liner, the Britannic, was scrapped in 1960. The White Star Line leaves behind a historic legacy of famous liners which are still appreciated to this day. 

Found at a silver market outside of London, we are thrilled to present this exquisite Antique Silverplate 1914 White Star Line Service Tray once used aboard the great ships of the White Star Line. With an elegant round silhouette, the tray’s raised rim is trimmed with an applied reed border accented with single stars, a hallmark of White Star Line’s luxuriously branded silver service.

Streamlined and elegant, just like White Star’s oceanliners, the tray was produced by Sheffield’s esteemed Elkington silversmiths with a date mark on the reverse reflecting its year of manufacture – 1914. Barely discernible within the sanded decommission stamp on the underside performed when the piece was removed from service – the words ‘White Star Line.’ 

All the more special for its provenance and legacy, this gleaming memento from the great White Star Line ships brings with it the luxurious spirit of the Golden Age of Travel and is sure to take pride of place in your collection.

Strictly one of a kind and subject to prior sale. In very good antique condition. 10″ in diameter.