Your amendment of the date is of course correct. So you have a very respectable Chippendale style salver with seashells. By 1760 use of surnames was almost universal so MW might indicate a family name beginning with a W. There are a few to choose from.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, particularly in Spain (where the term salva originated) and England, salvers were used by servants to present food or drink that had been “assayed” or tasted first to ensure it was not poisoned.
From the 18th century onward, they were used by servants to carry beverages, glasses, and dishes, or to present letters, cards, and small items to guests. Small salvers, often called “waiters,” were particularly popular for this.They were used to place hot tea or coffee pots on, or to hold decanters, preventing damage to valuable furniture from heat or spills.
Because they were often made of silver, highly decorated, and engraved with family crests, they served as decorative, status-symbol items on sideboards or buffets. Unlike trays, traditional salvers do not have handles. They are almost always raised on three or four small, often decorative, feet. They are usually circular, though square, rectangular, and octagonal shapes exist.
Presenting calling cards or visiting cards came into fashion in Europe during the 17th century gaining significant popularity among the French aristocracy under Louis XIV before becoming a staple of social etiquette in Britain and the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries. They became an indispensable, highly regulated, and “essential” accessory for the upper and middle classes throughout the Victorian era 1837–1901.
The earliest known “visiting cards” ,known as Meishi ,were used in China in the 15th century. By the 17th Century The custom arrived in Europe, where it became fashionable for the French aristocracy to use visite bilets to announce their arrival at a home, often leaving them with servants. In the 18th Century The practice became widespread among the upper classes in France and Italy, quickly spreading to England.
By the 19th Century, the Victorian and gilded ages, calling cards reached their height of popularity becoming an essential for navigating social hierarchy, making it possible to “call” on someone without actually meeting them, simply by leaving a card on a silver tray.
The custom began to fall out of favor as the telephone replaced the need for in-person calling, and the rigid social codes of the Victorian era relaxed. The tradition largely died out by the 1950s, though I am informed remained in use in the U.S. Armed Forces.
The Calling Card was a way to indicate you had visited a friend or acquaintance.
and used to pay “social debts” when a personal, in-person visit was not possible.
Specific corners were turned down to indicate, for example, a condolence visit, a congratulatory visit, or that the card was delivered in person.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, they served as a “passport to polite society”.
Originally, these were simple, white, engraved, or hand-written cards. However, the Victorians later embraced more elaborate designs, including coloured, decorated, and embossed cards.
Women’s cards were generally larger than men’s, and they often contained the husband’s name (e.g., Mrs. John Smith). Large silver card cases often with British Castles embossed on them are highly collectable.
The etiquette was strict; a properly returned call (via card) signified social acceptance, while failure to return a card could mean being cut from a social circle.
So your tray was an early form of Facebook used to “friend” people. Have we advanced or retreated?
CRWW
