Although people have been using silver for centuries, silver plating was not invented until after 1830.The fledgling technique was brought to America in 1837 by John O. Mead of John Mead and Sons, a manufacturer of Britannia Ware located in Philadelphia. In 1845, they formed the partnership Rogers and Mead. Together, they were the first American's to successfully electroplate and sell their wares in the market. During the late 1800's and early 1900's, silver was fairly scarce. With the invention of the plating process, a larger part of the population was able to own silver. When the price of silver dropped in later years, silverplate went out of fashion and out of production as people could afford to buy Sterling, the 'real thing'. Now, some older silverplate has become collectible leading to prices higher than some sterling silver flatware.
