Table forks

Classification(s):
Metal
Date: c.1951 - 1976
Organisation: George Butler & Co. (Cutlers) Ltd (English, founded 1974)
Dimensions:
215 × 161 mm (21.5 × 16.1 cm)
Medium: Stainless Steel, Wood
Object number: M149
DescriptionSet of 6 stainless steel 'Butler’s Cutlery' table forks by George Butler & Co. (Cutlers) Ltd of Sheffield, England. The forks are made from stainless steel with wooden handles. The table forks are in their original presentation box. Range no. 917. Of the 6 forks, 5 have their original plastic packaging over the fork tines.

A makers stamp is engraved on the back of each fork “Stainless Sheffield England”.
ProvenanceThis object was originally acquired for the Inner London Education Authority’s (ILEA) ‘Circulating Design Scheme’ collection.

The collection was instigated by the London Country Council (later the Greater London Council) and the Council of Industrial Design (COID). The collection’s original purpose was concerned with the teaching and dissemination of modern, ‘good design’.

The collection was established in 1951/52 as the ‘Experiment in Design Appreciation’, later renamed the ‘Circulating Design Scheme’.

The Circulating Design Scheme lent boxed showcases to London schools. The showcases contained handling objects, material samples and interpretation on a specific subject.

COID withdrew its involvement in the Scheme in 1957. After which time, it was managed exclusively by the London County Council from 1957-1963.

After the administrative restructuring of London authorities, the Scheme was jointly managed by the Greater London Council and the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) from 1963 – 1976.

The Scheme was operational until 1976 when the collections were withdrawn from circulation. ILEA was abolished in the late 1980s and the collection was donated to Camberwell College of Arts in 1989/90.

ILEA was responsible for secondary and tertiary education in the inner London boroughs, this included Camberwell.