With ice a rarity and mechanical refrigeration yet to exist, ladies of the Victorian era were tasked with keeping water cooled for their guests. The answer, for those lucky enough to afford it, was the multi-wall silverplate ice pitcher. These multi-walled pitchers were designed to insulate and keep water cooled over longer periods of time. Early ice pitchers had metal, glass or porcelain liners. The liners on these early models had seams which caused corrosion and leaks. These designs were soon replaced with one-piece porcelain liners.

 

If you own a Victorian silverplate water pitcher or have had the pleasure of handling one, you know they are rather heavy. It's a chore to lift and pour when filled with liquid. This led to the design of the tilting water pitcher with stand (image at right). Matching tilting pitcher sets contained the stand, pitcher, goblets and slop bowl.

Some stands could accommodate any silverplate water pitcher such as indicated in this Reed & Barton advertisement (below). “…enables the person using to pour water from the Pitcher without being compelled to lift it, and which is so constructed that the base forms a tray, or salver, for holding the goblet and for catching the water that may condense and drip from outside of Pitcher.”

“This Tilting Stand (differing in this respect from all others), does not require the Pitcher to be made expressly for it, and is consequently adapted for any Pitcher now in use.”

Below is a matching silverplate water set which includes the pitcher, bowl, 2 goblets and tray. Many of these sets (as well as the tilting sets) had gold-lined goblets and bowls. Ice pitchers were commonly used as presentation pieces as awards and for commemorating events.

As ice became more plentiful, double and multi-wall pitchers were replaced by single wall pitchers. Antique silverplate multi-wall pitchers are still used today on buffets so that guests may serve themselves either cold or hot drinks.