This impressive set of flatware is recognized as a masterpiece of the Gothic Revival design. Introduced during the 1840s, the style was the latest in a succession of interpretations which initially were revived in England during the mid-18th century. 

This aesthetic is closely identified with William Gale, one of the principal innovators in the history of American silver. In 1826, he patented a process by which a silver blank intended for a piece of flatware could be run through a roller die and emerge with the raised decoration struck on both sides. In 1847, Gale, along with Nathaniel Hayden, patented the flatware pattern Gothic (see B.81.8). 

The fish set was introduced during the 19th-century and designed for serving fish at the dining table. Its predecessor, resembling wooden-handled trowels with pierced decorated blades, was a form first introduced in the late-18th century. By the mid-19th century, the slice was re-contoured and now accompanied by a matching fork. During the period of the fish set’s popularity, no other service pieces were as richly ornamented and few surpassed its scale. 

Related example: Historic Charleston Foundation, South Carolina.