Silver Carving and Salad Servers - 1st Minerva - .950 silver - A. Boulenger, Paris - 1876-1899

1st standard French silver carving and salad set, consisting of a carving knife, lamb leg clamp, salad fork and salad spoon. Manufactured by the Orfevrerie Boulenger (active June 23, 1876 - April 9, 1899). The handles in silver decorated with garlands, acanthus leaves and floral decorations in style of Louis XVI . The spoon bowl and teeth of the salad cutlery in faux-horn. 

Marked on the handles with [Crescent below Boulenger]

In the 19th century and at the turn of the century, Boulenger was one of the foremost silversmiths in Paris. The company was founded in 1810 by M. Boulenger-Hautin, and in its first decades went through life as the Orfevrerie Hautin. When his cousin Adolphe Boulenger took over the company in 1864, the name changed to A. Boulenger & Cie. From their establishment at 4 rue de Vert-Bois in Paris, the company made a name for itself as an Orfevre of repute, and in time Boulenger became a regular supplier for the French navy. Her work has been awarded several times at fairs and exhibitions, including in Paris 1925, Cairo in 1929, and Antwerp in 1930.