I don't have a "set" just a couple of coffee pots and a tray....and I use them whenever I serve more than 2 cups of coffee...if I have guests for dinner or lunch, I pour the coffee out of the pot.
My daughter and DIL both have "sets' and my daughter rarely uses it but she does....the DIL as far as I know never has used it.
People used to have coffees and would set up at the end of a table and someone would pour....and I have been to more than a few brunches where the coffee and tea was served out of a coffee service.
Polish it up really well....then about every 6 weeks just wash it with International silver polish...just get a sponge sudsy with the stuff and wash and dry the silver....just as you would wash anything else that sits out and gets dirty.
I am sure it's lovely....enjoy it!
Linda C

You're right Marita -- They're pretty cheap on eBay... And they haven't seen much use lately.
But - I suspect they may be making a comeback. Why? Mostly just gut. (But my gut's usually pretty good at early trend-spotting.)

I'm throwing a 'Titanic' luncheon in a few weeks for my Gourmet Girls group and I bought a few pieces on eBay to suplement what I had. And Igloochic, another GWeb regular, just posted that she's doing an auction tea and was looking for a few. They've gotten too cheap and are just too pretty to pass up. I've also seen pieced crafted into lovely tea-themed centerpiece, chandalier, or garden art pieces. And with Alice in Wonderland hitting the big screens?...

I guess it's because the Baby Boom ladies are now reaching a 'certain age' where entertaining is changing into something a bit more formal, a bit more gracious than a barbecue in the yard. Plus, we're at that age where our parents are leaving us, and we're inheriting all of that lovely silver and china from the 1940's and 50's. When and how could we use it?

So I say throw a tea party!

Thanks for your replies. A "Titanic" party--how fun! I'd be a lot happier with the silver set if I didn't have to polish it! :) I didn't mention that there are two covered serving dishes, too, in the same pattern. Well, I will get to work on this soon and post a photo when all the pieces gleam once again!

Ditto what everyone else has said. Yes, they are a little more effort than most serving pieces we use now, but in our 'busy' lives some things are worth the effort. I was sorely disappointed when I brought home my mother's silverware in the chest to find out that somewhere along the way she had replaced it with stainless. She had purchased it on layaway a few pieces at a time until she had a nice collection and it was always my job, and then my DD's job growing up to polish the silver in preparation for holiday meals. I never minded it and it sort of added to the specialness of the festivities.

I found the set on Replacements. Hopefully mine will polish up so well!

http://www.replacements.com/webquote/images.htm

I inherited my grandmother's silver service. Sis got Mom's. I've used mine when I have people over for tea--even if it is just one or two people--along with Mom's collection of tea cups.

If you have a china cabinet, you can store the silver in there and it will tarnish much more slowly.

If you don't want to display it, there are special bags you can buy to store the silver in. They have a tarnish preventative in them and will keep the silver looking nice for a long time.

My task once a month, as a kid, was to polish Mom's silver service. Huge tray, coffee pot, tea pot, creamer, sugar bowl, slops bowl, sugar spoon and sugar tongs. If you keep up with it, it doesn't take all that long. If you let things go, it can take a lot of rubbing to get it all shiny again.

If you can bring yourself to use the individual pieces, rather than a set, I think you'll get more pleasure out of them. Creamer can hold just about anything pourable, sugar bowl can be used on your dresser, the tray's probably the most versatile piece, and I've put flowers in both the tea and coffee pots.

I have two full sets (honestly that may be on the low side since I've been shopping for this tea party LOL and don't know what all I have out in the car). But I have oddles of pieces of serving ware and we use them at most meals that aren't just DH and myself (and some even then). Plate is cheap as chips right now, (as is crystal) so I've picked up a few pieces that are quality enough to have replated for a song, then pay the plating and it's an ok value (but I'm keeping them because we entertain so much so it's really worth it).

I also have several sterling pieces. I love them all equally :) I'm hoping to have five full sets by October LOL Watch out ebay!!!

Use them and enjoy them. Sipping a cup of tea out of a china cup poured from a silver pot when all of your distractions are away...is priceless.