Object Type: The meat carver was a large type of knife used for carving joints of meat, poultry and game. It was bought as part of a set with a carving fork and a 'steel' for sharpening the knife. The handles were often of staghorn or ivory, or were plated with silver detailing, while the blades were steel. A similar boxed set with ivory handles was offered for sale in a James Dixon & Sons catalogue of 1892 for 44s.
The British Dinner Table: Travellers from abroad commented on the prodigious British consumption of meat, particularly roast beef, a fact proudly acknowledged in Britain. A traveller commented in 1789: 'The French eat a great deal of bread and very little meat; the English much meat and little bread'. In the 18th century roast meat would be carved at the table by the host or hostess, following the fashionable manner of dining known as 'à la française'. Carving meat was considered to be an important social skill for men and women. Etiquette and cookery books explained the finer points of carving different joints of meat, poultry and game. The British appetite for roast meat was not diminished by the introduction of new dishes, such as meat in sauce (entrées), and a change in the manner of serving the dinner (à la Russe), in which the carving was done by servants away from the dinner table.