Lot Essay
The arms are those of Grey impaling Booth as borne by Henry Grey, 4th Earl of Stamford and his wife Mary, daughter of George Booth, Earl of Warrington. These plates were made in 1819, the year that George Harry Grey (1765-1845) succeeded as 6th Earl of Stamford and 2nd Earl of Warrington. The 6th Earl evidently ordered these plates to expand the silver service of the 4th Earl, copying not only the style of the plates but also the engraved coat-of-arms of his grandparents. A set of 24 plates matching the present examples from the 4th Earl's service dated 1751 is identically engraved, and was sold at Christie's New York, April 17, 1985, lot 456.