The older I get, the more I appreciate just how convenient a good tray can be. Of course, I have always used a tray when serving my guests at table. But I now find myself pulling-out the tray when I set or clear the table (carrying far more plates, cutlery, napkins or glassware than I could handle without it). The tray makes carrying safer and easier—and it cuts-in-half the number of back-and-forth trips I have to make.
I also use a tray when moving merchandise around my home or showroom—and appreciate the reduced number of trips I have to make up or down a flight of stairs. The tray makes it easier to organize LEO Design's collection of cufflinks (which I do fairly frequently), allowing me to sort and move groupings from one place to another.. And at tax season, the tray makes it easy for me to organize and transport my stacks of paperwork, receipts and envelopes.
The oak butler's tray, shown above, was made in Late Victorian or Edwardian England (1890-1910). It is a simple, handsome, unembellished household tool—utilitarian form and function without extraneous decoration. Planks of oak are surrounded by an oak gallery (which strengthens the tray and provides a "perimeter rim" which keeps things from rolling-off the edge of the tray). The handles are secure; nevertheless, I usually wrap my fingers under the sides of the tray while I carry it—to provide extra support under the tray (rather than rely solely on the handles to support all the weight). Click on the photo above to learn more about this useful and handsome piece.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
We also can be found in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, at The Antique Center of Strabane (www.antiquecenterofstrabane.com).
Or call to arrange to visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only). 917-446-4248