Wallace Silversmiths Inc. began producing sterling flatware in Wallingford, Connecticut in 1871. Company founder Robert Wallace was apprenticed in 1831, when he was 16, to a maker of Britannia metal spoons. Two years later, he rented an old gristmill, powered by Connecticut's Quinnipiac River, and started to make spoons.
In 1835, Wallace learned of a new metal that had been developed in Germany. He traveled to New York City and purchased the formula from a German chemist for $20., then converted his gristmill to produce nickel-based silver spoons.
Under the name R. Wallace & Sons Mfg. Co., the firm introduced the sterling patterns Hawthorne, The Crown, and St. Leon. Designer William Warren's "three-dimensional" patterns included Sir Christopher and Grande Baroque. Wallace eventually acquired the Watson Co., Tuttle Silver Co., and Smith & Smith. Silver patterns: America, Carnation, Carthage, Corinthian, Dauphine, Dawn Mist, Debutante, Discovery, Eton, Evening Mist, Feliciana, Figured Shell, Georgian Colonial, Grand Colonial, Grande Baroque, Hampton, Irian, Juliet, King Christian, Kings, La Reine, Lamerie, Larkspur, Lotus, Louvre, Lucerne, Madison, Meadow Rose, Melanie, Michele, Monterey, My Love, Nile, Normandie, Orange Blossom, Orchid Elegance, Penrose, Peony, Princess Anne, Princess Mary,Puritan, Putnam, Renaissance, Rheims, Rhythm, Romance of the Sea, Rose, Rose Point, Royal Rose, Royal Satin, Saxon, Shenandoah, Silver Swirl, Sir Christopher, Spanish Lace, Sterling Rose, Stradivari, Violet, Waltz of Spring, Washington, Waverly, Windsor Rose, Windsor/Victoria, and Wishing Star.