Large Late Victorian Silver Plated Sugar Tongs

The production of sugar in the early 19th century was quiet crude,  the sugar was made into a large block called a loaf and distributed to the retailer by weight , the shop keeper would cut pieces off this loaf and sell it to the customer. The introduction of the sugar cube was in1843 by Jakub Krytof Rad . Later on in this century Henry Tate of Tate and Lyle purchased a patent to make his own sugar cubes. In order to use cube sugar you would need sugar tongs, these came in various sizes and were produced in silver plate and solid silver for the wealthy.
 
This pair of silver plated sugar tongs would have been used by a moderetly wealthy  household or perhaps belowstairs in a large country or town house. It s a initial H inscribed into the handle of the tongs, and is marked A1 plate which is a standard mark for good quality plated items.
 
In good condition.
 
Dimensions:14cm in length