WITH the emphasis today very much on fast food, it's doubtful if too many people sit down to a formal meal at the dining table, with starched linen napkins, neatly inserted into napkin rings.

But there is still tremendous demand for napkin rings, from collectors who will rarely use them for their intended purpose. Until the start of the 19th century, there was a common practice to place napkins the table folded in a variety of shapes, rather like the practice carried out by most restaurants these days. But by the 1850s, the middle of the Victorian period, there was a practice to display napkins in special holders, usually cylindrical bands with an exterior decorative design. And by the late Victorian period, it was common practice on all but working class households to have the napkins so displayed. Examples were made in solid silver, in silver plate, and in brass, but as the industry grew, they were also made in materials as diverse as bone and ivory, horn, wood, glass, pottery, porcelain and by the 1920s, in early forms of plastic. There is not a great demand for very plain examples, with the possible exception of solid silver ones, but most others have a collecting following if their design is visually pleasing. Single napkin rings in silver will cost about £20 to £30, with sets of course at a price. Extremely unusual ones or ones by noted silver smiths will fetch more, and napkin rings which are just silver plated can start from as little as £5. Napkin rings which are visually linked to a particular design period such as the Art Nouveau era around 1900, or the Art Deco period of the 1930s have their own distinct collecting niche, and prices can move upwards to perhaps £15 to £20 each for most common examples, and exceptional examples can be in the £40 to £60 price category depending very much on style and novelty.

Most metal rings were circular or oval, square or octagonal. Some were initialled or monogrammed and many carried embossed or engraved decoration.

Patterns of birds, fruit and flowers were common, but designs were changing and by the 1930s, more novel designs were being created. You can find napkin rings decorated with such unlikely figures as clowns or policemen and there was certainly a phase of making napkin rings in the shape of dogs, cats and even elephants. These art deco examples, often in pottery or porcelain, are quite collectable and can fetch up to a £100 or so for ones by particular makers such as Carlton.

Many napkin rings were bought as souvenir gifts, and sometimes marked with the name of a popular inland town or seaside resort. These have their own collecting niche, though on the whole prices are quite modest as souvenir examples are not treated quite so seriously by the true enthusiast.

Most novelty examples can start from as little as £3 to £5 around the antique shops and fairs.